Mick wrote: > On Wednesday, 27 November 2019 01:51:44 GMT Dale wrote: >> Rich Freeman wrote: >>> On Tue, Nov 26, 2019 at 8:10 PM Dale <rdalek1...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> I went to Newegg. Hey, I buy stuff there sometimes. Anyway, I've >>>> looked at several routers and none of them mention IPv6 that I can >>>> find. I even skimmed the reviews and can't find a mention of it. Is >>>> there some secret way to know when IPv6 is supported? Is it called >>>> something else maybe? > It is called the OEM's website where technical specs are provided for each > model. > > It is also called Wikipedia. There may be a page where all models of a > particular manufacturer are listed in some table, explaining their > functionality.
I went to the OEMs website but they don't always give info in a way that makes sense to me. I learned more from the Openwrt site than I did the OEMs. OEMs are usually full of fluff and buzzwords. I used to go to wikipedia but after being misled several times, I no longer use it if I can avoid it. I'd be more likely to believe comments in the review section of a product than wikipedia. > There are also webpages with reviews - but careful with those. Most are > nothing more than a shill for Amazon or some such shop, rather than an honest > technical appraisal. Sometimes youtube may have an unwrapping video, or demo > of configuring a particular router - if you are interested to know what they > look like in more detail. > > There are specialist websites like: > > https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/ > > as well as open source firmware projects like OpenWRT/DD-WRT etc., with > useful > blogs and forums to peruse, along with reports for suitable hardware. > > Online shops are the last place to visit, *after* you have concluded which > router is best for you, to see if you can afford the price. Their websites > may have incorrect technical information, out of date specifications and > irrelevant (annoying) marketing speak to attract consumers. Many are just > box-shifters and wouldn't be able to tell you what's in the box you ordered > anyway: "errm ... whatever they're shipping from China these days". o_O > I've found that asking here is best. If it wasn't for my post here, I would have stuck with Linksys because it is what I've used in the past. Thing is, a post here lead me to a better product, even tho it wasn't a Linksys product. It's one reason I post questions here quite often. I get more info from here than I could likely ever find elsewhere because most people here post about their own experience not some theory. You should know, you post about yours quite often and it's generally a good idea to give it some weight when deciding something. >>> IMO there are three reasonable approaches you can take towards getting >>> a router you won't curse yourself for buying a year from now: >>> >>> 1. DIY. PC or other general-purpose computing hardware with multiple >>> NICs. There are SBCs that work well for this. You can run pfsense or >>> some other router-oriented distro/software/wrappers. Or you can just >>> roll your own with netfilter and such. Max flexibility, but also max >>> fuss. Unless you use a SBC you'll also be paying a price in >>> electricity. Don't underestimate how much you pay for any x86-based >>> system that runs 24x7 - especially anything old you have lying around. >> I remember how my old rig pulled power. It pulled like 400 watts or so >> idle. Of course, it was lacking in power so when compiling, there >> wasn't a lot of difference really. In the winter, I rarely needed a >> heater. Its constant heat output kept this bedroom comfy. No real need >> for a heater. It's one reason I want to avoid this option. Mostly, I >> want something I'll get many years of service from and everything work >> well, wired or wireless now that I have a cell phone and printer that >> needs it. My current router pulls like 10 watts or something. >> Considering I run electric heat and such, it's a rounding error for me. >> Heck, my main puter is too. It pulls like 180 watts which includes >> everything, modem, router, monitor and the rig itself. >> >> The positive part tho for option 1, if another port is needed, just add >> a network card and it's done. With DHCP and friends, it will likely >> just work. That's something you can't do with a store bought router. >> Whatever it comes with, that's what you got. I've never needed more >> than the 4 most come with tho. My puter uses one, printer another and >> cell phone. I guess I have one left still. > Every additional network card (PCI or USB) will also incur additional cost > and > soon you could run out of MoBo slots. It makes more sense to buy a dedicated > switch instead, with as many ports as you think you will need to use in the > future. Old routers can also be used as dumb switches, after you disable > their DNS/DHCP/PPP, etc. The world is moving towards high speed wireless > connectivity anyway, so more and more devices will not need a physical switch > port or ethernet cables to gain access to the network. > That's true. I'd likely start with a two port wired card and a wireless something or other for my printer and cell phone. Thing is, I seem to recall there being cards that have many ports on them. I'm not sure on price but if for some reason I needed 12 or 15 ports, it is more doable then it is with a 4 port router which can't be expanded. I doubt I'd even need that tho which is why I'm going for a regular router. >>> 2. OpenWRT/DD-WRT/etc. Again it is a bit fussy but generally way >>> less so than going pure DIY unless you're running pfsense or some >>> other appliance-oriented distro. If you go this route then definitely >>> check for recommendations on hardware that is known to work WELL. >>> Some stuff technically works but can be very prone to having to play >>> around with JTAG and such if you make the slightest mistake. You'll >>> probably spend an extra $20 on hardware you won't regret buying - do >>> it. > +1 > > Trying to save a few pennies could result in being lumbered with suboptimal > hardware. > That's what I'm trying to avoid. Yea, it's looking like I'm about to spend $50 and maybe even $80 for a router. Thing is, spending $10 or $20 more than I might normally spend could give me a device that gives me many years more service and saves money in the long run. If I can use Openwrt, that may extend that service life even longer. I think I paid like $10 for my current router at a thrift store. >> That's what I'm wanting as a option. I may just use the firmware that >> comes with the thing for a good while. Later on tho, if needed, I may >> switch to Openwrt or some other option that may work better. It's a >> option I'd like to have if possible. > This is generally a good option because OEMs hardly ever bother upgrading > their initial firmware these days. They're more interested to ship the next > model, or the same model in a shinier box. As a result loads of routers are > running around the world with actively exploited vulnerabilities. At least > with OpenWRT and friends you have a live opensource project actively trying > to > keep on top of the latest SNAFU. > That's why I'm looking for one Openwrt supports, or someone else, since Linksys doesn't even support the one I have now. After a few years, I'd like to have options even if the OEM doesn't support it anymore. >>> 3. Something commercial that isn't terrible. There are various >>> options, but everybody always points to Ubiquiti and I'm mostly happy >>> with them. If you want something that is more gui-based I'd go with >>> their Unifi line. I'd avoid Amplifi as it is more consumer-oriented >>> and you'll end up being frustrated with it. EdgeOS is getting closer >>> to something like OpenWRT - it runs linux and you can get a shell and >>> mess around with the CLI. However, while the EdgeOS routing options >>> are great they aren't so good with WiFi and EdgeOS and Unifi don't >>> interoperate all that well (not impossible, but they don't really talk >>> to each other so you have to maintain two configs). I also really >>> dislike that the EdgeOS management software is only supplied as a >>> docker image, which is a pain if you're not using docker (one of these >>> days I'll have to get it working with my bridge interface as it always >>> tries to create its own and ends up having no physical network >>> access). The Unifi controller software is packaged for a couple of >>> distros which makes it much more flexible to deploy (and you can use >>> it on docker if you wish). >>> >>> Personally I'm running EdgeOS on my router and Unifi on everything >>> else. If I could go back I might have gone with Unifi on the gateway >>> but it does bug me that it is so much more expensive and does the same >>> thing. If I had it then end-to-end VLAN/etc would be much more >>> practical, though I'd need a pile of managed switches to make it work >>> well. >>> >>> I've run all three options at various points. Unless your needs are >>> special I think there is value in just going with #3. It just runs >>> itself for the most part, and if you want multiple access points or >>> anything like that the network basically runs itself. I just plug in >>> new hardware and then on the controller software it shows up, and one >>> click provisions it which configures it to fit in with all my global >>> settings. >> This is why I might buy one compatible with Openwrt but wait until the >> wireless stuff gets sorted out. Like I said above, I'd like it as a >> option so finding one that Openwrt supports should increase my odds if >> they get everything working nicely later on. I still remember the old >> USB days when it was new. It was buggy and stuff didn't work right >> every time. After a while tho, they got most the kinks worked out. I >> think Openwrt and others will do the same. It may take a bit but maybe >> by the time I'm ready to try it, it will be awesomeness. >> >> I just want to avoid replacing my current router with a router that also >> doesn't have IPv6 support and has limited options later on. Even google >> isn't helping me much on that. > Look at my suggestions above on how to investigate the availability of IPv6 > or > other desired functionality of candidate routers. > > Something I hadn't mentioned, merely because I don't know if it will work > with > your old router, is to hack the hardware itself. Replacing the flash disk > and > RAM with larger components may land you a more capable device for no/little > extra cost. Just use one of the RAM modules you have lying around in your > spares bin and hope the chipset is capable of booting and utilising it. Some > SoCs are crippled by design, having a max RAM capacity they will initialise > hardcoded in their boot code. They may not see or use more RAM and may even > refuse to boot with it. Nevertheless, it could be an interesting project for > a rainy day, on a router which is on its way out anyway: > > http://neophob.com/2006/01/wrt54g-ram-upgrade/ > Given its age, I think I'm just going to get a newer model. If routers were much more expensive, I might would have too. It may even be a option to do that and keep it as a emergency spare. Given what I've learned and found a router that I can buy that gives me a lot of options, I'm happy with what I've found. I think that TP-Link router will suite my needs out of the box but likely even after the OEM has stopped supporting it since Openwrt is a option. It seems that when I ask for info on this list, I always end up with a better plan, usually one I haven't thought of. Remember the printer? I was stuck on HP. I ended up getting a Lexmark, on sale, that does a lot more than I expected as well. Other than having a device that prints, that went sideways real fast. ;-) In a really good way tho. Thanks much. Dale :-) :-)
