Re: Looking for Router Suggestions

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Author: Dazed_75
Date:  
To: Main PLUG discussion list
Subject: Re: Looking for Router Suggestions
Nope. I followed the link from the earlier message
https://www.flashrouters.com/netgear-wnr3500l-ddwrt-router.php and read
this on their web site:

Note: VPN capabilities are only available to VPN subscribers. We work with
> OverPlayVPN <http://www.flashrouters.com/overplay/> to make this process
> simple and easy for beginners. A DD-WRT router may be used to set up a VPN
> connection from a different provider, but only if they offer support. We
> currently will only preset the router for OverPlayVPN<http://www.flashrouters.com/overplay/>users.
>


The I followed the link to OverPlayVPN and read about the services and
costs. I know dd-wrt will do OpenVPN without a commercial service. I just
was concerned you had not noticed that blurb of theirs.

On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 3:36 PM, Mark Phillips <>wrote:

> Larry,
>
> I queried FlashRouters if they require any vpn or dynamic dns services, or
> if they modify the dd-wrt firmware in any way, and got this response:
>
> "VPN and DNS service are not required at all, however it is quite simple
> to integrate them with DD-WRT routers.
> We load tested, stable DD-WRT builds onto the device, we do not modify the
> actual firmware."
>
> Have you had a bad experience with FlashRouters?
>
> Mark
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Dazed_75 <> wrote:
>
>> Be sure to look at the fine print. They are setting that router to work
>> with a specific provider of what I think is dynamic DNS and offer special
>> encryption at fee that can come to about $10/month.
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 10:34 AM, Mark Phillips <
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> James,
>>>
>>> It sounds like a fun project! I am very tempted.......
>>>
>>> However, I found this one -
>>> https://www.flashrouters.com/netgear-wnr3500l-ddwrt-router.php for $80.
>>> It has wireless, but I can just turn it off. A 480 MHz processor, and
>>> dd-wrt installed and tested with openvpn. I haven't priced out your parts
>>> list, but I would be surprised if it comes to less than $80. Also, I think
>>> the netgear router will consume less power and space in my crowded cable
>>> "closet" (aka the top shelf in my cupboard).
>>>
>>> Answers to your questions -
>>> I need a total of 20 gigabit LAN ports for my network. Currently, I have
>>> two 8 port gigabit switches, and 4 10/100 ports on my current BEFSX41
>>> router. I want to upgrade the router for open vpn, and gigabit speeds. So
>>> the router is also a switch.
>>>
>>> What is the advantage of running the whole thing virtualized?
>>>
>>> But still, the fun of building this little project may outweigh the high
>>> costs ($ and amps).....
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 11:10 PM, James Dugger <>wrote:
>>>
>>>> MSI Micro ATX board with Athlon II processor w/ 4 PCI slots (or 2 PCI
>>>> and 2 PCIE)
>>>> 2 GB RAM
>>>> 4 gigabit NIC cards
>>>> IDE or SATA to Compact Flash Adaptor
>>>> Compact flash 2GB memory - install Linux or Router based distro on CF
>>>> card or USB memory stick
>>>> External power 120v to 12v transformer w/ mono power converter
>>>> Small micro case
>>>> Set BIOS to boot CF Card or USB Memory stick
>>>> Ubuntu 10.04 or 12.04 LTS server minimum install
>>>> - Install Openssh
>>>> - Firewall
>>>> - OpenVPN
>>>> - iptables
>>>>
>>>> Basically you are building an edge router/vpnserver. There are a lot
>>>> of instructions to build a high end router/openvpn system using a minimum
>>>> box configuration. The mobo chip and RAM maybe overkill but smaller ATOM
>>>> based boards probably won't have 4 PCI slots. you should be able to pick
>>>> up these for very reasonable cost compared to a higher end router. Do you
>>>> need all 4 - 1 gigabit connections to the router or can the connections to
>>>> the VPN be shared off of one or two NICs? OpenVPN needs a minimum of 2
>>>> NIC's (Unless you have set up virtual network adaptors and bridged them
>>>> together). Are you dedicating each user to a NIC for speed? If not you
>>>> could allocate the 4 users to a NIC and connect the router/vpnserver to a 4
>>>> port gigabit switch.
>>>>
>>>> I'm sure there are a number of the ways to do this and there even might
>>>> be fairly high end router for a good deal but most will also have built in
>>>> wireless as well. to find a dedicated wired only higher end router you may
>>>> pay as much as the system I just outlined and it would be no where near the
>>>> capabilities of the above system unless it was a lot more expensive.
>>>>
>>>> I'm sure that there are others here with a lot more experience with
>>>> consumer and enterprise level equipment then myself but I have had success
>>>> with the above. Also keep in mind that the Athlon II is 64bit with SVM
>>>> built in for virtualization. With additional memory you could run the
>>>> whole thing virtualized using KVM or VMware.
>>>>
>>>> Good Luck!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 7:53 PM, Mark Phillips <
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I am looking for a router with the following characteristics:
>>>>> * No wifi
>>>>> * 4 gigabit LAN ports
>>>>> * 1 WAN port to connect to my Cox Cable Modem
>>>>> * 400 MHZ+ processor so I can run OpenVPN SSL for a max of 4 remote
>>>>> users to access the LAN at the same time.
>>>>>
>>>>> The last point comes from reading various forums about running openvpn
>>>>> on the router, and they all say get the fastest possible cpu. I probably
>>>>> have to run dd-wrt on the router to get openvpn running on the router, but
>>>>> I am open to other options (most of the open source router packages support
>>>>> openvpn, so anyone will do).
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>> Mark
>>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------------------------------------
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> James
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry
>>
>> Please protect my address like I protect yours. When sending messages to
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>>
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>
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--
Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry

Please protect my address like I protect yours. When sending messages to
multiple recipients, always use the BCC: (Blind carbon copy) and not To: or
CC:. Remove all addresses from the message body before sending a Forwarded
message. This can prevent spy programs capturing addresses from the
recipient list and message body.
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