this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2026
35 points (100.0% liked)

Selfhosted

61734 readers
953 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

Detailed Rules Post

  1. Be civil.

  2. No spam.

  3. Posts are to be related to self-hosting.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or readme if you're providing a link.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title.

  6. No trolling.

  7. Promotion posts require active participation, with an account that is at least 30 days old. F/LOSS without a paywall has exceptions, with requirements. See the rules link for details. Tags [CBH] or [AIP] are required, see the links in Rule 8 for details.

  8. AI-related discussions and AI-involved promotional posts have additional requirements for tagging, as noted in Rule 7 and the AI & Promotional Post Expanded Rules post, and find example disclosures here.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
ruud@lemmy.world
Loki@lemmy.world
CannaVet@lemmy.world
devve@lemmy.world
ayyy@sh.itjust.works
curbstickle@anarchist.nexus
curbstickle_lw@lemmy.world
35
Router recommendation for newbie (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) by nshibj@lemmy.world to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
18 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Edit: forgot to mention that I'm based in Europe, which might be relevant for which devices are easily available.

Hi, I am a newbie looking for a new router, one where I can block ads and tracking (with AdGuard, PiHole or something similar), I can choose my own DNS, and hopefully tinker more once I learn more about routers and networks. I have a home server currently running only locally and would like to access it from outside my home, but I'm afraid of letting the door open to bots, hackers, etc.
I am currently using the router provided by my ISP, which has poor customization options and is also failing a lot lately (it loses internet connection at least once a week and needs restarting).

I have searched a bit around and I think something where I can install OpenWRT or other open source firmware would be good. On the OpenWRT forum I have seen recommended the GL·INet Flint 2 GL-MT6000 https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt6000. I also looked a bit more on GL·INet's website and saw the GL·INet 3e (GL-BE6500) which has WiFi 7, and wondered if that could be a good upgrade, but seems it doesn't support (yet) installing official OpenWRT.

As for me and my use case: I am comfortable with the Linux command line, my personal computer runs Linux and I have a home server running OpenMediaVault with a couple of services on Docker (Jellyfin, Navidrome, Radicale, Trilium, Calibre-Web, Wanderer), but I barely know anything about routers and networks. The router will serve to connect that server via Ethernet and use several devices (laptops, desktop PC, phones, tablets, AndroidTV...) via WiFi.

I wonder what the thoughts of people who know about routers and networks are.

  • Are these good options for a first non-ISP router?
  • Is the 3e (GL-BE6500) worth the update for WiFi 7 or is it overkill for my use-case? Maybe even a bad idea if it doesn't support the official OpenWRT?
  • Anything else I missed and should take into account?

In addition to the physical router recommendation, I have 2 more questions:

  • from what I have read in other threads I believe I might need to keep my ISP's router, or get another device to use as a modem before the router (I don't know how to do that). Is that correct or can I just replace my ISP's router with a router running OpenWRT (or similar) and be set?

  • does anyone have any good resources to learn more about networks, modems, routers, etc.? for a newbie who is comfortable with the Linux command line but otherwise knows nothing about the topic.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Take a look at OPNsense which is open source or pfSense which is more commercial but still has a community version. Good documentation and will run on really old hardware as long as you have two Ethernet ports in the computer. Until last year my router was a 2007 dual core dell PC. I upgraded to a fifth generation I5.

I run the licensed version of pfSense on all the routers in my org. I have full tunnels between each location along with full blocking of malicious sites including all adult content. It may look complicated but if you want to learn how netowrking works you can do a lot worse.