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

[Alex Carver]

I purchased a multi-port, fanless SBC from Protectli with no OS 
installed and then just installed barebones Debian on it and set up all 
the normal IP routing/forwarding/etc.

Works fine, minimal footprint, and stays up to date as the OS packages 
get upgraded (which is primarily the kernel, SSH, and iptables).

It does not run on POE, it uses a 12 V power brick. But it's plenty fast 
with six 2.5 GbE ports. They have other versions with 4 or 6 ports and 
speeds of 1.0, 2.5, or 10.0 GbE via RJ45 or SFP/SFP+ ports, support for 
WiFi modules inside the case, support for LTE modems inside the case, 
the NIC is an Intel chipset on most of them (except the very cheapest 
units), and it supports NVMe and SATA. They also have DisplayPort, HDMI, 
USB and serial console ports.

They're Intel Celeron i-Series 64-bit machines so they are not going to 
lose support in mainline kernel anytime soon whereas people like 
Ubiquiti may obsolete hardware at some point in only a few years because 
they don't want to continue support and want you to buy a new appliance.

I do have Ubiquiti access points to provide my wireless connections for 
devices that aren't wired but you could go with anything from Ubiquiti, 
Aruba, etc.

On 2026-03-13 21:23, Ken Cochran via Ale 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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