Building a Home Router, Switch Recommendations?

wswartzendruber

I'm on a tight budget, and my hatred for Linksys routers and OpenWrt is high. There are things I want this router to be able to do that OpenWrt can't easily give me.

I'm getting a 1.2 GHz machine with dual ethernet adapters. Now I also need a switch for the LAN-side adapter. This is where I don't know WTF I'm doing. Advice?

frostschutz · Advocate Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Posts: 2977 Location: Germany

I have a TP-Link TL-SG1005D, 5-Port GBit switch. Very happy with it... there's also an 8 port version. I'm not using Linksys Router, but I love OpenWRT (on a TP-WR1043ND).

John R. Graham · Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:04 pm Post subject:

Have you seen the Gentoo Home Router Guide? :wink:

- John
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wswartzendruber · Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:04 pm Post subject:

So do I just get routing setup and plug it into the LAN adapter on the desktop?

teapot · Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:10 pm Post subject:

you connect a cable between one of the router's ethernet cards and a port in the switch for it to function like a "port multiplier".

if you want you can use your old wireless router as a wireless access point by turning off its dhcp server and connecting one of the non-WAN ports on the router to a port in the switch.

Jaglover · Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:36 pm Post subject:

I have two of these, one in each end of the house. So far I'm happy with them.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833130084
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Akaihiryuu · l33t Joined: 08 May 2003 Posts: 798 Location: Columbus, OH

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127325

Heavily recommended.

wcg · Guru Joined: 06 Jan 2009 Posts: 588

I have one of the Allied Telesys FS708 8-port 100baseT switches
for the lan. It is nice: better than average throughput for its
device class (I think a D-link of the same era was fastest in
a review of several different switches of this class, but this one
was not slow), metal case, crossover cable autodetection, no wall wart
(transformer is inside the case), and a little retainer clip on the power
plug at the case to keep it from being jiggled out accidentally:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=ethernet+switch+review+%22Allied+Telesyn%22&hl=en&num=10&lr=lang_en&cr=&safe=images&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6007272494856200543&sa=X&ei=juogT6KjOeOIiALx6-HOBw&ved=0CIEBEPMCMAU

They probably have a 1000baseT equivalent, but it will probably
cost more than the D-link at Newegg that the URL above showed
and might not be as fast:
http://www.provantage.com/allied-telesis-gs900-8-50~7ALL9039.htm

(I looked at the AT 802.11 b/g/n wireless router, but it has a wall
wart type transformer and what looks like a plastic case; might be
someone else's product rebadged.)
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