Trying to make my own DIY Router

[abbatrombone]

Ive been tempted to do this for a while just so i can get better at networking and understanding it. The better wifi is a boon. 

 

This is the build i made:https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Abbatromebone/saved/#view=gRsPf7

 

I thought about doing this over ebaying an old system for the following reasons:

1) The T series chips use less power

2) I have to look at ethernet parts to learn about compatibility and learn by doing things

3) I can also get the eco mode power supply to reduce power consumption

4) I like building PCs

 

Are there improvements i should consider? or should i jsut find a ITX build for cheap and slap a good intel NIC card in it?

 

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

You really don't need a 500GB SSD, so you can save some money and get a smaller one. Even 60GB is more than enough.

 

Be aware that the NIC you've chosen uses SFP+, not RJ45 like most home networking equipment, as well as only having a single port. You'd be better off getting a quad port 1Gbps RJ45 NIC

[Falcon1986]

8 hours ago, abbatrombone said:

Are there improvements i should consider? or should i jsut find a ITX build for cheap and slap a good intel NIC card in it?

You don't need to build a whole computer to understand networking.

 

IMO, pre-built firewall appliances are more energy-efficient and better optimized than what can be custom-built. ServeTheHome is a good place to look for firewall/switch/server reviews. Also, if you're going to be installing pfSense or OPNSense as the firewall OS, take a look at the Lawrence Systems and CrossTalk Solutions channels on YouTube.

[LIGISTX]

23 minutes ago, Falcon1986 said:

You don't need to build a whole computer to understand networking.

 

IMO, pre-built firewall appliances are more energy-efficient and better optimized than what can be custom-built. ServeTheHome is a good place to look for firewall/switch/server reviews. Also, if you're going to be installing pfSense or OPNSense as the firewall OS, take a look at the Lawrence Systems and CrossTalk Solutions channels on YouTube.

100% all of this.

 

9 hours ago, abbatrombone said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Abbatromebone/saved/#view=gRsPf7

4 GB of would be considered overkill, and a dual core CPU from 2012 would be plenty fast…. Just to put this in perspective. 
 

I run my pfsense VM on 2 threads, 4GB of RAM (my server has 128….. so I had plenty to spare, but I used to run it on 2 and it was way more then enough), and I think I give it 8 or 16 GB of storage space, but it doesn’t even use a fraction of that.

 

I would look into a box from netgate (makers of pfsense), or one of the servethehome options as mentioned above. 

[abbatrombone]

On 6/9/2023 at 2:21 AM, Oshino Shinobu said:

You really don't need a 500GB SSD, so you can save some money and get a smaller one. Even 60GB is more than enough.

 

Be aware that the NIC you've chosen uses SFP+, not RJ45 like most home networking equipment, as well as only having a single port. You'd be better off getting a quad port 1Gbps RJ45 NIC

I agree 500GB is overkill its what i could find from a brand i trust at the lowest price.

[abbatrombone]

On 6/9/2023 at 10:41 AM, LIGISTX said:

100% all of this.

 

4 GB of would be considered overkill, and a dual core CPU from 2012 would be plenty fast…. Just to put this in perspective. 
 

I run my pfsense VM on 2 threads, 4GB of RAM (my server has 128….. so I had plenty to spare, but I used to run it on 2 and it was way more then enough), and I think I give it 8 or 16 GB of storage space, but it doesn’t even use a fraction of that.

 

I would look into a box from netgate (makers of pfsense), or one of the servethehome options as mentioned above. 

Is there a box you would recommend?

[eplus]

Hello! I built my own x86 router with 4G modem, 2 wifi radios, and a 4-port NIC, all crammed inside a cheap aliexpress case. It was not cheap but then again for the product I got, it is well worth it:

 

The most trouble I got from, was the 4G modem and specifically the adapter card which I had to connect to 2 usb ports simultaneously as it couldn't draw all the power it needs from only one port (a single port can only supply 0.5A which weren't enough)

 

The final result on the picture is quite heavy, at 3.6kg I wouldn't consider travel friendly exactly, though I use it specifically for that. I can also use the wifi card to act as a repeater, extending an already existing wifi network. The only thing I wish I did was to buy an SFP+ card and add a fiber optic module + 2 rj45 ports module. It is a massive overkill but to be honest I will hardly need anything else for the foreseeable future, this thing can easily handle OpenVPN encryption as it uses an i3 with AES-NI.

Total wattage under normal usage: ~35 Watts. I can definitely try to reduce it if I undervolt the CPU but I haven't had the time to goof around.

[LIGISTX]

1 hour ago, abbatrombone said:

Is there a box you would recommend?

Any of the netgate appliances would be perfectly fine. I have a few SG1100’s deployed and they work well. Although I have had a few die on me… I may start getting the next level up as replacements. 

[Donut417]

5 hours ago, abbatrombone said:

I agree 500GB is overkill its what i could find from a brand i trust at the lowest price.

From my understanding PFsesne runs off a USB stick. Im assuming you would run PFsesne. Also from what I recall PFsesne loads itself into RAM when it boots, so technically you dont really need that reliable of storage as your router will likely never shut off unless you have a power outage. 

 

On 6/9/2023 at 2:20 AM, abbatrombone said:

The T series chips use less power

If your worried about energy usage then Id do what @LIGISTX suggests. Because the Netgate boxes use ARM chips, which are more energy efficient.  

[LIGISTX]

56 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

From my understanding PFsesne runs off a USB stick. Im assuming you would run PFsesne. Also from what I recall PFsesne loads itself into RAM when it boots, so technically you dont really need that reliable of storage as your router will likely never shut off unless you have a power outage. 

I wouldn’t boot pfsense off a USB stick. It does write logs, and you can get a 250 GB SSD for like 30 bucks these days. It’s worth it to not have your network go down… you only need ~8GB, but it’s hard to fine a quality 32, 64 or even 128 SSD these days. 

[Falcon1986]

Something I never thought about until it actually happened to me...

 

Invest in a good UPS for network hardware only. It will take you through power outages so your network doesn't have to go down, or at least not the firewall. Data corruption can happen and, with today's more advanced firewall setups running on PC hardware, you're going to run into it at some point.

 

Furthermore, I'm glad I chose to go with a tested HP/AMD thin client for my pfSense firewall because it allowed me to "restore AC on power loss", which I needed in a router, obviously, but not necessarily for a PC. It's not a common BIOS feature on the PCs that I have used, so I thought I would mention it.

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, LIGISTX said:

I wouldn’t boot pfsense off a USB stick. It does write logs, and you can get a 250 GB SSD for like 30 bucks these days. It’s worth it to not have your network go down… you only need ~8GB, but it’s hard to fine a quality 32, 64 or even 128 SSD these days. 

Interesting. Every setup I ever seen was a USB drive. 

 

1 hour ago, Falcon1986 said:

nvest in a good UPS for network hardware only. It will take you through power outages so your network doesn't have to go down,

Yeah my 810 watt rated UPS lasts about two hours with the modem and router, granted Im using an off the shelf router that sips power. 

[abbatrombone]

7 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

Any of the netgate appliances would be perfectly fine. I have a few SG1100’s deployed and they work well. Although I have had a few die on me… I may start getting the next level up as replacements. 

Ok. So i want to make sure i have this right. I would want to use my ISPs modem and something like NETGATE 1100 PFSENSE as a router/firewall. If I need any additional ports i would want to use a switch (which i friend gave me a T T-series Dell switch, i think the S60-44T. its over kill i know) and hook that up to my devices.

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, abbatrombone said:

Ok. So i want to make sure i have this right. I would want to use my ISPs modem and something like NETGATE 1100 PFSENSE as a router/firewall. If I need any additional ports i would want to use a switch (which i friend gave me a T T-series Dell switch, i think the S60-44T. its over kill i know) and hook that up to my devices.

Thats sounds about right. Also if you need WiFi you would need a Wireless access point. However if you have an old router laying around that might be able to be turned in to one. 

[LIGISTX]

3 hours ago, abbatrombone said:

Ok. So i want to make sure i have this right. I would want to use my ISPs modem and something like NETGATE 1100 PFSENSE as a router/firewall. If I need any additional ports i would want to use a switch (which i friend gave me a T T-series Dell switch, i think the S60-44T. its over kill i know) and hook that up to my devices.

Correct. You would need wifi tho, and you don't want to try and make pfsense handle that. You can try and add wifi via a wifi card.... don't. Get a proper access point, unifi stuff is a good option.

 

Lawrence system on youtube has A LOT of tutorials on both of them working together - thats how I got my network set up.