network gurus need help on picking out firewall/router

i'm a fan of mikrotik product but you would need some knowledge or be ready to learn out to work with it
 
I just found/watched info on the Netgate routers and running PfSense on there. They're an extremely powerful router running one of the best opensource router software available. But the hardware is a little pricey.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Valiant
I just found/watched info on the Netgate routers and running PfSense on there. They're an extremely powerful router running one of the best opensource router software available. But the hardware is a little pricey.
Why would you pay someone for overpriced hardware? Those guys are smoking something special.
 
Ease of use, out of the box compatibility, small compact low power consumption box, a company standing behind the product, no part searching or assembling etc. Sometimes time is worth more than the cost.
 
Mrmotofy

You are new here. You have a lot to learn.

First item to learn..... do not argue or disagree with fenderman.
 
There is a free community version, and an I3 turned out to be OVERKILL for hardware. But unless you have a STRONG CURIOSITY about network security or actually need Deep Packet Inspection, an ASUS router would be my recommendation for the 99% that just want stuff to work.

I use pfSense past 2 years on hardware I built for that purpose, and the learning curve is STEEP, you can get help via the forums for free but be prepared to have lots of problems that take you days to work thru if you aren’t willing to pay for support. I’m glad I did it because it might open opportunities for me in IT, but I wouldn’t recommend it for hardly anyone.

I’ve also used ASUS routers for over 20 years, replacing them each time they acted up, and ASUS OpenVPN for 2 years, and with significantly fewer headaches. Why did I build a pfSense router then? Because it’s hard/expensive to find a router that can handle 1 Gigabit upload & download, but that was the only reason at the time I did it.
 
Last edited:
Mrmotofy

You are new here. You have a lot to learn.

First item to learn..... do not argue or disagree with fenderman.


Aha... he's one of those guys eh? Well for the record...he disagreed with me :) And he asked a question to which I answered. That's dictionary definition of conversation not arguing. But apparently we're not allowed to speak freely here...so users can have multiple answers and decide for themselves.
 
Ease of use, out of the box compatibility, small compact low power consumption box, a company standing behind the product, no part searching or assembling etc. Sometimes time is worth more than the cost.
Ease of use? how is it any easier to use than any other pc?
most 100 dollar sff 3rd gen intel pc and higher pc's run at 16w or less at idle which is the state it will basically be in while running the pfsense.
You dont have to search for parts - have your heard of dell and hp. They have this novel idea. They sell you a system already prebuilt.
The thieves at netgate are selling a 900 dollar appliance that can be replicated for 150 or less. Only a COMPLETE fool would buy that crap.
If you want a prebuilt setup just by a business class router and be done with it.
I understand you want to justify being suckered into purchasing their crap but its just that, crap.
If you are going to overpay for an appliance, you might as well use untangle. At least they spend resources on actually coding their own software instead of reselling open source.
 
Aha... he's one of those guys eh? Well for the record...he disagreed with me :) And he asked a question to which I answered. That's dictionary definition of conversation not arguing. But apparently we're not allowed to speak freely here...so users can have multiple answers and decide for themselves.
No, you are not permitted to post misinformation here. You have already done so in your first few posts. It appears that you are clueless about networking and cameras. No, most new cams do not need POE+ as you indicated in your other post. Sometimes, if you dont know, its better to keep your mouth shut rather than misleading others.
 
No, you are not permitted to post misinformation here. You have already done so in your first few posts. It appears that you are clueless about networking and cameras. No, most new cams do not need POE+ as you indicated in your other post. Sometimes, if you dont know, its better to keep your mouth shut rather than misleading others.

Oops ya got me yep clueless, awwe shucks couldn't get nuttin past you guys.

Fair enough I used an overly broad adjective should have said many or some instead of most. Yes I'm human too. In the grand scheme...POE+ switch opens more doors to upgrades and is a good choice if someone is trying to figure or plan for the future as they seemed to be.
 
Oops ya got me yep clueless, awwe shucks couldn't get nuttin past you guys.

Fair enough I used an overly broad adjective should have said many or some instead of most. Yes I'm human too. In the grand scheme...POE+ switch opens more doors to upgrades and is a good choice if someone is trying to figure or plan for the future as they seemed to be.
POE+ opens no doors to anything if you dont use large ptz that require that power.
 
POE+ opens no doors to anything if you dont use large ptz that require that power.

That's pretty much what I said. We agree it appears you're just trying to argue. But maybe I'm percieviving it wrong. POE+ will allow an easy upgrade to the larger PTZ and it doesn't cost that much more. Which is the same principle that you seem to preach. A little bit extra to get more.
 
That's pretty much what I said. We agree it appears you're just trying to argue. But maybe I'm percieviving it wrong. POE+ will allow an easy upgrade to the larger PTZ and it doesn't cost that much more. Which is the same principle that you seem to preach. A little bit extra to get more.
I am pointing out misinformation in your numerous posts.
 
It's been a few years since I done some reading on dd-wrt.com, but I will consider options there for my secruity network. I was trained for N+ and A+ certifications and ran a home server for filtering when I had young children at home, on windows and linux. Most servers now are run on linux, as well as many of our information and control systems within the FAA. Generally more secure, and better running. How many time do you have to reboot windows?
 
How many time do you have to reboot windows?

I dunno. The PC I have running BI on W10 has been running for some time now without "needing" a reboot.

Frankly, I've seldom had any trouble with Windows PCs. The troubles seem like a lot to some persons but usually they fail to consider nothing else has remotely close to the PC/desktop market share as Windows.
 
Last edited:
I dunno. The PC I have running BI on W10 has been running for some time now without "needing" a reboot.

Frankly, I've seldom had any trouble with Windows PCs. The troubles seem like a lot to some persons but usually they fail to consider nothing else has remotely close to the PC/desktop market share as Windows.

Especially with win10 (when you at least are concerned on having the latest windows updates), you are forced for some reboots a month.
 
Especially with win10 (when you at least are concerned on having the latest windows updates), you are forced for some reboots a month.

Personally, I don't consider that in the same light as the implication of the post I'd previously responded to. If you have the unit as a closed system then few, if any, of the updates are actually necessary.