Router choice for 500mbps fiber

[Kut3K]

Hi

In few months I'm moving to my new house. I'm going to get a 500mbps FTTH connection so I started searching for network devices that will suit my needs. I don't consider ISP router because it won't support OpenVPN that is my main goal to achieve. Currently I'm on RT-N18U with latest freshtomato but I'm almost sure that it's just too weak for 500mbps wan.

I've already laid down 16 cat 6 cables for all rooms and I'm trying to have everything connected with wires (2 PC's, 3 TV's, RaspberryPi, NAS, printer, laptops, IP cams, etc.) but I'll also need fast wifi (nobody wants to have laptop always connected to the wire).

My biggest requirement is OpenVPN - because of covid I've got my business server at the home and I'll need VPN to access it from office and some other places.

I'm thinking about buying RT-AC68U or RT-AX58U. Is there a possibility to buy brand new 68U and flash it with tomato? Or I'll have to use rmerlin only? What is the better option - 68U with tomato or AX58U with rmerlin(i don't consider using 68U with merlin because ax58u has much better and newer hardware)? And finally - will any of those routers handle 500mbps wan?

Regards,
Kut3K

 

[wh7qq]

Hi

In few months I'm moving to my new house. I'm going to get a 500mbps FTTH connection so I started searching for network devices that will suit my needs. I don't consider ISP router because it won't support OpenVPN that is my main goal to achieve. Currently I'm on RT-N18U with latest freshtomato but I'm almost sure that it's just too weak for 500mbps wan.

I've already laid down 16 cat 6 cables for all rooms and I'm trying to have everything connected with wires (2 PC's, 3 TV's, RaspberryPi, NAS, printer, laptops, IP cams, etc.) but I'll also need fast wifi (nobody wants to have laptop always connected to the wire).

My biggest requirement is OpenVPN - because of covid I've got my business server at the home and I'll need VPN to access it from office and some other places.

I'm thinking about buying RT-AC68U or RT-AX58U. Is there a possibility to buy brand new 68U and flash it with tomato? Or I'll have to use rmerlin only? What is the better option - 68U with tomato or AX58U with rmerlin(i don't consider using 68U with merlin because ax58u has much better and newer hardware)? And finally - will any of those routers handle 500mbps wan?

Regards,
Kut3K

Hi

In few months I'm moving to my new house. I'm going to get a 500mbps FTTH connection so I started searching for network devices that will suit my needs. I don't consider ISP router because it won't support OpenVPN that is my main goal to achieve. Currently I'm on RT-N18U with latest freshtomato but I'm almost sure that it's just too weak for 500mbps wan.

I've already laid down 16 cat 6 cables for all rooms and I'm trying to have everything connected with wires (2 PC's, 3 TV's, RaspberryPi, NAS, printer, laptops, IP cams, etc.) but I'll also need fast wifi (nobody wants to have laptop always connected to the wire).

My biggest requirement is OpenVPN - because of covid I've got my business server at the home and I'll need VPN to access it from office and some other places.

I'm thinking about buying RT-AC68U or RT-AX58U. Is there a possibility to buy brand new 68U and flash it with tomato? Or I'll have to use rmerlin only? What is the better option - 68U with tomato or AX58U with rmerlin(i don't consider using 68U with merlin because ax58u has much better and newer hardware)? And finally - will any of those routers handle 500mbps wan?

Hi

In few months I'm moving to my new house. I'm going to get a 500mbps FTTH connection so I started searching for network devices that will suit my needs. I don't consider ISP router because it won't support OpenVPN that is my main goal to achieve. Currently I'm on RT-N18U with latest freshtomato but I'm almost sure that it's just too weak for 500mbps wan.

I've already laid down 16 cat 6 cables for all rooms and I'm trying to have everything connected with wires (2 PC's, 3 TV's, RaspberryPi, NAS, printer, laptops, IP cams, etc.) but I'll also need fast wifi (nobody wants to have laptop always connected to the wire).

My biggest requirement is OpenVPN - because of covid I've got my business server at the home and I'll need VPN to access it from office and some other places.

I'm thinking about buying RT-AC68U or RT-AX58U. Is there a possibility to buy brand new 68U and flash it with tomato? Or I'll have to use rmerlin only? What is the better option - 68U with tomato or AX58U with rmerlin(i don't consider using 68U with merlin because ax58u has much better and newer hardware)? And finally - will any of those routers handle 500mbps wan?

Regards,
Kut3K

The helpful responses to my recent post from several members might be of interest to you.

Tomato as such and Tomato by Shibby is no longer maintained. "Fresh Tomato" is more recent but I have no experience with it. Merlin is good and regularly updated to mitigate exploits...good for newer routers. I've been using "John's Fork" of Merlin, see https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AAkJBWoo%2DOiyKJo&.id=9332FC159A7E129%21241&cid=09332FC159A7E129 but check to see if AX series is supported.

 

[Tech9]

And finally - will any of those routers handle 500mbps wan?

500Mbps WAN-LAN - yes, but only with hardware acceleration. If you really want to go with a home router product better look at newer models AX86U and AX88U. Some users report they are good for about 200Mbps OpenVPN. I would separate router, switching and wireless using business grade gear. My house is large and is covered by only two Ruckus ZoneFlex R600 APs with PoE. They are excellent and currently available used on eBay on good price.

 

[Kut3K]

The helpful responses to my recent post from several members might be of interest to you.

Tomato as such and Tomato by Shibby is no longer maintained. "Fresh Tomato" is more recent but I have no experience with it. Merlin is good and regularly updated to mitigate exploits...good for newer routers. I've been using "John's Fork" of Merlin, see https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AAkJBWoo%2DOiyKJo&.id=9332FC159A7E129%21241&cid=09332FC159A7E129 but check to see if AX series is supported.

I'm using Freshtomato on Asus RT-N18U with 30Mbps connection since 2-3 years and it's working great - I never had to reboot router for some software reasons It's under constant development so it's almost always up to date. Currently they're making GUI for Wireguard - a promising (much faster) alternative for OpenVPN so maybe that's a solution...
btw. looks like John's fork supports only AC series so buying something from AX equals using Merlin.

500Mbps WAN-LAN - yes, but only with hardware acceleration. If you really want to go with a home router product better look at newer models AX86U and AX88U. Some users report they are good for about 200Mbps OpenVPN. I would separate router, switching and wireless using business grade gear. My house is large and is covered by only two Ruckus ZoneFlex R600 APs with PoE. They are excellent and currently available used on eBay on good price.

I was aware that it might need CTF enabled and that means lack of QoS and some other stuff but I'm not sure if you really need QoS with such fast connection. My house isn't big so one router/ap would be enough. About 3 years ago I had a little adventure with Mikrotik equipment - I did a 2 WAN failover at my job. Wasn't that so hard to configure but still I felt like there was so many things I could do wrong and it might end with some security issues on that network. Home routers are much more user friendly.
I'm totally fine with slow OpenVPN speeds. I'm using it for working purposes - MSSQL access and storing scans about 1-5mb and my current connection (30Mbps) is ok. Of course it might be better but it's not terrible either. Maybe swithing to wireguard in the future will end in much faster VPN connection.

I forgot to mention - I live in Poland and that's why I need to stick to rather cheap hardware. Everything here is much more expensive than USA, GB and other countries :/

 

[Tech9]

I believe you feel more comfortable with Fresh Tomato interface. Do a research what routers work best with Fresh Tomato and go from there.

 

[Zetto]

I need to stick to rather cheap hardware.

I'd suggest considering Asus RT-AX55, the cheapest ASUS router with Wifi6 You can reuse n16 as an AP if you need one, "mesh" on the cheap lol

 

[Zetto]

I believe you feel more comfortable with Fresh Tomato interface. Do a research what routers work best with Fresh Tomato and go from there.

I gave up on Tomato a couple of years back after well over a decade of using it and didn't feel the need to go back You do what you need to support fiber speed, Tomato, it seems, kinda stuck on old hardware due to lack of open-source drivers to support newer hardware.

 

[Kut3K]

I'd suggest considering Asus RT-AX55, the cheapest ASUS router with Wifi6 You can reuse n16 as an AP if you need one, "mesh" on the cheap lol

I can buy something about RT-AX58U's price but I can't afford for example suggested Ruckus ZoneFlex R600 wich is only AP and it's double the price of single AX58U... I've spent almost everything to arrange my home so there isn't much left for fancy tech...

I don't insist on Tomato, I just need some VPN solution and a decent, stable router and that's why I suggested AX58U. And sadly yes, it looks like Tomato's era is coming to end - I think it is better when there is a wider choice on the market but we can't do anything about it. AX routers are relatively new hardware and it looks like support of Merlin will be there for at least few years. I think I'll stick to AX series...

 

[Tech9]

AX58U is perhaps an entry-level router by today's standards but compared to your N18U is a huge upgrade.