Dedicated vpn router

[Chock]

Hi, 

 

I'm about to upgrade to a 100mb Internet connection (that's pretty damn good for Australia) and I'm looking to replace my router. I was hoping to get a router that could handle running the vpn itself and be powerful enough to handle the encryption without bottleneck my speed like my current old router.

 

I don't need WiFi capabilities on the router as I can bridge my old WiFi router to work as an access point as most things in the house are hardwired. 

 

I'm wondering what my options are, should I build a nuc to handle this, or a raspberry pi? I've also been looking a small business routers such as linksys lrt224 and ubiquiti edgerouters.

 

Will any of these potions actually do what I want?

 

Thanks

[idiocracy]

Depends. Routing only vpn traffic or all traffic, are you the only user, what speeds do you need >50mbit, how much do you want to spend?

Many newer consumer routers have vpn servers build in, like openvpn. You would probably be fine if you just grab something that has a dual core 1ghz or higher soc.

[dalekphalm]

You need to clarify something:
Do you want to connect to a consumer VPN Service ("Privacy" VPN's) such as NordVPN or PIA?

 

Or do you want to host a VPN server, such as OpenVPN, to which you will connect to remotely when away?

[Chock]

5 hours ago, idiocracy said:

Depends. Routing only vpn traffic or all traffic, are you the only user, what speeds do you need >50mbit, how much do you want to spend?

Many newer consumer routers have vpn servers build in, like openvpn. You would probably be fine if you just grab something that has a dual core 1ghz or higher soc.

There are three of us in the house and I was hoping to run most traffic through it except Netflix and some online gaming.

 

My understanding with consumer routers is that they are not powerful enough to handle encryption at higher speeds, but have they improved over the post few years? Would they be better or cheaper than a small business router? 

[Chock]

2 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

You need to clarify something:
Do you want to connect to a consumer VPN Service ("Privacy" VPN's) such as NordVPN or PIA?

 

Or do you want to host a VPN server, such as OpenVPN, to which you will connect to remotely when away?

Sorry, yes I want to connect to a consumer vpn service

[idiocracy]

1 hour ago, Chock said:

Sorry, yes I want to connect to a consumer vpn service

That's something completely different than your original question. If you just want to connect to a vpn service the router you choose doesn't matter as server and client does the encryption/decryption and not the router, just pick something of newer date and that'll be fine. But i don't get what the point of the vpn is, just a privacy thing or?

[Chock]

37 minutes ago, idiocracy said:

That's something completely different than your original question. If you just want to connect to a vpn service the router you choose doesn't matter as server and client does the encryption/decryption and not the router, just pick something of newer date and that'll be fine. But i don't get what the point of the vpn is, just a privacy thing or?

Yes I want the vpn for privacy, the point of the router doing it is for everything on my network to be encrypted. I'm wanting my router to do all the client side encrypting not our individual devices

[idiocracy]

1 minute ago, Chock said:

Yes I want the vpn for privacy, the point of the router doing it is for everything on my network to be encrypted. I'm wanting my router to do all the client side encrypting not our individual devices

That's something you have to research the vpn provider if that is possible. Some routers can run vpn as client for site-to-site connection, but i think that's different.

You'll probably have to use the vpn client that is provided by the vpn provider. But check the provider for that.

[kirashi]

2 hours ago, Chock said:

There are three of us in the house and I was hoping to run most traffic through it except Netflix and some online gaming.

 

My understanding with consumer routers is that they are not powerful enough to handle encryption at higher speeds, but have they improved over the post few years? Would they be better or cheaper than a small business router? 

2 hours ago, Chock said:

Sorry, yes I want to connect to a consumer vpn service

Any router above the $100 price point that is capable of running customer firmware, such as DD-WRT or AdvancedTomato, can do what you want. I have an older Netgear R7000 running AdvancedTomato that connects to PIA without issue. It has 2 VPN client profiles too, so I can have one configured for say a Seattle exit node and the other configured for Vancouver, or I can have Profile 1 route ALL devices through the VPN when enabled and Profile 2 only route the devices I specify when enabled.

 

 

[dalekphalm]

4 hours ago, Chock said:

Sorry, yes I want to connect to a consumer vpn service

Most routers over $100 will have VPN Client built in - but you should talk to your VPN provider first to see if they have recommended models (Eg: Ones that they can support as they know the interface and capabilities well). Additionally, you'll need to make sure your specific VPN provider supports router client connections.

 

Some will only allow you to connect using their client-side App that runs on your device - whereas others will fully support connecting a router to the VPN.

 

Literally any business class router should have this capability either. Really, just make sure the router is compatible with your specific VPN service, and has the features you want. Performance wise, you should see little degradation, and most of that will be from using a VPN service at all, and not from the router itself.