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PC based router - help a newbie figure out how to make one?

Paul_VB

Greetings people. 

As of late, my router has been annoying the heck out of me. Its gotten to the point where if it has been left on for a few days, i get pings as high as 500 ms or more. when i restart it, it drops back to a normal 15-20 ms.

so rather than spend more money on another terrible router with awful cooling and hardware, i decided to re-purpose an old desktop. it has some AMD quad-core cpu at like 2GHz and 2-3GB ddr2. idk the exact specs of it. a pretty modest machine, but it should be more than enough for a router.

 

What i want to know is, how should i get started on doing this? i know there are a billion YouTube videos on how to do this, but i'd feel better if someone who has more experience with this could give me a few pointers.

I know i'll need a networking card (the computer DOES indeed have a pci-e 16x slot. not sure if it is 16x electrical, but does a networking card really need that much bandwidth?).

What software should i use? does the router software act as its own OS, or does it run within Windows/Linux?

Also, can i use my old router as an access point? the router is pretty terrible, but its wireless signal is pretty decent.

 

Any tips or information would be appreciated :)

CPU: AMD FX8350 @4.4GHz | MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, 990FX chipset | RAM: 16GB (4x4) dual channel Patriot Xtreme series DDR3 @1866MHz @1.65V | GPU: Asus Radeon R9 Fury Strix| PSU: Corsair AX860i 860 watt | CPU cooling: Noctua NH-D15S + additional Noctua NF-F12 | Case:Corsair C70 Black | Storage: 3x 128GB Samsung 840 pro SSDs; 1 for the OS, 2 in RAID 0 for games. 3x WD Red 3TB HDDs in raid 5 for bulk storage | Displays: 1x Dell 3007WFP 30 inch 2560x1600 IPS LCD. 1x I-Inc IH253DPB 25 inch 1920x1080 TN LCD | Keyboard: Corsair K70 with Cherry MX brown switches + Blue LED backlight | Headphones: Sennheiser HD 280 Pro | Mouse: Logitech G600 @1100 DPI | OS: Win 10 Pro 64 bit | 

Mfg/model number: Clevo/W355SSQ | CPU: Intel i7 4710MQ @3.5GHz  | MOBO: W35xSS_370SS, HM87 Chipset | RAM: 16GB (2x8) dual channel Crucial Ballistix DDR3 @1866MHz | GPU: GTX860m 2GB Gddr5 | Battery: 76,960mW/h 8 Cell battery, 3 Hrs full on a full charge | Storage: 1x 128GB Samsung 840 pro SSD for the OS. 1x WD Red 1TB HDD For storage and games | Displays: 1x 15.6" 1080p LCD | Keyboard: Full 103 key back-lit keyboard | Mouse: Logitech M510 | OS: Win 10 Pro 64 bit |

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Maybe you should search for a Firewall OS, Linux for example, because it has the same functionality as a router.

 

Check this link:

 

http://distrowatch.com/search.php?ostype=All&category=Firewall&origin=All&basedon=All&notbasedon=None&desktop=All&architecture=All&status=Active

 

It lists 15 active Linux distros for Firewall use.

System 1: Thermaltake Element Q - Thermaltake 220W SFX - Asus AT5IONT-I mini-ITX - Intel® Atom™ D525 onboard 1.8GHz Dual-Core HT - Integrated NVIDIA® ION™ - 2x 2GB Kingston DDR3 - Samsung 120GB 840 Series - Scythe Kama Rack 3.5 - Asus DVD-RW

System 2: Thermaltake Element Q - Thermaltake 220W SFX - Asus E2KM1I-DELUXE mini-ITX - AMD E2-2000 onboard 1.75GHz Dual-Core - Integrated AMD® Radeon HD 7340 - 2x 4GB Kingston DDR3 - Samsung 120GB 840 Series - Scythe Kama Rack 3.5 - Asus DVD-RW

Building: Bitfenix Prodigy Black - Corsair AX860i - Asus Maximus VII Impact - Corsair Hydro Series H100i - Intel® Core™ i7 4790K - Asus Matrix Platinum GTX 980 4GB - Corsair 16GB Dominator Platinum 2x 8GB DDR3 2400MHz CL10 - Samsung 1TB EVO 840 Series

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just throw another nic in and install pfsense :)

pc specs: 4 function calculator / 8 digit lcd display / colored numeric and function buttons

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Question: is it possible to run a router software on an existing computer running win 7? its not that i have an issue with installing a router software, i was just curious if it is possible seeing as i have an existing PC thats already setup that i use for a home server.

CPU: AMD FX8350 @4.4GHz | MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, 990FX chipset | RAM: 16GB (4x4) dual channel Patriot Xtreme series DDR3 @1866MHz @1.65V | GPU: Asus Radeon R9 Fury Strix| PSU: Corsair AX860i 860 watt | CPU cooling: Noctua NH-D15S + additional Noctua NF-F12 | Case:Corsair C70 Black | Storage: 3x 128GB Samsung 840 pro SSDs; 1 for the OS, 2 in RAID 0 for games. 3x WD Red 3TB HDDs in raid 5 for bulk storage | Displays: 1x Dell 3007WFP 30 inch 2560x1600 IPS LCD. 1x I-Inc IH253DPB 25 inch 1920x1080 TN LCD | Keyboard: Corsair K70 with Cherry MX brown switches + Blue LED backlight | Headphones: Sennheiser HD 280 Pro | Mouse: Logitech G600 @1100 DPI | OS: Win 10 Pro 64 bit | 

Mfg/model number: Clevo/W355SSQ | CPU: Intel i7 4710MQ @3.5GHz  | MOBO: W35xSS_370SS, HM87 Chipset | RAM: 16GB (2x8) dual channel Crucial Ballistix DDR3 @1866MHz | GPU: GTX860m 2GB Gddr5 | Battery: 76,960mW/h 8 Cell battery, 3 Hrs full on a full charge | Storage: 1x 128GB Samsung 840 pro SSD for the OS. 1x WD Red 1TB HDD For storage and games | Displays: 1x 15.6" 1080p LCD | Keyboard: Full 103 key back-lit keyboard | Mouse: Logitech M510 | OS: Win 10 Pro 64 bit |

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Question: is it possible to run a router software on an existing computer running win 7? its not that i have an issue with installing a router software, i was just curious if it is possible seeing as i have an existing PC thats already setup that i use for a home server.

 

To my knowledge this is only available under Windows Server with the installation of a specific role. That being said it's probably not good security practice to have something that stores your stuff be directly public facing.

The best option would be to setup some old or cheap hardware running a distro like pfsense, ipfire, clearos etc.  I personall like pfsense but it can be a tiny bit daunting if you are not familiar with some networking concepts/terms but there are a lot of resources for information out there being that its open source :)

 

It is possible to do this via virtualization software such as VMware ESXi if you have more than one dedicated NIC and you setup one to be internal and one to be external.

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Question: is it possible to run a router software on an existing computer running win 7? its not that i have an issue with installing a router software, i was just curious if it is possible seeing as i have an existing PC thats already setup that i use for a home server.

Yes. You will have to do it in a virtual machine. I intact do this on one of my servers.

Download virtual box(it's free) and install it. Get yourself another network card. Can be one port but it you could have 2 that would be better.

Create your VM in virtual box and install Pfsense.

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OK, so i know i'll need a NIC for the router. the old pc i plan on using has a crappy 10/100 port on the motherboard. i'd really like to have gigabit, so the onboard netowrking is kinda useless to me. I know i have a spare 1 port gigabit PCI (not pci-e) card lying around that may or may not be broken. if it's busted, i can pick up another one at microcenter or something. at this point i have a few questions:

 

1) can i use my old router as a switch to connect my current myriad of wired devices? the answer is probably yes, but can i also use the router's built in wireless radio for wifi at the same time?

 

2) if i had a NIC with 2 rj-45 jacks on it, could i use 1 jack to connect to the modem and the other one to the rest of the network? or do i have to use seperate nics for incoming internet and connection to the LAN?

 

3) why are 4 port ethernet cards so much money? i feel like these 4 port cards i'm looking at are made for intense server/workstation usage. all i need is a consumer grade NIC. does a cheaper 4 port nic exist? or are they all $100?

CPU: AMD FX8350 @4.4GHz | MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, 990FX chipset | RAM: 16GB (4x4) dual channel Patriot Xtreme series DDR3 @1866MHz @1.65V | GPU: Asus Radeon R9 Fury Strix| PSU: Corsair AX860i 860 watt | CPU cooling: Noctua NH-D15S + additional Noctua NF-F12 | Case:Corsair C70 Black | Storage: 3x 128GB Samsung 840 pro SSDs; 1 for the OS, 2 in RAID 0 for games. 3x WD Red 3TB HDDs in raid 5 for bulk storage | Displays: 1x Dell 3007WFP 30 inch 2560x1600 IPS LCD. 1x I-Inc IH253DPB 25 inch 1920x1080 TN LCD | Keyboard: Corsair K70 with Cherry MX brown switches + Blue LED backlight | Headphones: Sennheiser HD 280 Pro | Mouse: Logitech G600 @1100 DPI | OS: Win 10 Pro 64 bit | 

Mfg/model number: Clevo/W355SSQ | CPU: Intel i7 4710MQ @3.5GHz  | MOBO: W35xSS_370SS, HM87 Chipset | RAM: 16GB (2x8) dual channel Crucial Ballistix DDR3 @1866MHz | GPU: GTX860m 2GB Gddr5 | Battery: 76,960mW/h 8 Cell battery, 3 Hrs full on a full charge | Storage: 1x 128GB Samsung 840 pro SSD for the OS. 1x WD Red 1TB HDD For storage and games | Displays: 1x 15.6" 1080p LCD | Keyboard: Full 103 key back-lit keyboard | Mouse: Logitech M510 | OS: Win 10 Pro 64 bit |

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OK, so i know i'll need a NIC for the router. the old pc i plan on using has a crappy 10/100 port on the motherboard. i'd really like to have gigabit, so the onboard netowrking is kinda useless to me. I know i have a spare 1 port gigabit PCI (not pci-e) card lying around that may or may not be broken. if it's busted, i can pick up another one at microcenter or something. at this point i have a few questions:

 

1) can i use my old router as a switch to connect my current myriad of wired devices? the answer is probably yes, but can i also use the router's built in wireless radio for wifi at the same time?

 

2) if i had a NIC with 2 rj-45 jacks on it, could i use 1 jack to connect to the modem and the other one to the rest of the network? or do i have to use seperate nics for incoming internet and connection to the LAN?

 

3) why are 4 port ethernet cards so much money? i feel like these 4 port cards i'm looking at are made for intense server/workstation usage. all i need is a consumer grade NIC. does a cheaper 4 port nic exist? or are they all $100?

 

 

1)  Kind off.  You will need to log in to its control panel and turn DHCP off,  should be fine then to connect your wireless devices to.

 

2) with your network ports.  You need one to face the modem only.(WAN port)  The other you plug in to your home network.  so in to a switch etc. (LAN port)

 

3)  the Quad nic cards are for servers. your probably looking at the gigabit ones.  Thats why they cost so much normlay because a home user wouldnt buy one....  You can get cheeper 2 port nic's which would be ok as well. 

 

Most of the stuff for projects like this i just buy off ebay.  there are some dule port nics on there for $17

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