Recommend me a Router distro

J

jtvd78

Limp Gawd
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Jul 27, 2009
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I just finished my router build (Intel DN2800MT, 4GB memory, 32GB m4 SSD, HP NC360T NIC), but I'm still not sure which OS to load onto it. I currently have a 25/5 connection, but that could raise at anytime. There are about 10 devices on my network right now, but that number could increase at any time.

I intend to use this box as a router, and then I'm going to use my previous router (WNDR3700), as a WAP and a switch. I also want to be able to VPN into my network through this box. I'll also use any additional features that this box gives me.

My main concern is speed, but the firewall is also very important. Im going to be gaming and using torrents behind the router, so it should be able to keep up with my usage.

Here are my current considerations:
Astaro
ClearOS
IPCop
pfSense
Untangle
Smoothwall
eBox (Zentyal)

I've heard that Untangle is much slower than alternatives, but in my case, it may not be an issue.

I'll be able to do some more research, but right now, I have several options, and comparing all of them is just too time consuming. So which distros from this list would you initially either recommend, or remove? Which would best for my situation?

Thanks
 
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I used to use smoothwall, but it has a lot of limited features for the open source release. One of many is no support for vlans unless you pay them big money. Also no support for multiple internet connections, which is why I moved to pfSense in the first place.

pfSense is rock solid stable, I have it being used in multiple places and frankly I never even think about it. It just runs and I do nothing.
 
pfSense or Sophos/Astaro 9. Untangle is ok, but I hate the interface and the lack of good QoS.
 
My vote goes to pfSense for performance, features and stability. It'll do everything the OP is looking for with ease.

I use to have pfSense and WHS2011 virtualized on an ESXi box at home, but grew weary the added complexity should I have to perform disaster recovery. I tried out ClearOS 6.2 as a all-in-one router, file server distro, but ran into issues which left a bad taste. Afterall I find Packet Filter to be more robust than IPtables and the hardware isn't all that expensive, so I'm going back to pfSense and WHS2011 on seperate boxes.
 
Well, some of those are much more than just router installs..they're basically full open source versions of Microsoft Small Business Server Premium w/ISA. (ClearOS and Zentyal). So doubt you'd want the heft/overhead of full blown servers.

Some are full Unified Threat Management firewalls...Untangle for example...and Astaro. Aimed at Small Business. Heavier filtering, reporting, antivirus, antimalware, preferences for business applications and a dislike for...that peer to peer/torrent crap. UTM appliances are "heavier" than plan NAT/basic firewall distros.....so yeah some people think they're slower. And I supposed on older slower hardware they are. Hence why one puts them on beefier hardware. After all, common sense..they're doing a heck of a lot more ..working harder.

For a lean mean distro that will handle heavy traffic you'll throw at it like that torrent stuff, I'd go with PFSense, or m0n0wall, or Smoothwall Express.
 
+Eric said:
I used to use smoothwall, but it has a lot of limited features for the open source release. One of many is no support for vlans unless you pay them big money. Also no support for multiple internet connections, which is why I moved to pfSense in the first place.

pfSense is rock solid stable, I have it being used in multiple places and frankly I never even think about it. It just runs and I do nothing.
Click to expand...

almost identical to my thoughts & experience. I moved away from smoothwall to pfsense several years ago and haven't looked back.
 
dave99 said:
almost identical to my thoughts & experience. I moved away from smoothwall to pfsense several years ago and haven't looked back.
Click to expand...

Same here- I was actually going to write similar in my comment, but didn't want to go negative. Years ago, I tried several installs of smoothwall and always had performance issues. Switched to pfSense and never looked back. I've given smoothwall a look over the years to see what has changed and notice the more powerful features are behind a paywall.
pfSense can appear daunting as it is very dense, but the incredible community support and easy learning curve for vanilla installs will get you running super fast. pfSense also has tremendous hardware support- for mission critical or super-new hardware, check the hardware list. For almost everything else, it will almost certainly work.

Whatever you eventually decide to go with, pfSense needs to be on your evaluation list.
 
I'm no longer considering the full UTMs (untangle, astaro ), but I'm still curious about the sbs alternatives. What features could I get out of them? Do I even have powerful enough hardware for clearos or ebox?

As for pfsense, it is my number 1 consideration. Its lightweight, uses pf instead of iptables, its fast, and it had a ton of features. My only problem is that apparently its kinda hard to use of you don't know what you're doing
 
pfSense is really top tier, imo.

Not as easy and as plug-and-play as others, but the features and efficiency are unbelievable for free.
 
pfSense is awesome. SUPER stable, and lots of features in a lightweight package.

I really like smoothwall too, but pfSense has the edge.
 
If you don't need the extras of pfsense then monowall is worth a look.
 
I use Smoothwall Express with some homebrew mods on an Atom setup w/4gb of ram and using an old X360 20gb sata drive from my little brothers RROD'd X360. Always been rock solid for me .. my usage/needs differ a bit from yours though .. :)
 
If that ispfSense is not as easy to use as a consumer-class router/web appliance- but that is not saying pfSense is difficult.
IMO, a vanilla install is quite easy. Some options are un-intuitive or require an understanding of more advanced networking concepts, but that would be expected with some of pfSense's functionality.
The functionality exposed by the menu system is quite impressive and is laid out logically.
I think if you can't get answers to your pfSense questions here, you almost certainly will get an answer at the pfSense forum.
I can't give you a very objective review, because pfSense is the only PC-based router distro I use. I use OpenWRT and DD-WRT for firmware based devices and think pfSense is easier; probably because I am more familiar with it.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

If that isn't enough, Chris Beuchler (one of the developers) stops in here from time to time and chimes in.
 
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pfSense definately seems like a very good option, and I am going to try it out, but I started looking into the SBS alternatives, like ClearOS. It has a lot more features, like an FTP server, and a print server. As well as a clamAV antivirus. Does pfsense do antivirus as well as a firewall? Whats exactly is the difference between an antivirus and a firewall. I always assumed they were very similar.

As for the FTP server, can I set it up to use a network drive as opposed to a local drive?

ClearOS also has a bunch of other features that I won't use. Can I disable them?
 
ClamAV can be added to many firewall distros..even PFSense. It's not the most robust thing, one of the most basic underperforming antivirus programs out there. It's decent at filtering e-mail..SMTP traffic. It's nearly useless in filtering web traffic (http).

If you like some "server" features....I highly encourage you to check out ClearOS..it's a damned slick distro. You can opt out of the database install I believe.

All very quick 'n easy to sample for yourself....download ISO, burn to disk...boot from disk, install...play with for a week. Try a different distro next week and repeat the process. After trying out several...stick with the one you like the best.
 
When I built my own router I messed around with about all of the distros that are in the sticky. My opinion is based on a moderate level of technical skill (this is just a hobby).

My recommendation is you check out pfsense and ipfire. Pfsense has great forums, documentation, and lots of features. Ipfire is a much smaller project without all the support, but is simpler and designed for the less technically sophisticated. Since this is for home use, you may even want to check out x86 versions of dd-wrt or open-wrt.

If you have the skills to use it you can't go wrong with with pfsense.
 
Sorry for posting in an old(er) thread, but I didn't think that this deserves a new post.

Well, its been a while since I've installed pfSense, and its been pretty good. But it seems over complicated, at least for my skill level/knowledge. When I want to port forward something, all I want to do is enter a port and a destination IP and be done with it. PfSense has tons of settings, and I just want it to be simpler. So what of the following would you guys recommend next to PfSense?

IPFire
IPCop
Endian
ZeroShell
ClearOS
eBox (Zentyal)

EDIT: Is m0n0wall simpler?
 
jtvd78 said:
Sorry for posting in an old(er) thread, but I didn't think that this deserves a new post.

Well, its been a while since I've installed pfSense, and its been pretty good. But it seems over complicated, at least for my skill level/knowledge. When I want to port forward something, all I want to do is enter a port and a destination IP and be done with it. PfSense has tons of settings, and I just want it to be simpler. So what of the following would you guys recommend next to PfSense?

IPFire
IP
Endian
ZeroShell
ClearOS
eBox (Zentyal)

EDIT: Is m0n0wall simpler?
Click to expand...

zeroshell is simple once you learn wnere everything is
 
Of the choices listed my vote is for ipfire.

I tried monowall but the current stable build did not work well with my relatively old (3+ years) hardware, so I did not really spend much time with it. I would say the two are about equally simple to use.
 
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