First, a hardware question. I’m looking for a computer to use as a… router? Louis calls it a router but it’s a computer that is upstream of my whole network and has two ethernet ports. And suggestions on this? Ideal amount or RAM? Ideal processor/speed? I have fiber internet, 10 gbps up and 10 gbps down, so I’m willing to spend a little more on higher bandwidth components. I’m assuming I won’t need a GPU.
Anyways, has anyone had a chance to look at his guide? It’s accompanied by two youtube videos that are about 7 hours each.
I don’t expect to do everything in his guide. I’d like to be able to VPN into my home network and SSH into some of my projects, use Immich, check out Plex or similar, and set up a NAS. Maybe other stuff after that but those are my main interests.
Any advice/links for a beginner are more than welcome.
Edit: thanks for all the info, lots of good stuff here. OpenWRT seems to be the most frequently recommended thing here so I’m looking into that now. Unfortunately my current router/AP (Asus AX6600) is not supported. I was hoping to not have to replace it, it was kinda pricey, I got it when I upgraded to fiber since it can do 6.6gbps. I’m currently looking into devices I can put upstream of my current hardware but I might have to bite the bullet and replace it.
Edit 2: This is looking pretty good right now.
A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don’t control.
Rules:
Be civil: we’re here to support and learn from one another. Insults won’t be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
No spam posting.
Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it’s not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.
Don’t duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.
Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).
No trolling.
Resources:
Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.
Questions? DM the mods!
For your router setup, it sounds like you’re looking for a high-performance system to act as a gateway for your entire network. Given your fiber internet connection (10 Gbps up/down), you’ll want components that can handle that kind of throughput efficiently.
Suggested Hardware: Processor (CPU): A multi-core processor like an Intel i7 or i9, or AMD Ryzen 7 or 9 would be ideal. These chips offer good processing power for managing high-bandwidth traffic.
RAM: 16GB of RAM should be more than sufficient for most routing tasks. If you plan on running additional services like firewalls, VPNs, or network monitoring tools, you could consider going up to 32GB for added headroom.
Ethernet Ports: Since you need at least two Ethernet ports, make sure to choose a motherboard with built-in dual NICs (Network Interface Cards) or add a dedicated dual-port Ethernet card. You’ll also want to look for support for 10Gbps Ethernet adapters if you’re aiming to fully utilize your fiber connection’s speed.
Storage: Since you’re mainly using this as a router, SSD storage is typically unnecessary unless you’re running a network service like a DNS cache or logging heavy traffic data. A small SSD or even a regular HDD would suffice.
No GPU Needed: You’re right, you don’t need a GPU for routing tasks unless you’re running other applications like video rendering or gaming servers.
This setup should provide the stability and performance you’re looking for, and ensure that your network can fully utilize that 10 Gbps fiber connection.
Also, while we’re discussing performance and efficiency, if you’re interested in expanding your use of AI, especially for networking tasks like optimizing configurations or generating reports, I recommend checking out ChatGPT Español. It’s a great tool for automating language-based tasks, translating configurations, or even generating documentation for network setups in Spanish