Hello, I'm a newcomer to this space. I am a tech savvy person who has a homelab setup that I share with my 2 roommates, and after realizing our router does not support openwrt, I would like to get a new router. I'm okay with trying my luck in second hand markets- so my budget is not an absolute limit.
In my homelab, I have a pihole DNS server set up, but it is running on the same hardware as my other applications- creating a very circular and fail-prone DNS solution. Is it possible for me to set up an ad blocking DNS server that allows me to add Local DNS records to be able to serve my applications on LAN instead of WAN using openwrt? The goal of this question is to avoid having to acquire a new device just for my DNS server, hoping i can handle all that from the router. This would have the added benefit of not taking up a precious ethernet port. If the adblocking is too difficult of a criteria, i can forego it. I'm okay with tinkering and adding required packages for this.
My criteria is in two parts, absolute requirements and nice-to-haves. I hope it is clear which is which.
Criteria:
1- Internet speed is about 80/20Mbps Up/Down; infrastructure is VDSL2 but I will use the modem I have in bridge mode.
2- We have about 6-8 wifi clients- some of which only support 2.4GHz. I'm looking for both 2.4/5GHz support with the nice-to-have criteria of Wifi 6.
3- 1Gbps is all I need for ethernet. Currently there is three permanent Ethernet clients. So four 1Gbps ethernet ports is my requirement. More ports would be appreciated but not necessary.
4- USB ports are not a requirement unless openwrt requires it for installation, management etc. USB storage would be a nice to have.
5- I need support for setting up Open NAT for online gaming, and the aforementioned DNS issue.
6- price range: $50-$100. any higher than $100 I will have to look at second hand market
ISP requires PPPoE authentication and VLAN ID to be set.
This suggests, that you need a router with a build-in VDSL modem.
If so, there aren't many models that are supported by OpenWrt.
My recommendation would be a AVM Fritz!Box 7520 or 7530 (not AX).
So, then there's not really any alternative to a Fritz!Box 7520 or 7530, if you want a all-in-one device.
All other supported models are (compared to the two mentioned above) either too old, weak, or haven't got enough RAM/Flash for the current OpenWrt release.
You could also use a VDSL2 modem connected to a supported router, but i would choose that way only if you can get them dirt cheap.
kind of suggests USD, and the OP probably being located in the US, which would be not ideal for
Yes, it's currently the best supported hardware you could get (meeting all of the requirements above, despite ipq40xx being a tad dated (still better than anything else with integrated VDSL modem) and wifi5 2x2), but it's not marketed in the US and lacks FCC certification, which makes importing it illegal.
It does make sense to split 'modem' and 'wifi router' roles into different hardware. VDSL is 'boring old tech', but for your router you might still have higher expectations (performance, RAM, wifi/ lan speed).
Ah yes, i knew i missed something important...
With some luck it's possible to switch the current router to bridged mode, so the OP just needs another supported router (which is already FCC certified).
After doing some research, I will simply get a cheap modem to use in bridge mode, so nevermind on VDSL. For the location, EU certified routers are what's available in my country. I will edit my original post to reflect my new criteria. Thanks a lot!
In that case, the F!B 7520/ 7530 (take care of the exact model, no 'B' h/w rev, not the ax model) does meet all requirements, rather affordable on the second hand markets (~25 EUR).
I'm still in favour of separating modem and router (and going with a faster wifi6 router) though, but that's just me.
I've come across two routers I like. Xiaomi AX3000T or Mercusys MR80X. Both seem futureproof if I end up getting gigabit internet down the line. Otherwise it looks slightly overkill. What do y'all think of those two?
It's an entry level router. Cheap, decent, not great - should meet your requirements (if you win the h/w rev lottery). RD03v2 is the reason why I wouldn't recommend it anymore, just like the (much better) T-56 can't be recommended with a good conscience anymore (locked down OEM firmware upgrades, you might be lucky, but chances that you won't be predominant).