DIY modem/router/wifi

[ERT4]

Just wondering if this was even possible, my family uses a lot of wifi and they need over 2gbps on 5ghz or they would get slow connect. I just need to know if there was a way to make your own modem/router/wifi so is there a pci coax and can you use a pci wifi card to send out data for wifi?

[WereCatf]

15 minutes ago, ERT4 said:

my family uses a lot of wifi and they need over 2gbps on 5ghz or they would get slow connect.

I very much doubt that, but go ahead and explain your rationale.

16 minutes ago, ERT4 said:

so is there a pci coax

Unless you're willing to buy enterprise-grade hardware at thousands of bucks, no. Besides, it's much simpler to just use a pre-existing cable-modem and just connect to it over Ethernet and have the PC function as a router instead.

17 minutes ago, ERT4 said:

can you use a pci wifi card to send out data for wifi?

If you mean whether one can use a WiFi-card as an access-point, yes, it is possible.

[ERT4]

5 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I very much doubt that, but go ahead and explain your rationale.

23 minutes ago, ERT4 said:

i don't really need to explain it that wasn't my question.

 

6 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Unless you're willing to buy enterprise-grade hardware at thousands of bucks, no. Besides, it's much simpler to just use a pre-existing cable-modem and just connect to it over Ethernet and have the PC function as a router instead.

24 minutes ago, ERT4 said:

can you give link?

 

6 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

If you mean whether one can use a WiFi-card as an access-point, yes, it is possible.

also would be nice for a link.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, ERT4 said:

can you give link?

No, I don't deal with enterprise-level hardware.

2 minutes ago, ERT4 said:

also would be nice for a link.

Link to what? A WiFi-card? Practically all modern WiFi-cards can be used as APs, there's no point in linking to any specific ones.

[ERT4]

Just now, WereCatf said:

Link to what? A WiFi-card? Practically all modern WiFi-cards can be used as APs, there's no point in linking to any specific ones.

no, to make a wifi card a ap

[WereCatf]

Just now, ERT4 said:

no, to make a wifi card a ap

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessAccessPoint

[ERT4]

4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessAccessPoint

thanks

[brwainer]

When trying to do DIY networking you have to think about each piece separately - modem, router, and switching/wireless.

 

You didn’t say what type of internet you have so I’ll answer the modem part of it for everything. There are no PCI/PCIe Coax modems. There are some for DSL (mostly the older types that don’t get above 15Mb/s). There are plenty of solutions for cellular modem connectivity. Assuming you have coax (DOCSIS) internet, your only option is an independant modem like a Motorola SurfBoard.

 

For DIY routing you can use any old computer with at least two ethernet ports, or buy dedicated router computers (x86 embedded systems with often 4-6 ethernet ports), or buy dedicated routing hardware. For the first two options you would generally use an open source router operating system like PFSense, OPNSense, any many others, or you can start with almost any operating system and build up the router from scratch. A basic router only needs 3 things - the inside and outside interfaces, NAT to allow all your inside devices to use the single public IP (often implemented as a firewall rule in an SPI firewall), and a DHCP server. If using dedicated router hardware, from companies like Ubiquiti, Mikrotik, Cisco, and many others, then you will use whatever software it comes with.

 

For switching, you can do it truly DIY by bridging multiple ports together, especially on the embedded router systems that have 4+ ethernet ports, but you will have higher latency (less than 1ms but still higher) than using dedicated switches that are designed for this purpose.

 

For wireless you generally should expect to use separate APs rather than PCIe or USB wireless adaptors directly on your router, because the DIY operating systems like PFSense generally don’t have the best wireless support and features - but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. An option for APs that doesn’t involve dedicated AP units is to take a regular wireless router and just turn off the DHCP server in it, and ignore the WAN port. Congratulations you now have an AP/switch.

 

If you were looking to have an all-in-one unit, I recommend buying a premade wireless router from any number of vendors, and flashing it with an open source firmware like Tomato or LEDE (OpenWRT). This is an overall better value than putting together all the bits separately. But you’ll still need a separate modem.

[beersykins]

8 hours ago, ERT4 said:

i don't really need to explain it that wasn't my question.

He's just trying to help, since all of your information is either inaccurate or doesn't make sense.  Nobody 'needs 2 gbps over wifi or slow connect', therefore you have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Please clarify your requirements so we can make real suggestions.  Trying to rig up something that you aren't familiar with is going to run like crap if you even get it to work at all.

 

Save yourself the effort and just buy whatever wifi router meets your demands.  You'll spend less from mental anguish, time, and money perspectives.

[Donut417]

14 hours ago, ERT4 said:

Just wondering if this was even possible, my family uses a lot of wifi and they need over 2gbps on 5ghz or they would get slow connect. I just need to know if there was a way to make your own modem/router/wifi so is there a pci coax and can you use a pci wifi card to send out data for wifi?

NO. PCI Docsis cards are no longer made. The only one I have seen was from Docsis 2.0 and most of not all cable co's dont allow Docsis 2.0 gear on their network anymore. Also, there is no way your gonna get 2 Gbps on WiFi, not technically or remotely possible. 

 

I would suggested telling us

1) Who's your ISP

2) What package are you on

3) What are you looking to accomplish