• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Moving from pfsense to consumer router for home use?

K

Keylimesoda

Member
A couple years ago I moved from a DGL-4500 to pfsense running on an old Core 2 Duo laptop.

I've been pleased with the throughput and QOS of the pfsense, simultaneously managing multiple netflix streams, bittorrent, VPN, browsing, online gaming, and so on without a hiccup. I feel like I'm getting full value from my 50MB internet connection.

However, the management of the pfsense is starting to be a pain. UPnP, content/ad filtering, parental controls, ZeroConf each turn into afternoon projects, rather than simple configurations.

I don't need wireless, as it's already handled by a dlink DAP-2553 over POE.

Is there a consumer class router (or software) that can stably manage all my bandwidth and connection requirements while providing better consumer-class features?
 
Last edited:
you could load something like Untangle on your current hardware

long answer: you sacrifice the extreme configurability and capabilities of pfsense for ease of configuration
 
Last edited:
Keylimesoda said:
Long answer?

🙂
Click to expand...

Most consumers have simple needs and place a priority on low price, and the consumer router market reflects this. Your Core 2 Duo is orders of magnitude more powerful than even the highest-end consumer router, and it is easily able to handle more computationally-intensive tasks like QoS and content filtering that would cause a consumer router to struggle, especially given how much bandwidth you have. As far as functionality and ease-of-use, pfSense is probably the most feature-complete free router available right now, so other offerings are either going to be more complex or less polished.

There are business-grade routers like a FortiGate-40C that have the functionality and performance you seek, while also being well-supported, but the cost is substantially higher than a typical consumer router.
 
theevilsharpie said:
Most consumers have simple needs and place a priority on low price, and the consumer router market reflects this. Your Core 2 Duo is orders of magnitude more powerful than even the highest-end consumer router, and it is easily able to handle more computationally-intensive tasks like QoS and content filtering that would cause a consumer router to struggle, especially given how much bandwidth you have. As far as functionality and ease-of-use, pfSense is probably the most feature-complete free router available right now, so other offerings are either going to be more complex or less polished.

There are business-grade routers like a FortiGate-40C that have the functionality and performance you seek, while also being well-supported, but the cost is substantially higher than a typical consumer router.
Click to expand...

This.
 
With having a box dedicated as the Firewall & Router what type of networking card would best suit such a setup?

Just lookin for food for thought for when I eventually upgrade my platform. On the same topic, would a Northwood 478 socket Rambus system with ECC Memory be up to par for a high traffic network?
 
Keylimesoda,

>However, the management of the pfsense is starting to be a pain. UPnP, content/ad filtering, parental controls, ZeroConf each turn into afternoon projects, rather than simple configurations.

I'm very surprised by this - could you elaborate? When I've used pfsense, it's been as straightforward and simple as it can be and still offer those features. Complex features require complex configuration, but at least pfsense hides a lot of the config file syntax / having to set up multiple config files annoyances away.

>Is there a consumer class router (or software) that can stably manage all my bandwidth and connection requirements while providing better consumer-class features?

Stably providing consumer-class features and managing your bandwidth, yes, no problem. Providing filtering, parental controls (that work), and zeroconf? No, not really. Complex features are generally either just not supported, or poorly, in consumer-grade products.

You could get a SOHO router and run DD-WRT or OpenWRT, but I don't think you're going to end up with something fundamentally easier to work with. Unless you've just really had bad luck with pfsense, in which case maybe something just different might be worth trying.

BTRY,

>With having a box dedicated as the Firewall & Router what type of networking card would best suit such a setup?

Anything modern is fine. Intel & Broadcom NICs are better than the rest. Intel NICs are cheap if you want to upgrade.

>would a Northwood 478 socket Rambus system with ECC Memory be up to par for a high traffic network?

While a P4 Northwood is probably fine - depending on what you mean by a high traffic network - that solution would use a LOT of power relative to its performance. Probably not a good choice for 24/7 gear.
 
I know cmetz. The original poster could disable these options and never touch the router.

I use pfense, unless you're using multiple ISPs/MLPPP/multi WAN, its very simple too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top