[ale] SOHO router(s), buy v build

[Boris Borisov]

I find openwrt to work for me.

It's more flexible that ddwrt but seems to load little slower than ddwrt.
But you load software pieces you need as you do on regular Linux distro.

Only thing to keep in mind is close source wifi adapters are not supported.



On Sat, Mar 14, 2026, 00:24 Ken Cochran via Ale <ale at ale.org> wrote:

> Hi ALE folks,
>
> I'm looking for 3-ish *good* SOHO routers.
>
> I like separating the radio from the routing, i.e. the wireless
> part is a separate piece of hardware & the router just routes.
>
> CLI config?  Used to be we'd make a textfile config & TFTP it
> into Ye Olde Cisco 2501 by the serial port. (Umm, do we even
> HAVE serial porta anymore...?)
>
> CLI/text config would be nice so I can keep up with config
> changes a la source code controls/versioning.
>
> Could use "a few" ports, say 4-6-ish.
> Some kinda "fast low power" CPU like ARM-64.
>
> Buy or build?
> Buy would be something like Ubiquiti I guess?  Powerable by USB-C or POE...
> What to build?  Any resources/recommendations/FAQs/Docs?
> Build would mean I can use the likes of PFSense or DDWrt or other Linux
> or *BSD-based software/firmware.
> Protectli?  Routerboard?  Something else?
>
> Over the years I've been pretty ok with Asus but they're kinda
> fragile - power surge has taken a few of mine.  They appear
> to score ok on non-spyware in their firmware (consent decree
> some years ago IIRC but that's expiring I think). And they
> run DDWrt fine.
>
> Y'all's input welcome.  Thanks, -kc
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