Router recommendations for VPN client please?

the1lemming

Hello

I very much would appreciate recommendations of a router that will allow DD-WRT to be installed along with a powerful enough processor to handle encryption?

At the moment I have a Cisco Linksys E4200 and it gives me about 8Mb/s download speeds on my cable broadband.

I just bought a Linksys WRT3200ACM. It was a doddle to install DD-WRT and I was able it increase my broadband download speeds to roughly 30Mb/s. However that was with a wired connection. Sadly the WiFi part of the router was useless as it did not work for more than a couple of minutes and it has gone back to Mr Amazon.

I may have had a duff router, but I would rather try a different modle rather than going for a replacement.

So, I'd appreciate any WiFi routers with processors roughly in the same ballpark but with reliable WiFi?

Cheers

go558a83nk

build or buy a machine with a CPU with AES-NI to run pfsense and follow the guide in this forum. keep your wifi router to use as a wifi access point (not router mode).

the1lemming

build or buy a machine with a CPU with AES-NI to run pfsense and follow the guide in this forum. keep your wifi router to use as a wifi access point (not router mode).

Hello,

Could you please expand on that reply?

I have limited technical knowledge but I am willing to give anything a go once I have an understanding of what is needed. I also have a spare barebones computer gathering dust with a e8500 processor and a couple of gig of RAM which I'm guessing is up to more than the task of encryption.

It would need a ssd drive and other stuff. I just don't know what the other stuff would be though.

nick75

Hi!

Hello,
build or buy a machine with a CPU with AES-NI to run pfsense and follow the guide in this forum. keep your wifi router to use as a wifi access point (not router mode).

Could you please expand on that reply?

This is the specification page for your Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8500.

At the bottom, you'll see:

Intel® AES New Instructions No

You'll need a CPU with AES-NI otherwise you'll get poor performance.

the1lemming

Hi!

Hello,
build or buy a machine with a CPU with AES-NI to run pfsense and follow the guide in this forum. keep your wifi router to use as a wifi access point (not router mode).

Could you please expand on that reply?

This is the specification page for your Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8500.
At the bottom, you'll see:
>
Intel® AES New Instructions No
You'll need a CPU with AES-NI otherwise you'll get poor performance.

Hello

Would it be possible for you to suggest a shopping list of the stuff I would need to create a computer/firewall/router?

If possible could you suggest a processor that I could replace my ageing e8500 processor.

Otherwise, I am still open to suggestions for a suitable router for the task of VPN Client.

I am completely new to all this and have rudimentary IT skills limited to building two computers, however with gentle coaching, guidance and instruction I am willing to have a go at anything.

go558a83nk

I don't know what kinds of stores are available to you. Where I am I can go to a store that sells all the parts and use their help to find parts that work with eachother within my budget. I simply just use my phone to look up information about parts if I need to. For example, to make sure the CPU I'm looking at has AES-NI.

The pfsense store sells hardware that is suitable, but for many people it's out of their budget. I don't know what kind of person you are but there are many who can't see spending more than $100 on something that they intend to use for years. That's crazy in my opinion.

the1lemming

I don't know what kinds of stores are available to you. Where I am I can go to a store that sells all the parts and use their help to find parts that work with eachother within my budget. I simply just use my phone to look up information about parts if I need to. For example, to make sure the CPU I'm looking at has AES-NI.

The pfsense store sells hardware that is suitable, but for many people it's out of their budget. I don't know what kind of person you are but there are many who can't see spending more than $100 on something that they intend to use for years. That's crazy in my opinion.

Hello,

I very much would appreciate any recomendations for a router or even a mini PC with the required processor inside it.

If you recomend a Mini PC then I will get a SSD for it. From what I have quickly read on the web, a Mini PC is the best bet, although I'm not sure how to solve the WiFi problem.

As for budget, I don't want the most expensive and I don't want the cheapest, I just want something that can compete or even beat the retail routers out there. If you pin me down on a budget then I would say around £200 + the cost of an SSD.

Cheers

zhang888

SSD is not required for pfSense router, in my case it runs off a mini USB 16GB that cost around $5.

Since there is no disk I/O at all this can save up on costs if you do large deployments of such platform in multiple places.

the1lemming

Hello

I very much would appreciate recommendations of a router that will allow DD-WRT to be installed along with a powerful enough processor to handle encryption?

Hello all,

It would seem that I am getting confused by the comments on here. Please excuse my non IT credentials. Many on this site are highly skiiled and highly qualified in a professional field. This means that many of your replies are quite short and without further background in the IT field too cryptic for me to comprehend or interpret.

I am just a little lemming who wants to get better broadband speeds from a router once it is converted to OpenVPN. At the moment my current router does not have enough grunt to process the encryption, which is why I am after either a suitable router or small computer which I can buy.

Please forgive my confusion, I very much respect all the advice however it is presented in such a way as to be above my skill set. Would it be possible to reply in layman terms so that I can try to grasp and understand your advice?

I am just after something out-of-the-box ready for DD-WRT flashing or a shopping list of computer components to put together a computer.

Cheers

go558a83nk

https://store.pfsense.org/SG-2220/

you might just go with this. it is out of stock right now but seems to be within your budget.

the1lemming

https://store.pfsense.org/SG-2220/

you might just go with this. it is out of stock right now but seems to be within your budget.

It just so happens that I was looking at something like this on an Ars Technica website where somebody made such a device.

Once the product comes back in stock, what other stuff would I need to buy so that I could connect at least 4 wired devices?

And may I ask how I would solve the WiFi issue?

Would I be able to adapt my current WiFi router for the WiFi duties?

Cheers

go558a83nk

https://store.pfsense.org/SG-2220/

you might just go with this. it is out of stock right now but seems to be within your budget.
It just so happens that I was looking at something like this on an Ars Technica website where somebody made such a device.

Once the product comes back in stock, what other stuff would I need to buy so that I could connect at least 4 wired devices?

And may I ask how I would solve the WiFi issue?
Would I be able to adapt my current WiFi router for the WiFi duties?

Cheers

they have devices with more LAN ports if you want to spend the money. or buy a cheap, unmanaged switch (gigabit).

put your current wifi router in access point mode or whatever that brand may call it and connect it to the firewall device that you purchase.

the1lemming

https://store.pfsense.org/SG-2220/

you might just go with this. it is out of stock right now but seems to be within your budget.
It just so happens that I was looking at something like this on an Ars Technica website where somebody made such a device.

Once the product comes back in stock, what other stuff would I need to buy so that I could connect at least 4 wired devices?

And may I ask how I would solve the WiFi issue?
Would I be able to adapt my current WiFi router for the WiFi duties?

Cheers

they have devices with more LAN ports if you want to spend the money. or buy a cheap, unmanaged switch (gigabit).

put your current wifi router in access point mode or whatever that brand may call it and connect it to the firewall device that you purchase.

Good evening,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and offer advice.

Seeing as the router you gave a link to is out of stock at the moment, would it be possible for you to suggest a product that I could buy at the moment, even if it is from Amazon or Alibaba?

I am slowly beginning to understand the process. So far, I need something with processing grunt, a gigabit switch and my current router to perform WiFi duties.

Would any of the suggestions on this link be a good option?

http://www.toptenselect.com/top-10-best-vpn-routers/

Cheers

the1lemming

Well I took a punt and bought another router as I did not want to take the risk of buying a computer and not being able to configure it properly AND then having to buy another router.

Just thought I'd let people know that I finally settled on a Linksys WRT1900ACS Version 2 router. It only took a couple of minutes to flash with the DD-WRT firmware.

it would seem that this new router, acting as an OpenVPN client gives me encrypted download speeds which are exactly the same speeds as my desktop computer using the Eddie software.

My tests were quite rudimentary, however the results were consistant. I used the same website of speedtest.net. I used the same IP server for the encrypted tests and I used the same Port for the Eddie software and the router.

All tests were with a wired connection to my router.

Running my computer through my ISP, with NO encryption I got download speeds of........77.42Mbs

Running my computer with Eddie software I got encryption speeds of................................72.99Mbs

Running my Linksys WRT1900ACS router doing all the encryption I got speeds of...........72.96Mbs

As far as I am aware I had my router configured correctly nd got confirmation from the AirVPN Support staff.

It would seem that my Linksys Router is as quick as my computer, which has an i5 quad-core processor and shed load of RAM, at encrypting my internet activities.

go558a83nk

Well I took a punt and bought another router as I did not want to take the risk of buying a computer and not being able to configure it properly AND then having to buy another router.

Just thought I'd let people know that I finally settled on a Linksys WRT1900ACS Version 2 router. It only took a couple of minutes to flash with the DD-WRT firmware.

it would seem that this new router, acting as an OpenVPN client gives me encrypted download speeds which are exactly the same speeds as my desktop computer using the Eddie software.

My tests were quite rudimentary, however the results were consistant. I used the same website of speedtest.net. I used the same IP server for the encrypted tests and I used the same Port for the Eddie software and the router.
All tests were with a wired connection to my router.

Running my computer through my ISP, with NO encryption I got download speeds of........77.42Mbs
Running my computer with Eddie software I got encryption speeds of................................72.99Mbs
Running my Linksys WRT1900ACS router doing all the encryption I got speeds of...........72.96Mbs

As far as I am aware I had my router configured correctly nd got confirmation from the AirVPN Support staff.

It would seem that my Linksys Router is as quick as my computer, which has an i5 quad-core processor and shed load of RAM, at encrypting my internet activities.

your max line speed is the limiting factor but, no, the router isn't as fast as your i5 most likely. Anyway, that router runs at 1.6ghz so I suppose that speed may be possible. have you confirmed the VPN is working by testing at ipleak.net? I'm a little suspicious as routers don't usually get that high a speed with openvpn.

the1lemming

I too, was suspicious and could not believe the speeds I got compared to my desktop computer with a processor and RAM far superior to the router. But the figures don't lie and I even asked AirVPN Support Team to confirm that I actually had set my router up correctly.

My router gave the same download speeds as my desktop computer running the Eddie software.

BorisGr

Thanks @the1lemming for reporting your experience with the linksys model.

Did anyone give the netgar r7800 a try using dd-wrt and airvpn? This device has a 1,7 ghz cpu.

ValfarEinWindir

Hi,

I'm using the same Linksys WRT1900ACS V2 router, and I can confirm a top download speed of around 100Mbit/sec, but it's not consistent, as sometimes it goes down to 70 for instance and then it goes up again, and so on. I'm on a 200Mbit connection. I suppose here a PC with pfsense would do the difference. I might try it in the future. I've never tested Eddie. It's of no use for me at the moment.

Nonetheless, my OpenVPN connection is not properly configured. It constantly gets me the error 'N write UDPv4: Message too large (code=90)'. The staff advised playing with mssfix values. I've tried values form 1450 down to 1000 in 25 increments and still had no luck. Have also tried a few random values from bellow 1000 and I still get the same error. Perhaps that's the reason the download speed fluctuates. I'm talking about real life torrent downloading speeds, not speed tests. Not sure what do to next.

I can confirm I've got no DNS leaks.

I'm using the latest stable Kong version of DD-WRT, from this year (January).

lostboy

Sorry, just seen this post and would have recommended the 1200AC or 1900ACS units. The Linksys 1900ACS is a newer version of what I use, the Linksys 1200AC (with DD-WRT flashed) .

I believe all the features are identical between 1200 and 1900, but the 1200 is currently 50% less than the OP's 1900ACS if anyone is looking for a cheaper alternative, albeit with a trade off of slower speed and less memory.

I get 48-52mbits/sec over wifi over Air and it has been rock solid. Speed is slighter higher over wired ethernet. You can also a attach a USB drive / device and provide NAS shares.

I had a less than satisfactory (and therefore brief) experience using a Asus RTU66 which was slow over Air (max 28-30MPS) and crashed frequently.

Vimes

I use a Netgear R7000 router, dual core 1ghz, flashed with an Asus Merlin firmware and whilst the UI is nice i have to use the Eddie client for my downloads and maximum throughout of around 75mbits/s as the router can't sustain that speed.

I am amazed that the Linksys WRT1900ACS had been able to perform so well with AirVPN and encryption. As that router is still ARM based and so didn't support any AES instructions I assumed that a pfsense x86 box was my only real hardware choice.

I didn't really want another box as i would have still needed the router as a WiFi connection and pfsense can be kinda picky as well as my brain is a little feeble to configure it optimally.

I wonder if the Llinksys WRT3200ACM would perform as well as the other 1900ACS with its dual core 1.8ghz ARM processor..?

EDIT:

Reading up about the newer 3200 and it seems that at the moment it is a very mixed bag in terms of DD-WRT support and is best avoided.

Still it would be good to know what sort of CPU load it places on the 1900ACS when downloading at the speeds noted in this thread.

the1lemming

I use a Netgear R7000 router, dual core 1ghz, flashed with an Asus Merlin firmware and whilst the UI is nice i have to use the Eddie client for my downloads and maximum throughout of around 75mbits/s as the router can't sustain that speed.

I am amazed that the Linksys WRT1900ACS had been able to perform so well with AirVPN and encryption. As that router is still ARM based and so didn't support any AES instructions I assumed that a pfsense x86 box was my only real hardware choice.

I didn't really want another box as i would have still needed the router as a WiFi connection and pfsense can be kinda picky as well as my brain is a little feeble to configure it optimally.

I wonder if the Llinksys WRT3200ACM would perform as well as the other 1900ACS with its dual core 1.8ghz ARM processor..?

EDIT:

Reading up about the newer 3200 and it seems that at the moment it is a very mixed bag in terms of DD-WRT support and is best avoided.

Still it would be good to know what sort of CPU load it places on the 1900ACS when downloading at the speeds noted in this thread.

Hello

Please accept my apologies for taking so long to reply. I've been at work and that took up my time.

I'll start off by saying that I did own a Linksys 3200 initially but I could only get the router to work with a wired connection. The wifi did not work at all, so I sent the router back to Mr Amazon.

In your edit you asked about "Still it would be good to know what sort of CPU load it places on the 1900ACS when downloading at the speeds noted in this thread."

I will be honest and say that I do not know anything about this, how to check or how to test.

However I am more than willing to do these tests with my Linksys 1900ACS. Please let me know how to go about the tests and where to find the results?

Cheers

Vimes

I use a Netgear R7000 router, dual core 1ghz, flashed with an Asus Merlin firmware and whilst the UI is nice i have to use the Eddie client for my downloads and maximum throughout of around 75mbits/s as the router can't sustain that speed.

I am amazed that the Linksys WRT1900ACS had been able to perform so well with AirVPN and encryption. As that router is still ARM based and so didn't support any AES instructions I assumed that a pfsense x86 box was my only real hardware choice.

I didn't really want another box as i would have still needed the router as a WiFi connection and pfsense can be kinda picky as well as my brain is a little feeble to configure it optimally.

I wonder if the Llinksys WRT3200ACM would perform as well as the other 1900ACS with its dual core 1.8ghz ARM processor..?

EDIT:

Reading up about the newer 3200 and it seems that at the moment it is a very mixed bag in terms of DD-WRT support and is best avoided.

Still it would be good to know what sort of CPU load it places on the 1900ACS when downloading at the speeds noted in this thread.
Hello

Please accept my apologies for taking so long to reply. I've been at work and that took up my time.

I'll start off by saying that I did own a Linksys 3200 initially but I could only get the router to work with a wired connection. The wifi did not work at all, so I sent the router back to Mr Amazon.

In your edit you asked about "Still it would be good to know what sort of CPU load it places on the 1900ACS when downloading at the speeds noted in this thread."

I will be honest and say that I do not know anything about this, how to check or how to test.

However I am more than willing to do these tests with my Linksys 1900ACS. Please let me know how to go about the tests and where to find the results?

Cheers

Thanks for your reply.

Seeing that as the firmware for the 3200 is still on the first revision and many other people who have bought that router are having WiFi issues I have decided to avoid it.

I had overclocked my R7000 router but due to stability issues, and being pushed to its maximum, I decided to look elsewhere.

Looking at another consumer based router has its befits but typically costs and overall performance with a VPN encrypted data stream wasn't one of them.

I have decided to not bother investing in another consumer router but I'll use the R7000 as a wireless action point.

I have ordered an ITX motherboard with a dual core CPU, load is typically 9w or so. It supports full AES instructions for hardware decryption from AirVPN.

With an ITX case and other goodies, including a dual port Intel LAN card, on the way I should be ok in terms of using pfsense and a homebuilt router.

Whether my rather weak and feeble brain will be able to sort that out is another matter but if it works out fine it should offer much more than a consumer based router for our needs.

the1lemming

Hello Vimes,

Thanks for replying and I'm glad that you have a system that sounds like it will be like the proverbial sliding off a shovel when up-and-running.

Just as an academic exercise I am more than willing to do some speed tests on my consumer router. Just let me know how you you would like the tests doing and I will give them a try with my router and ISP cable speeds at 70Mb/s before encryption.

At the moment I do not see any change in broadband speeds while using my router as a VPN Client when connected to an Ethernet cable. However my Wi-Fi speeds hover round 46Mb/s, depending on how close I am to the router and what obstacles there are such as walls.

Vimes

Hello Vimes,

Thanks for replying and I'm glad that you have a system that sounds like it will be like the proverbial sliding off a shovel when up-and-running.

Just as an academic exercise I am more than willing to do some speed tests on my consumer router. Just let me know how you you would like the tests doing and I will give them a try with my router and ISP cable speeds at 70Mb/s before encryption.

At the moment I do not see any change in broadband speeds while using my router as a VPN Client when connected to an Ethernet cable. However my Wi-Fi speeds hover round 46Mb/s, depending on how close I am to the router and what obstacles there are such as walls.

I might indeed come back to you and ask about your speed and connection whilst running your AirVPN connection directly from your router.

You had done a great job already when you had written.....

Running my computer through my ISP, with NO encryption I got download speeds of........77.42Mbs
Running my computer with Eddie software I got encryption speeds of................................72.99Mbs
Running my Linksys WRT1900ACS router doing all the encryption I got speeds of...........72.96Mbs

With my router....

....I get the chance to see the CPU utilisation. With an OpenVPN client running (which you must have for AirVPN) my CPU utilization would be around 98% or so to try and keep up with my 75Mb/s connection.

This was with the router 1Ghz overclocked to 1.4Ghz. Overclocking to 1.2Ghz and it was a little more stable but slower. However it would be only time before the router would reboot.

The WRT1900ACS does seem to be quite capable with your connection for your needs.

I had got used to the AsusWRT-Merlin UI and the ability to easily setup policy based routing. Then I could have dumb boxes, like Freeview and TV boxes, to go through the WAN and PC's, phones and tablets with a static IP to go through the VPN.

now all of that is about to change with pfsense, if it doesn't work out then I have bought a decent HTPC and I'll shop for the 1900ACS

Thanks again for your help, most appreciated.

Vimes

Just thought of a question....

Are you using the std firmware with the router or DD-WRT...?

Also how easy was it to setup AirVPN as a client and can it be policy based or is it a matter of all traffic or none, through the VPN....?

Again thanks for your advice with the 1900ACS.

Router recommendations for VPN client please?

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