Hardware or Software Router? Which is better?

[Geist]

Hi all,

Hope someone can give me some advice. I'm setting up a dedicated game server for hosting an online game (IL-2 1946). The game is older and doesn't send alot of data over the internet. MY problem is I will have as many as 100 simultaneous connections and feel I will need a router that can handle it. I've got the hardware to run the server and the bandwidth to handle it. I am considering using a software router (NAT32) on my older 2700mhz Celeron 2gb machine and making that my router. Hey, it's free! Ive alos been looking around for used Cisco 2620 routers on ebay that are fairly cheap. My question is then, is a dedicated software router capable of running my requirements? If not, qill the Cisco 2620 (or other) work? Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[pender]

A game server will likely have under 50-100 concurrent clients so any modern SOHO or enterprise router can handle this load without a sweat. If there is just one computer (the server) behind the firewall, or the server will be on the same VLAN as the other LAN clients, then an enterprise level firewall is not needed.

You can use a PC based firewall if you want. Most would recommend you wipe the Windows install and use a lightweight firewall like PFsense, or IPCOP rather than a firewall NAT that runs inside Windows because then the Windows OS is directly exposed to the WAN.

 

[Brandon]

The 2620 would laugh at what you're trying to do. If that is a way you're thinking about going, then it would be worth it in a security front, offering you the ability to easily VLan off the PC acting as a game server from the rest of the network.

If you have a spare PC, Pfsense, or something of the like would be a great choice as well, as it has a lot of the same options, on a much cheaper front.