Good router for security?

pete_c

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Good news @MythicFrost !!!

Best exercise here was to move away from a SOHO combo router, firewall, switch and WAP to an autonmous router/firewall.
 

MythicFrost

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Thanks! Yes, I'm looking forward to setting it all up. I think it's nice to understand how it all works... and to have control over it. Definitely will upgrade my gear in the future... better router, switches, or maybe PFSense. Thanks again for all the help everyone :)
 
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If you ever circle back to pfSense, if you don't want it to be a major learning curve/hobby effort, I would recommend buying their name brand hardware that comes pre-installed and you can get software/configuration support built-in for addl $50/year to give you the extra safety net.

From a pure performance/dollar their equipment is overpriced, that's why often you will get lots of recommendation to install it yourself on some low power PC, I have an i3 running 1G/1G WAN with 5 separate subnets and the computer hovers at 1-5% CPU (so it doesn't take much). But if you aren't primarily interested in learning networking, but want solid platform with lots of capabilities sometimes you save headaches by going with supported hardware platform. Keep backups of pfSense working configurations before making any significant changes, just trust me on this.

Also you can order directly from resellers in Australia, might help simplify import/taxes etc. Locate a Netgate Partner but still probably 200-300+ AUD

I also have some Ubiquity equipment (POE Switch, AP, Cloud Controller), and if you end up liking the Ubiquity config process/user interface you may be inclined to purchase more and more equipment from the Ubiquity eco-system. It won't always be the cheapest option, but the plug-and-play aspect can be nice for a general user. You will need to install their management software somewhere to navigate the Ubiquity configuration processes I believe.
 

MythicFrost

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If you ever circle back to pfSense, if you don't want it to be a major learning curve/hobby effort, I would recommend buying their name brand hardware that comes pre-installed and you can get software/configuration support built-in for addl $50/year to give you the extra safety net.

From a pure performance/dollar their equipment is overpriced, that's why often you will get lots of recommendation to install it yourself on some low power PC, I have an i3 running 1G/1G WAN with 5 separate subnets and the computer hovers at 1-5% CPU (so it doesn't take much). But if you aren't primarily interested in learning networking, but want solid platform with lots of capabilities sometimes you save headaches by going with supported hardware platform. Keep backups of pfSense working configurations before making any significant changes, just trust me on this.

Also you can order directly from resellers in Australia, might help simplify import/taxes etc. Locate a Netgate Partner but still probably 200-300+ AUD

I also have some Ubiquity equipment (POE Switch, AP, Cloud Controller), and if you end up liking the Ubiquity config process/user interface you may be inclined to purchase more and more equipment from the Ubiquity eco-system. It won't always be the cheapest option, but the plug-and-play aspect can be nice for a general user. You will need to install their management software somewhere to navigate the Ubiquity configuration processes I believe.
Cheers for the advice!

Yeah, I did notice that they sold devices with PFSense pre-installed but it was a little pricier than I was wanting.
To be honest, I'd probably go the DIY route with it just to better learn about networking stuff.
 
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