What hardware do I need to buy

[ethZero]

I recently got a fiber connection installed.

I want to switch the ISP's fiber router to modem mode. I want the router behind it to have two subnets

Eth 0 just one or 2 pc/ laptops with traffic routed directly to the internet.. 192.168.1.x

Eth 1 plugged into a switch that connects multiple computers, File server, DNS server and a couple of cell phones and tablets via Wi-Fi ,all on one separate subnet 10.1.1.x

I need all traffic on this second segment to route through NordVPN or one of the similar services. What hardware do I need to buy and can open WRT run this?

[frollic]

Depends on the speed of the fiber.

[ethZero]

1. Gig fiber

[frollic]

X86, how expensive, depends on the speed required from the VPN tunnel.

[ethZero]

For the love of God I'm not going to get an answer am I?

[slh]

You have gotten an answer, immediately - although it took one round to ask back about the details you've been holding back (subscribed WAN speed), and the question how fast you expect your VPN to be is still open - but the answer has still been given.

So you have 500Mbps-1Gbps fiber and need a router READ THIS FIRST

It's such a frequently asked question over the last few years that we really need a post we can point people to. So your cable company rolled out 500Mbps or 1Gbps download speeds, or you have 1Gbps symmetric fiber (GPON/EPON) from ATT or Centurylink or Orange or whoever. You realize your old all in one router from 2009 is not up to the task of handling this, but hey by now stuff should be cheap and available that will handle your new fiber connection right? So you want advice about a router for…

[ethZero]

If you think x86 is anywhere in the ballpark of helpful You're a special kind of...

How many x86 devices you think are on this planet right now? A billion? two? more?
.

Thanks for narrowing it down Skippy.

Your answer is akin to somebody asking what kind of truck they need to tow a 30 ft motorhome and you answering "one with wheels" and being special enough to believe you're being helpful

[moeller0]

To spell out the obvious, this is a volunteer forum, nobody owes you a response, let alone one you consider helpful. IMHO the most effective approach is to be thankful for all responses and focus on those going in one's desired direction while ignoring others.
If a response seems terse but relevant one can always ask follow up questions.

But yes for doing anything intersting at 1 Gbps you need a powerful CPU and x86 systems become quite relevant, not because e.g. ARM does not offer powerful CPUs, but you are typically looking for a whole system not a bare CPU. And powerful ARM cpus are not necessarily cheap either.

Now you always can opt for a cheaper router and simply sacrifice some throughput, or even go for a cheaper? lower speed plan....

[NC1]

@ethZero

If you think x86 is anywhere in the ballpark of helpful You're a special kind of...

IT IS helpful. As of the latest stable release, OpenWrt exists on approximately three dozen platforms. You just got it down to one. So there's really no need to be abrasive.

Moreover, an entry-level desktop x86 router is very much a well-defined entity: Intel Atom (or Celeron, or AMD equivalent), 2 or 4 GB of RAM, four Gigabit Ethernet ports. Storage-wise, it can come with anything from a 4 GB eMMC to a full-blown SATA, mSATA, or PCIe SSD. Storage, however, is not critical for OpenWrt; in its basic shape, it requires measly 120 MB of disk space and doesn't do a lot of disk writes as it runs.

From here on out, a lot depends on your preferences and budget constraints. If you want something new, shiny, and with warranty, check out the Protectli lineup. If you like your new and shiny to be less expensive (and less warrantied), go to Amazon and see what falls out if you search for Qotom. If price is a major consideration, see what you can find on eBay if you search for Sophos (be sure that the product has either SG or XG in the name; RED and AP, conversely, are not your fare). You will notice that most of these options fit very well within the mold described in the previous paragraph.

Note, however, that VPN can be CPU-constrained (all traffic needs to be encrypted and decrypted), so the faster VPN you want, the beefier processor you need. If you look at the high end of the Protectli lineup, you will see units running on Intel Core i7. Commercial rack-mountable routers can go even higher, into the Xeon territory. How much processing power you will need depends squarely on your requirements to the VPN throughput, which you so far have not articulated.

As to NordVPN, they have a page dedicated to making it run with OpenWrt:

https://support.nordvpn.com/Connectivity/Router/1047411192/OpenWRT-CI-setup-with-NordVPN.htm

So yes, OpenWrt works with NordVPN.

Also, you may want to check out alternatives for the router software such as pfSense and OPNsense. Community support for them in the high-performance applications may be a little easier to come by.

[ethZero]

@moeller0

To spell out the obvious, this is a volunteer forum, nobody owes you a response, let alone one you consider helpful

Correct. But trolling is pretty f'ed.

I asked for a specific device. If you don't want to answer that's great, all the best to ya. If you on the other hand start being an a--hat. You get what you give.

[ethZero]

@slh

You have gotten an answer, immediately

Point to it. I asked for a specific device to buy for a specific need. That was not answered.

[ethZero]

@NC1

VPN can be CPU-constrained

which is why I asked for what hardware could do what I was asking for. No answer, just trolling.

As to NordVPN, they have a page dedicated to making it run with OpenWrt

Which is why I asked a HARDWARE question, not a configuration question.

The question was simple, What hardware could do x,y,z. Not how to configure it.

[moeller0]

@ethZero

Correct. But trolling is pretty f'ed.

I saw no trolling in this thread... sorry. Not getting a response as one likes it does IMHO not constitute trolling.

@ethZero

You get what you give.

Says the relative new forum member complaining about trolling in essentially the same breath...
Genuinely puzzled....

@ethZero

which is why I asked for what hardware could do what I was asking for. No answer, just trolling.

Your question, as you might or might not realize, was/is under-defined and hence not suited for the kind of terse definitive answer you seem to desire. And no this is not trolling either.
To repeat myself, nobody here owes you an answer, let alone one you like, by acting as entitled as you appear to act, you are essentially squandering the good-will that this forum typically offers every new member.

[ethZero]

@moeller0

To repeat myself, nobody here owes you an answer, let alone one you like, by acting as entitled

To repeat myself, I did not demand you or the other troll answer anything.

You're as confused about "entitled" as you are about "answered".

[ThiloteE]

Everybody, please adhere to to civilized manners.

@ethZero, forum members are not mind-readers.You simply lack some data that is required to receive a very precise answer and until you specify this data, all answers will necessarily either be unprecise or worse, not really fit your desires and needs.

For example,

• do you want to achieve 1 Gbit/s even with VPN or is it fine if VPN is substantially slower than 1 Gbit/s?
• what's your desired/maximum budget?
• Do you prefer 802.11n (wifi4), 802.11ac (wifi5) or 802.11ax (wifi6)?
• ...

I hope this point you in the right direction, but I cannot guarantee you will receive an answer, even if you provide the info.

[psherman]

Stepping in here in a moderation capacity...

@ethZero - you actually got very good (and fast) advice from valued and knowledgable members of the OpenWrt community. It is very important to understand that (as was pointed out up-thread), the community is staffed by volunteers who offer their help as a hobby. Often, additional information and/or clarification is requested to help arrive at the best solution, and the questions that were asked clearly had that goal in mind. Nobody was trolling. If you want a more concise conversations, it is critical that you provide all necessary information up front... it's no different than if I was asking for a new vehicle to get to work... there are questions that need to be answered to find the right solution.

Please keep the conversations civil and remember to improve the conversation with each post.

[fakemanhk]

I believe this one will do what you want.

Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, 64 Cores & 128-Threads Unlocked Desktop Processor without Cooler ($4,478.99 @ Amazon ())

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha TRX40 Gaming AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper sTRX4 EATX Motherboard with 16 Infineon Power Stages, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 and Aura Sync RGB ($962.99 @ Amazon ())

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler, 4 CDC Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan, Aluminum Fins ($42.99 @ Amazon ())

Case: Thermaltake Core V71 Tempered Glass Edition E-ATX Full Tower Tt LCS Certified Gaming Computer Case ($174.99 @ Amazon ())

Graphics Card: PNY Quadro P620 Graphic Card - 2 GB GDDR5 - Low-Profile - Single Slot Space Required ($199.99 @ Amazon ())

RAM: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 128GTZR Memory Module 128 GB 4 x 32 GB DDR4 4000 MHz ($587.22 @ Amazon ())

Storage: Samsung EVO 970 1TB PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe M.2-2280 Internal Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology & 1024MB Cache ($209.99 @ Amazon ())

Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 850W 80+ Platinum Single Side SMD Compact Design Ultra Quiet 120mm Hydraulic Bearing Smart Zero Fan Full Modular Power Supply ($149.99 @ Amazon ())

Wired Network Adapter: Intel Corporation X550T2 Converged Dual Port Gigabyte PCIe x4 Network Adapter ($370.00 @ Amazon ())

Total: $7,177

View Rig List Here[i]

Generated by PC Builder on 12th of April, 2023[/i]

[frollic]

You cheaped out on the CPU cooler, should be a 360 or 420 AIO.

[Borromini]

I like the X550!

[efahl]

Yeah, honestly a Hyper 212 on a TR? I run a 280 AIO on my 3950 workstation...