On Jan 18, 2014 4:44 PM, "Craig" <diesel01 <diese...@pisquared.net>@<diese...@pisquared.net> pisquared.net <diese...@pisquared.net>> wrote: > > The main product of MikroTik is an operating system based on the > Linux kernel, known as the MikroTik RouterOS. Installed on the > company's proprietary hardware (RouterBOARD series), or on standard > x86-based computers, it turns a computer into a network router and > implements various additional features, such as firewalling, virtual > private network (VPN) service and client, bandwidth shaping and > quality of service, wireless access point functions and other > commonly used features when interconnecting networks. The system is > also able to serve as a captive-portal-based hotspot system.
If you are looking for this kind of functionality, DDWRT and OpenWRT are better known, and will let you use a vast array of easily available embedded systems. Newegg even lists DDWRT compatibility as a feature. Embedded systems use less power, and to be frank most of the wireless drivers for access point tasks are more reliable on ARM platforms than on x86. I bought a refurb Asus 11n router with a USB port for $20 not long ago, mainly because it supports DDWRT. To me the big advantage is that I can use it as a low-power, general-purpose ARM computer, but you could do all kinds of interesting things at a lower level if you had the mind to do so. For most people this means running OpenVPN, SSHD, and a torrent client, but there is a lot you -could- do. :) The biggest down side is that you can completely overwhelm a consumer wireless router if you are using it in a busy environment. Enterprise routers have more memory and more testing of individual features at scale, although for a handful of clients DDWRT is as good as. If you are looking for fancy wired routing functionality, Quagga (or even Zebra) is a good choice. Wired routing is a very stable field, people never update their core routers if they are working, so a five year old project isn't that antiquated. :) IPtables is serviceable for a basic switch, although you won't get wire speed over very many ports from a general purpose computer - software switching is limited by the processor, and very power-inefficient. You would do better to use a PC as a router and use VLANs with a cheap switch instead. In fact the switch embedded in my DDWRT router supports VLANs so I could theoretically do all this onboard - but I only have one router running so OSPF isn't that interesting. :) Best, Tim _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
