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Re: show us your iron

Posted: Wed May 30, 2018 8:03 pm
by GekkoP
^ I went for it because of stability and wi-fi range, honestly. Coming from a bumpy ADSL line, it actually feels like magic now.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Wed May 30, 2018 9:54 pm
by franksinistra
^^
Just don't buy Mikrotik (Sorry DD, I don't like my own router), No support for anything but legacy stuff. They have no support for ED25519 for instance, only just got rid of DSA, recent upgrades bring their own baggage of problems, don't bother using anything but the bugfix release of the OS if you don't want to have nightmare managing configurations. I can bitch about that shit all day if i want to.

If i were to buy anything today, i'll just buy an EdgerouterX and the cheap Unifi AP AC LR for fewer than $170 in total around here. The latter is very adequate, even in a large space. Co-worker is using the former after a lifetime of Mikrotik in her house, has nothing to say but good things about it.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 2:49 pm
by ivanovnegro
I am also very happy with the Fritzbox and you get automatic security updates for the OS.
It is very customizable. It is certainly better than the rest of cheap routers you get with a contract and you can secure a lot of things using the web interface for the Linux based OS. My complaint is that the newer interface optimized now also for phones is slower than before.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 5:12 pm
by gutterslob
My main concern with routers is security updates and timeline/frame of said updates. Not one manufacturer actually says they'll support a model for XX years. Can't seem to find any sort of security database for the Fritzbox or FritzOS (feel free to link if any of you have one). Ubiquiti forums posters state that support for UniFi enterprise routers and APs are 5 years minimum. 5 years isn't a lot to me, considering how my old ghetto-consumer grade TP-Link survived more than 7 years of almost every security hole reported, thanks to OpenWRT.

Problem with the open source route (OpenWRT/Tomato/LEDE) is that new hi-performance home routers are no longer 100% supportive. There's almost always some issue - like this LinkSys models melting thanks to performance being biased to one core instead of two (actually, my TP-Link suffered from similar issues and would have died early if I hadn't enabled irqbalance), or this Asus working fine on one firmware version and bricking itself for no damn reason after an update, or this Netgear needing to be rebooted every 48 hours for the wifi to work again, blah-blah. That and firmware flashing through a cable connection? In 2018? I've only got one computer with a LAN port left, and that thing's probably on it's last legs. I don't really want to muck about with this shit anymore. If I had that kind of dexterity and resistance to clutter, I'd just dedicated an entire small PC as an Open-BSD router and pair it with an AP, or just better spend the time on building my own custom motorcycle or something.

[/rant]

Guess I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it.

Edit:
@frankdog - I will take a closer look at your Ubiquiti rec. For that price, I reckon it's a semi-decent deal - provided I can get written proof from Ubiquiti about how long they intend to provide security updates. A lot better than spending double that amount on Ubiquiti's Amplifi consumer line that doesn't even have a full-featured OS agnostic web interface.

@ivanova - Any extra info on FritzOS security would be appreciated. Maybe you can find more in German? I know that the physical product comes with a 5yr(!!) warranty, but am not sure if that extends to the software/security support as well. Seem more of an EU-centric product, and any searches for use-cases in my region came up blank. Still, and interesting company that I need to do more reading on.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 5:54 pm
by franksinistra
^ The most viable option based on your requirement would be a gigabit capable SBC / old PC + extra pcie gigabit ethernet cards i think. I mean, support is virtually endless with pfsense / linux and you can leave the wireless stuff to any access point hardwares out there (like that ubiquiti ap).

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 9:28 pm
by ivanovnegro
@Slob: First we would have to see if a Fritzbox is available at all in your country or the OS if possible without the device, I have no idea.

Then yes, you are right. You raised some interesting questions I did not even think about it when I bought mine and found out just now. Mine had six years of support. Usually they support a device for five years. I guess the one year more was extra maintenance. The problem with such things is that when you buy it, it is probably already on the market for two or more years. So when I got mine I was only assured one year of firmware updates by AVM (the company behind Fritzbox). Pretty lame it seems now.
Of course I got it again with a contract for half the price. But this contract was different because this carrier is not obligating you to use a cheap "malware router" like the rest of the carriers even though the law in Germany changed to router freedom and now you can use whatever router with your phone company and I guess I could buy the newest Fritzbox device.
There you have it. Five years and nope, to me it does not seem long enough for an appliance you will likely use more than five years and beyond. But then if you take something else here it looks pretty dark. Then again you have to go back and hack on your own things like always.

I still like the devices because it has a ton of great features that I use to make my wireless network more inaccessible to outsiders.

Edit:
Yes, there were some security breaches but AVM fixed it rapidly. The articles are in German so I won't link them.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:26 pm
by wuxmedia
We're still on the damn box which came with the phone line.
works fine.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:53 pm
by wuxmedia
just this cheap mech keyboard:
20180605_103719.jpg
I hate capslock - Maybe I should try mapping it to ctrl like all the cool kids, but for now it's fine (doesn't seem to want to be disabled in the Xinit)
rainbow cloud tape to cover horrible badge
Might get some nice key caps, or at least a few special ones. typing has got a little bit better, certainly now I'm used to the key travel
the brown thing? It's a bit of foam which I had for the car, making a really cheap wrist pad which also helped enormously with hand position.
I don't miss the 10 keys, never really used them I do miss the enter on the end so I can paste a link with the middle mouse and hit enter to go

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:33 pm
by franksinistra
Is that a Cougar Puri? I like blue switches, more than the brown one.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:50 pm
by wuxmedia
^ aukey something they are blue copies (of course) uhmmed and ahhed about a unicomp M copy. Then thought I quite like a bit of a change and a bit more deskspace (and a lot more money in my pocket)

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:32 am
by franksinistra
^ I prefer blue outemu or gateron switches than the cherry mx one. Feels smoother. :)

@Slob: Checked out aliexpress, found so many dual gigabit eth ports mini pc, ordered one for less than $100.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-PC ... autifyAB=0

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:49 am
by wuxmedia
It's really nice to type on - I got some silly round key caps and - well, they are funny looking and OK To type on :D

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:36 pm
by wuxmedia
mutant keyboard, I remaped CAPS to CTRL and it's much better, I don't use it much, but it doesn't piss me off any more :D
20180621_203307.jpg
Mix of both cheap keycaps, sort of regret not getting a back lit one now.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 3:35 am
by gutterslob
franksinistra wrote:
Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:32 am
@Slob: Checked out aliexpress, found so many dual gigabit eth ports mini pc, ordered one for less than $100.
Nearly missed your post thanks to all the keyboard porn. Thanks for the link. Still unsure what route to take though. This article on Ars is interesting reading, btw; https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... -pro-gear/

You know, the more I research, the more I'm gravitating towards a router/firewall + wireless AP setup (as opposed to an all in one box). That way, it looks like it'll prove to be cheaper if/when one component malfunctions or reaches EOL for security updates. Was initially looking at a pfsense box, but none of those I've found seem to have a POE port included (same for the one in your link), so I'll need some go-between POE switch/adapter if I want to connect a POE AP. Currently leaning towards your initial recommendation of an Edgerouter + Unifi AP of some sort. I don't need much range, so I'm guessing a basic AP would be sufficient, though I am tempted by the models with multi-user MIMO. Anyhooz, it's still a few months down the road (I'm due to travel a bit this quarter), so I'll take my time reading up on shit.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 11:15 am
by wuxmedia
gslob wrote:keyboard porn
:D

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2018 8:10 pm
by gutterslob
@frankfurter
More interesting reading; https://restoreprivacy.com/vpn-routers/
The companies listed in the article - SabaiTechnology and FlashRouters - simply sell consumer routers pre-flashed with an open source alternative and pre-configured for VPN use. Pricey, but convenient. Not quite on my radar, but it's good that they're out there.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:03 pm
by wuxmedia
Changed up the keyboard again. Guess editor of choice?
Upgraded the wrist pad with some off cut leather
15375385290832794002442982358518.jpg

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:30 am
by wuxmedia
Yeah. So I found a bit of wood in the garage, an old table top or something... Made to measure:
Desk
Desk
Just need to tidy the bottom bit up now. err and the top part.
Looks way better proportions and a decent size now.
Put half the old top as the laptop stand which is an old CRT TV stand which on-one wanted of course, perfect size for the laptop, tbh I don't really use it when it's on there. But it looks nice.

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:29 pm
by wuxmedia
15498017237005422560866602266625.jpg
Had a spare 10 mins :D

Re: show us your iron

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:17 pm
by ivanovnegro
Looks nice.