Under Construction: Building out Lists for consolidated content organization
This is will be perpetually a work in progress as we continue to test and add more.
Please reach out to us if you would like to see a particular write up of a specific device (whether its listed below or not).
List of Networking Hardware / Software Brands, Manufacturers & OSS Projects We Have Tested:
Asus
Asus offers a range of interesting Wireless Routers. Some are targeted at the “Gamer Enthusiast” with radical styles and interesting features that allow for easy configurations to assist with network settings that gamers might ask for, while other routers are more “SOHO” or “professional”. Generally, Asus pricing is considerably higher than other overseas producers, but the products are often well-made and come backed with a moderate warranty. If there is a “bold style” you want, Asus Gaming products often fit the bill. The SOHO style of Asus Wireless Routers often have a similar feature set, with perhaps less “power” than in the gaming products. For example, some Asus Routers are available with 8x LAN ports and 3 different wireless radios controlled with 8 antennas. There are other modest offerings for models with only 2 wireless radios and 4x LAN ports.
The Asus Router offers AsusWRT for its stock firmware, which can often be configured to use Dual WAN ports and more complex routing like Static Routes, Interesting Firewall and Port Triggering options and other features commonly found in more modern Consumer Routers that were previously only available in SOHO or Business Class devices. AsusWRT is packed with some great features in an above-average UI. At first use, the AsusWRT UI seems incredible, compared to the competition. But over time, you might notice some of its bugs and flaws. While there has been great strides in the improvement of the UI, it still has some issues that are more subtle and tend to get noticed in more complex configurations. The biggest drawback to AsusWRT is the sluggishness to “Apply” certain settings, and the rather lengthy boot times that you have to wait through for the variety of settings that require a proper reboot (or the reboot is forced upon you by the UI).
All of these inherent flaws are also in the “extended aftermarket version” of the firmware known as AsusWRT-Merlin. The Merlin firmware variant is not officially supported by Asus, but the developer of AsusWRT-Merlin does actually interact with the Engineering teams at Asus (or has in the past) and this project provides “Life beyond End of Life” for dozens of Asus Routers. Merlin adds a few new and unique features to AsusWRT, but the biggest pro of the Merlin variant is how well it retains the original AsusWRT UI which is touted as having the easiest and most configurable Dual Wan configuration tools for a Stock Firmware.
That said about AsusWRT-merlin, the most powerful option for Asus firmware that is typically available for most of its older product line, is actually a project called DD-WRT. While the DD-WRT firmware is considerably more complex and the UI not nearly as fancy and polished, it offers a wide range of possibilities for configurations beyond what the device was even intended to be used as. But with this bevy of functionality, also comes a bevy of complexities and a moderately steep learning curve. The documentation for DD-WRT is plentiful, but also very scattered and often old or out dated. Some features of DD-WRT aren’t offered on every chipset and other features are considerably different for the same things like VPN client configurations. And while you can use DD-WRT to perform complex tasks like configure 4+ x individual subnets for each of the LAN ports, its INCREDIBLY difficult to figure out, let alone maintain, due to the high frequency that new BETA releases are done with DD-WRT. So first learning all the nuances of DD-WRT is a must if you want to use it as a “production router” or have stable and consistent usage in your household. Otherwise, AsusWRT/Merlin might be what you want to stick with since its extremely user friendly (comparatively speaking).
OpenWRT is often considered the penultimate firmware for a consumer router, but the learning curve is even steeper, here. There is often a lot of confusion for which devices are natively supported vs those that require soldering or other hardware hacking to get OpenWRT firmware installed – Click here to check the OpenWRT ToH (Table of Hardware) to see where the progress is for your specific device.
Brocade (Ruckus)
ICX6610 – 24x 1Gbe Port, 8x 10Gbe SFP+ Port & 4x 40Gbe QSFP+ Port (2x are 40Gbe & the 2 others are for SCFP+ to 4x 10Gbe Breakout DAC Cables)
This managed Enterprise switch is absurdly powerful, despite its age. For slightly higher costs than a newer mid-range 8x SFP+ switch, you can find these switches in a few different configurations. The most common configuration available is actually the 48x 1Gbe port version (while all other Q/SFP+ ports are the same across model variants). The 24-port model has a lower power consumption, so its more sought after for home lab use.
Buffalo
Buffalo is a lesser-known company that was once popular with the SOHO market. The brand made high quality SOHO routers and NAS devices for many years, but has seemed to scale back its product offerings to more higher end customers. The products it makes tend to be of high quality and they have above average support. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a newer piece of Buffalo networking gear, but reach out to us for a mutual exchange of information.
(The Buffalo Router we had to test with was too dated to include in this list given it was only capable of 100Mbe – We have tested a few NAS devices from Buffalo, though, so reach out if you would like to see a write-up about those, too.)
Cisco
Routers
Switches
Cisco is arguable the King of Networking Gear (or perhaps used to be). We have been able to test a few different Cisco Switches from over the last 3 decades to varying levels of success with a modern home lab.
(Coming Soon)
- CSG200 26x 1Gbe Port + 2x 1Gbe SFP+ Port Enterprise Switch
- CC2960G 28x 1Gbe Port + 4x 1Gbe SFP+ Port Enterprise Switch
Linksys
Routers
Switches
Netgear
Routers
Switches
STEAMEMO
STEAMEMO 4x 2.5Gbe Port + 2x SFP+ Port Unmanaged Switch: There isn’t much to this switch since its unmanaged. It’s extremely cheap, but functional. There seems to be issues with quality control, though, as when many users are reporting issues such as:
- The 2.5Gbe ports sometimes not working correctly with 1Gbe NICs
- The SPF+ ports will sometimes “Lock on” to the rather expensive 10Gbe RJ45 transceivers and they are difficult or sometimes impossible to remove again
- When the device is under heavy load, it can struggle to keep up network speeds, causing the connected NICs to drop the reported speed as less than optimal, often requiring frequent intervention
- This device seems fine in our testing when not using every port; When 3 (out of the 4) 2.5Gbe ports were connected with 3x CAT6 cables and the 2x SFP+ ports were connected with 10Gbe DAC cables, this device seemed to perform reasonably well (for the incredibly low price point) – But this is not a device we can recommend for anything other than home use…
TP-Link
Archer … (Soon)
ER605v2
https://openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/er605_v2 (Beware this device is easily bricked with OpenWRT updates! The initial version you install may go smoothly, but an upgrade may brick your device and require a soldering iron and additional tools to repair!)
XikeStor
Managed
UnManaged
Routers & Firmware
(and Accompanying Software)
The topic of Router Firmware is extremely complex, due to the nature of manufacturing and the designs of the CPU and other architecture used for routers and network appliances (such as a Firewall appliance that also has Layer 2 & Layer 3 Networking Routing capabilities).
To further complicate the topic of firmware compatibility across brands and hardware architectures, some open-source & 3rd party firmware offerings are often limited to specific chipsets. There is also an issue with the amount of potential support for various hardware versions of the same model of router/switch. There are also different levels of support with open source projects like OpenWRT that sometimes require soldering a UART and other complicated caveats. For the most part, we will keep this guide strictly to the options that are available without the use of specialized equipment or the requirement of a soldering iron (You will have to explore those options on your own, but know they are plentiful and powerful).
Since many brands share similar hardware components, and some brands use multiple chipsets and architectures in different models and product lines, you will have to research whether your specific model supports a specific firmware. We the links provided for a closer look at the models we have had access to and tested with various firmware options.
Asus Brand Firmware Options:
- AsusWRT (Above average stock UI)
- AsusWRT-Merlin (recommended for most users due to its life extending security patches for EoL devices and additional features added)
- DD-WRT (Only recommended for specific use cases or CLI configurations)
- OpenWRT (Advanced Users only)
- Reportedly others (Tomato, etc)
Linksys Brand Firmware Options:
Network Switches & Firmware
(and Accompanying Software)
Brocade (Ruckus)
Cisco
STEAMEMO
TP-Link
XikeStor