Building your own router?

[RangerLunis]

So right now I use comcast cable internet at 75mbps (unfortunately) and I'm using their default modem/router. It doesn't seem very secure at all and I'd love to have my own modem and router.

 

I've heard benefits of building your own router, added protection through custom firewall and antivirus, caching your favorite websites.

 

So where would I begin in building my own router? What software could I use? It was my plan to run linux on it. 

 

Could I build my own modem as well? I'm not the most experienced in networking but i'm very interested in learning. 

[Chillstice]

I don't know much about custom routers, but I think anything is better than the all-in-one Xfinity Wifi Router thingy they've had for about a year or two. By default they broadcast an open guest ssid which, like you said, doesn't seem very secure.

[RangerLunis]

Just now, Chiller252 said:

I don't know much about custom routers, but I think anything is better than the all-in-one Xfinity Wifi Router thingy they've had for about a year or two. By default they broadcast an open guest ssid which, like you said, doesn't seem very secure.

Yeah, That's why I'm definitely interested in this, i've heard great things about the Motorola surfboard modem, and I thought it would be great paired with a custom router in my networking closet, then I could hook up a wireless access point for wifi. 

[Sydlexic Deity]

4 minutes ago, RangerLunis said:

So right now I use comcast cable internet at 75mbps (unfortunately) and I'm using their default modem/router. It doesn't seem very secure at all and I'd love to have my own modem and router.

 

I've heard benefits of building your own router, added protection through custom firewall and antivirus, caching your favorite websites.

 

So where would I begin in building my own router? What software could I use? It was my plan to run linux on it. 

 

Could I build my own modem as well? I'm not the most experienced in networking but i'm very interested in learning. 

I don't think your ISP would react very well to you making your own modem... Plus it would incredibly difficult to source.

As for the router, try here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/04/the-ars-guide-to-building-a-linux-router-from-scratch/

[RangerLunis]

2 minutes ago, Sydlexic Deity said:

I don't think your ISP would react very well to you making your own modem... Plus it would incredibly difficult to source.

As for the router, try here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/04/the-ars-guide-to-building-a-linux-router-from-scratch/

Thanks for this, i'll definitely take a look. For the modem I was thinking a Motorola surfboard modem. 

[Sydlexic Deity]

1 minute ago, RangerLunis said:

Thanks for this, i'll definitely take a look. For the modem I was thinking a Motorola surfboard modem. 

I would basically just go with whatever modem you can find (as long as it's of reasonable quality).
There's nothing in a modem that ultimately changes anything about your internet - it's just the way you connect/communicate with your ISP - Hence why you wouldn't be allowed to make your own, in-case you try to subtly 'steal' internet from them. I know you'd never do that though

[RangerLunis]

1 minute ago, Sydlexic Deity said:

I would basically just go with whatever modem you can find (as long as it's of reasonable quality).
There's nothing in a modem that ultimately changes anything about your internet - it's just the way you connect/communicate with your ISP - Hence why you wouldn't be allowed to make your own, in-case you try to subtly 'steal' internet from them. I know you'd never do that though

;D Yeah, motorola surfboard sounds the best to me. Thanks for everything! 

[Apathetik]

You've got three main routes. The easiest of the two is to get a router that supports flashing to an open source firmware, DDWRT / OpenWRT / Tomato are the main ones that come to mind (I've been using the shibby mod of Tomato on a Linksys E2500 since my custom built router died). This is probably the most no-nonsense approach and should have you up and running relatively quickly and painlessly assuming you follow the flashing instructions very carefully. The one major downside is the potential to brick the hardware from an improper flash. Though from what I've read, this is getting much harder to botch from the early days of flashing routers.

 

The next option would be to slap together an old batch of computer parts and throw a pre-packaged router/firewall solution like Pfsense onto it. For a moderate to small home network, you shouldn't need crazy powerful hardware to run this and prevent the router from bottlenecking communication on the network (I had Pfsense running on an old P4 just a few years ago). This option can be much better in terms of functionality, and customization. But is also arguably more advanced in terms of setup and management. A down side to this, is that if you don't have a spare computer laying around. You'll have to do some shopping and build one. But if you get used hardware for this you can potentially make it cheaper than buying a nice router and flashing to open source firmware. Another thing to consider is that you will almost certainly need to buy a network switch separately, and if you're using older hardware. Probably at least a gbit NIC as well as having to buy a wireless card if you need wireless access for your network.

 

The last option is to build a firewall / router solution from scratch. Like the previous Pfsense solution you'll need a spare computer (or to buy one) that can run everything. As well as the network switch, wireless card(s), and possibly a NIC. This is probably by far the most advanced option. But with most things, with being an advanced option. You have a lot more freedom of choice and control than the other solutions. I won't go too far into detail hear. Because it seems Sydlexic already linked a pretty good article involving it. 

Edited May 26, 2016 by Apathetik
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