New to Router VPN setup, have a question or 2.

[nova]

First off let me say Hey and what a nice forum you guys have here! I will definitely be staying for a while Now onto why im posting, I've been using ExpressVPN with their windows client on my PC which i am getting a pretty good speed (60mbps+) but because of a few limitations with the network setup (cant stream to chromecast etc) I have decided to buy a new router that supports a VPN client, i was looking at the linksys wrt1900acs v2 but there is some confusion at the moment with version numbers and dd-wrt firmware not being support etc so i have decided to buy a ASUS RT-AC3200 and will be installing merlin Firmware.

I want to have my original fibre modem/router in place as it is now and have the new VPN capable router linked via Ethernet to it so i can pick and choose which devices can use the unencrypted router and which can be connected and covered by my VPN. Is there anything i should be aware of before i go through with the setup as the router will be delivered tomorrow.

Do i need to backup anything on the new router before messing with it? Are there any security vulnerabilities that come with linking 2 routers together having the VPN router behind the open router?

look forwards to your responses,

Regards,

edit: Do i need to update the routers asus firmware to the latest build before applying Merlin's custom firmware or just install it om what ever firmware comes with the new router out of the box?

 

[L&LD]

If you're looking for a router based VPN solution, the RT-AC3200 is not what I would recommend today.

The RT-AC3100 has a dual core 1.4GHz processor (as does the RT-AC88U and the RT-AC5300) while the RT-AC3200 offers a much slower 1GHz dual core processor (and half the ram) of the three routers indicated above.

If you have fibre, you do not have a 'modem', per se. I would put the new VPN capable router as the first router in this case. If you actually do have a modem, you will need to be able to put it into 'bridge mode' so that the new router can have direct access to the internet (i.e. a public IP WAN address, not a private one).

Another option you may want to pursue if you have access to a BestBuy is consider buying an RT-AC1900P too. It comes with the same 1.4GHz dual core processor as the three routers above (but again, with half the ram), but the main attraction for this router is that it can use the RT-AC68U RMerlin firmware directly. That is a huge bonus, imo.

I would recommend that you update to the latest firmware version of any router you get (make sure you do your research first. There are some limitations going forward after June 2, 2016 where older firmware is not supported anymore, or even allowed to be flashed).

After flashing any version of firmware successfully (whether it is newer or older than what was previously installed on the router), you should do a full reset to factory defaults and then manually and minimally configure the router to secure it and connect to your ISP. This is especially true when moving between different firmware forks (like Asus' 'official' firmware and RMerlin's firmware or one of his forks thereof).

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


The following post may also help with understanding the importance of 'resetting to factory defaults' too.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410

 

[nova]

Thanks, im not in America so no Bestbuy for me, im in the UK and we have fibre modems that connect to your router so its slightly different over here. I will have a look at the routers you suggest but what vpn client enabled firmwares work with them?

edit: ahh the routers you pointed out are also asus, that answerers the CFW with vpn client support

Those are out of my price range to be honest, they are $387 and $490 for the 2 you suggested over here

edit2: I was looking at ASUS's firmware and indeed like you said @L&LD there new firmware has some FCC rules messed about with, this got me thinking why do i need to update my stock firmware if i can just install Merlins most current firmware? i assume its the full firmware and then some?