Looking for network segregation router <= $200

[FishOuttaWater]

I'm trying to do network segregation for my home network without going broke.

From our 6mbps home dsl connection, I'm trying to protect our personal network, host a few web sites on a Linux box, and provide an internet drop to a tenant that is likely to download trojan horses at any time.

Currently I'm trying a Linksys RVL200, but...
- Segregation between VLANs is all or nothing, so if I allow access from the home network to configure the web server, I have to allow *all* traffic there.
- Performance seems to be iffy. When my kid goes to youtube, I get > 100ms pings to the router.
- The router seems to lock me out from the admin interface periodically until I reboot it. (I'm using beta firmware because the release versions don't allow forwarding ports to other subnets besides the default.)

I need:
- segregation (i.e. VLAN)
- the ability to route and filter packets between vlans.
- QOS so I don't lag the kids XBOX games when I run bittorrent.
- at least 6mbps throughput, preferably room to grow up to about 20mbps.
- VPN access.
- stability
- >= 4 ports

I can see that a Sonicwall tz190, a Cisco 1801, or a Netscreen 25/50 would do the job, but I can't get into those for less than about $600, which is more than I have in my piggy bank.

Are there any routers out there for ~$200 that fit the bill?

How about running the traffic through the Linux box? Is that feasible? I suppose I would need a managed switch and/or a lot of network ports.

...or am I misusing the RVL200 somehow?

Suggestions?

TIA,
- Tim.

 

[scotty]

Haven't seen much out there for around $200 or less. Pretty much the only thing you're going to see at that price is basic VLAN capability, which like you say is all or nothing.

You mention something Linux based - and that would be what I would recommend. Look at pfsense. It's Linux based (BSD, actually), and it's very easy to install and configure, and can be managed through a web browser like any other router. It will give you all the feature's you're looking for, and then some. As far as hardware goes, any old box will do. Anything Pentium 3 or above with 512 ram is plenty. Pretty much anything you can throw an extra NIC onto will do. You would still need to hang a switch or two off it though.

I run pfsense at home and have found it's rock solid. It's been running strong for about 6 months, and has only needed reboots due to power outages (I dont have a UPS for it).

 

[FishOuttaWater]

pfsense

Nice!

Any reason not to stick the firewall in a virtual machine?

That would save a PC and a network port. ...and power and noise.

If so, I can sell the RVL200 for about $125 and buy a cheap dual-port FE NIC for about $25.

Thanks for the tip!
- Tim.

 

[scotty]

I'm pretty sure you can, and there's people who do if you go to the pfsense forums. That said, it's a bit more of a complicated networking setup in VMWare to get it right. Also keep in mind the router would end up being powered on after several devices, so things like DHCP and other services won't be available right away. Not to mention in the VM host is down, you have no router or internet. If you can live with things like that, I think it could work OK.

There are some popular options for low-power pfsense setups though. It runs well on Alix and Soecris units, so you can potentially build yourself a very low power unit. Also, using older laptops or netbooks can be popular too, given that it has a built in terminal, battery backup, and is generally low power to begin with. There's lots of discussion about it on the pfsense forums and elsewhere though.