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Comment by hi-v-rocknroll | Hacker News Reader

0. Don't use a garbage retail or ISP-provided, closed-source router.

Here's one option:

https://shop.opnsense.com/product/dec740-opnsense-desktop-se...

1. Suggesting turning off IPv6 is ridiculous security theater. It's a known quantity deployed at scale. Dual stack or turn in your "hacker cred" card now. ;)

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Oh these are nice, I didn't realise they'd updated them with 2.5Gbit ports :)

For something a bit more affordable, the Turris Omnia or Mox are nice options too - https://www.turris.com/

I'm not the biggest fan of OpenWRT et al (or pfSense/OPNsense, for that matter), but they're reasonably friendly for a technical user.

Personally, I still really like a small, low power x86 box running normal Linux as a firewall & router. Sadly the options are either very expensive or from questionable sources (eg aliexpress x86 low power machines are common). I miss PC Engines - https://www.pcengines.ch/eol.htm :/

€749,00

gulp

Perhaps a more affordable option, find some hardware that runs OpenWRT [0].

[0] - https://openwrt.org/toh/start

I run a cheap tiny PC and OpenBSD, if you want a more hands-on config process.

Maybe more fun than practical, given the performance you'll see [1], but OpenBSD has a mips/octeon port which runs on some of Ubiquiti's hw [0].

[0] - https://www.openbsd.org/octeon.html

[1] - https://kernelpanic.life/hardware/openbsd-router-benchmarks....

Fanless 10GbE is pricy.

OPNsense is based on FreeBSD, runs on $100 micro PCs with PCIe quad NIC, https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimic...

Exactly what I did/do. I vouch for this option.

It's a worthy investment because it's not a retail throwaway item. Also, it comes with a business OPNsense license with 1 year of business updates. After that, it can either stay on that series, run the FOSS version, or one can purchase an S&S uplift later to get time period of additional business updates. Plus, the 2 10 GbE ports can do 10G switching more-or-less flat out (not necessarily over a WG or OpenVPN tunnel though). Until you get 20G internet for whatever reason, it's the last home/small business router you'll ever buy.

I'm no expert, but my suggestion for an OPNsense box: https://www.protectli.com/

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