Hi everyone :)

It’s time to switch and give my home network a proper minimal hardware upgrade. Right now everything is managed by my ISP’s AIO firewall/router combo. Which works okayish, but I’m already doing some firewall/dns/VPN stuff on my minimal spare laptop server to bypass most of my ISP’s restrictions. So it’s time to get a little bit “crazy” !

While I do have some “power user” knowledge regarding Linux/server/selfhosted services/networking, I’m a bit clueless hardware wise, specially regarding my ISP’s 2.5G ethernet port.

I do have a 5giga connection from my Internet provider (Obtic fiber) which is divided into 4 ethernet ports (Eth1 2.5G, Eth2 1G, Eth3 1G, Eth4 0,500G or something in that range). And right now the Eth1 port is connected through an old 1G switch.

  1. To take full advantage of my ISP’s 2.5G ethernet port do I need a router AND a switch capable of 2.5G througput ? Or only the router and the switch is going to divid it accordingly between all connected devices on a 1G switch?

I’m also looking for some recommendation/personal experience for a router and a switch with a budget of 250e.

First I was interested into a BananaPI as a router, to tinker a bit, but it seems a bit of a hassle to flash it with OpenWRT, then I found an interesting post on Lemmy talking about the Intel N100 Celeron N5105, which looks like more what I’m looking for but I’m not sure ?

  1. I have no idea what’s the best bet, a SBC (bananapi mini, orange pi, raspberry pi…) a fully fleged router (like TP-Link AX1800 and flash it with opensense/openwrt) or an Intel N100 Celeron N5105 Soft Router ?

The capabilities I’m looking for:

  • VLAN capable
  • AP VLAN capabable to segment wifi
  • Taking advantage of my ISP’s 2.5G ethernet port
  • Firewall customization capabilities

I have an eye on a managed switch I found on amazon (SODOLA 6 Port 2.5G Web Managed) but I have no idea how reliable they are, I have never heard of SODOLA.

  1. Any good recommendation I should look at for a managed switch that would work great with the same capabilities above?

  2. Probably last question, is regarding wifi APs. Is it possible to make an access point from my router even tough it hasn’t atennas? If I connect an access point directly to my router, will it be capable of giving away wifi connection?

Thanks for reading though, I’m a bit unsure how I should spend my money to have a minimal but reliable/capable homelab setup. Every advice is welcome. But keep in mind, I want to keep it minimal, a good enough routing capbability with intermediate firewall customisation. I’m already hosting a few containers with a spare laptop and the traffic isn’t going to be to crazy.

  • @[email protected]
    2•7 months ago

    To add to other comments, consider a managed switch from MikroTik. Linux networking knowledge will come in handy, since their RouterOS is not especially simple but it is powerful.

    I believe most of their devices jump from Gigabit ethernet to 10Gbps SFP+ ports (which you should also consider). The SFP+ ports usually support 2.5Gbps negotiation, but check the documentation. You can also buy RJ-45 Copper transceivers for the SFP+ port, although they are not cheap. Nevertheless, even including a couple transceivers, you may find something within your budget.

    Using a router-on-a-stick configuration, consider a CRS305 (4x 10G ports and 1x Gigabit port) or a CRS309 (8x 10G ports and 1x Gigabit port) switch.

    As for their routers, multi-port-multi-gig options are expensive so building your own router might be a good idea rather than opting for something like an RB5009, if that is what you need. Although, in a router-on-a-stick configuration, an RB5009 would be great.

    Wi-Fi: yes, you can connect an access point to any ethernet port from a router or switch. They often come with PoE injectors.

    Consider TP-Link Omada access points. If you need multiple access points, they suggest running a controller, it can be installed as a docker container. MikroTik has access point options but my experience with their old wireless options left a bad taste in my mouth. I hear the new wifi-wave compatible hardware is good, though. Any device running RouterOS could act as the CAPsMAN (AP controller)