Custom built router

Hi.

After I got sick with commercial home routers,I've been looking for something different.

I love gaming as we all do...

Ping issues are a real pain and overall ability to control and maximize my connection are in high demand.

I plunged into pfsense about a month ago.

Building my rig from spare old parts.

Used i3 with 4 gigs and sata ssd which were laying around.

Added picopower adapter and 12V power supply and saw the magic happen...

Pings and packet loss are minimized and I take advantage of my ISP package at its full.

Enjoying my rig - it died. Probably because of the power supply arrangement and the old,phisically bad shape hardware I used.

Decided to buy new, dedicated hardware.

I used J4005N D2P from Gigabyte. It has an integrated ,dual core celeron cpu.

This is ,for my opinion is a good sweet spot in terms of price,power consumption and performance. The static cooling seals the deal.

Added M2 SSD. also from gigabyte but anything would fit here. It's an overkill, I know, I just like the small footprint.and its relatively cheap.

A full size ATX power supply is used.

Picked a semi modular gold rated PSU for efficiency and low temps.

Added pcie gigabit NIC.

Added LCD for data and fun. Utilizing LCDProc.

Fixed everything on a plate and covered with engraved plate I made in my homemade CNC.

Im delighted with the results.

If you suffer from network lags/ issued and even if you dont. You might want to read and see some info about these open source router disto.

Attached picturs.

Regards

Nir

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jPlSlCeUy9psnHYCIVn4s-fnripltjcc

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-8G7_ujsgiy51LqwQCuVcCLIfXuo4dYf

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-24Kp4dT7Je-t4t5LgQC1aFlEobwU4Ce

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-5EGt6o2ecCukC2bBtvs41W4aNSTsDW8

cool. nice project.

i did something like this a few years ago and it worked great.

these days i’m lazy and just use a retail unit.

There's very little you can do that will matter. No one who uses DCS for even remotely competitive games should use wifi. Which you aren't.

And once you're over the BW threshold, latency will become the bottleneck. Again, assuming your serialization delay has been addressed with faster connections.

So it's awesome that you're building your own, and it can be as easy as linux with ipchains or full blown like yours. But it won't make a material difference because of latency. Again, it's a function of what ISP service you've subscribed to.

Of course I'm assuming you weren't starting with 6 year old home router.

And it certainly looks better than anything on the market, that's for sure!

Great ! Love that :)

I used to built my own routers based on either fli4l or IPcop, both Linux and I enjoyed the versatility they offer.

WLAN ain't that bad for DCS as hansangb sys. I used WLAN for 2 years in my old home, even had a repeater between me and the router and I never got kicked because of net errors. I admit, I expected it to be real bad and was surprised how well it went. For that I used solely AVM devices, FritzBox 7490 DSL ( now 6490 cable version ) and a mediocore AVM Repeater310...and it worked.

Meanwhile, I have to use a Fritz!Box router to make proper use of my All-IP PBX system, sadly there is no way around. Also, the boxes from AVM are fast enough that I do not feel the need to

put up another router. I have 2 UTM fw's next to me, full blown systems...but theor fans are so squeeky and it wouldnt do the PBX part anyways...so I stay with my providers 6490 box ;)

During my "on the road" times fixing home user stuff and ISP connections I learned which routers are real bad, tbh, most end user devices are somewhat questionable. The only ones I really use myself are AVM boxes. I would throw any Dlink or Netgear router as far as I can and then shoot it with a sniper gun...LoL...just my experience with those over the years. Never had an Asus, maybe those are ok, they do cost enough to expect that.

Sadly, AVM doesnt sell outside of EU iirc. Those are great devices, from A-Z.

*

I use 3 AVM Fritz!Boxes ( 6490 main + 2 older ones, 7490 and 7320, for LAN driven AP's in the house, + 1 DECT repeater and AVM cordless phones, works like a charm from the cellar to the roof, from the street back into the garden. In other words, I am happy with that "pure AVM" setup.

Great ! Love that :)

 

I used to built my own routers based on either fli4l or IPcop, both Linux and I enjoyed the versatility they offer.

 

WLAN ain't that bad for DCS as hansangb sys. I used WLAN for 2 years in my old home, even had a repeater between me and the router and I never got kicked because of net errors. I admit, I expected it to be real bad and was surprised how well it went. For that I used solely AVM devices, FritzBox 7490 DSL ( now 6490 cable version ) and a mediocore AVM Repeater310...and it worked.

 

Meanwhile, I have to use a Fritz!Box router to make proper use of my All-IP PBX system, sadly there is no way around. Also, the boxes from AVM are fast enough that I do not feel the need to

put up another router. I have 2 UTM fw's next to me, full blown systems...but theor fans are so squeeky and it wouldnt do the PBX part anyways...so I stay with my providers 6490 box ;)

 

During my "on the road" times fixing home user stuff and ISP connections I learned which routers are real bad, tbh, most end user devices are somewhat questionable. The only ones I really use myself are AVM boxes. I would throw any Dlink or Netgear router as far as I can and then shoot it with a sniper gun...LoL...just my experience with those over the years. Never had an Asus, maybe those are ok, they do cost enough to expect that.

 

Sadly, AVM doesnt sell outside of EU iirc. Those are great devices, from A-Z.

 

*

I use 3 AVM Fritz!Boxes ( 6490 main + 2 older ones, 7490 and 7320, for LAN driven AP's in the house, + 1 DECT repeater and AVM cordless phones, works like a charm from the cellar to the roof, from the street back into the garden. In other words, I am happy with that "pure AVM" setup.

No, it's not bad at all, Wifi that is. But if you're (not you Bitmaster, just people in general) one of those who obsess about ping times to the server, wifi will add latency. And you are at the mercy of your neighbors who decide to use the wide/40MHz channel setting and stomping on other SSIDs. It matters because it's a shared medium and how fast you get on and off the channel is really important. And also because the same people will have left the default (802.11b/g/n) mode further slowing it down for everyone.

Like this guys!!! :D

Haha, I am a 40MHz guy, ruthless :)

+ the Radar channels ;)

Yaya, I know.... I service my neighbours' routers, so we dont collide !

*but I agree, menwhile I am back on LAN, directly into my router's GBit connector, bypassing my switch that all other devices have to use, just to save some 0.5ms ;)

I prefer wifi because it isolates a potential spike . I live in an area with a lot of thunderstorms , and use the biggest , baddest suppressor i can find for power , but i still unplug the pc fairly often . A LAN cable would be something else to forget :) . Having said that would i benefit from a faster router with only 10 and 1 mbps internet ?

(802.11 b,g,n) Yeah , if i simmed MP , i would be that guy !

I prefer wifi because it isolates a potential spike . I live in an area with a lot of thunderstorms , and use the biggest , baddest suppressor i can find for power , but i still unplug the pc fairly often . A LAN cable would be something else to forget :) . Having said that would i benefit from a faster router with only 10 and 1 mbps internet ?

(802.11 b,g,n) Yeah , if i simmed MP , i would be that guy !

Every little bit helps. It's about how fast you can utilize the channel so other people and packets can use the RF. So eliminate the "compatibility"mode and only use the latest supported by your phones/PCs. At this point, almost all devices should support N at the least. But don't enable b since no one should be using it. Unless you have a kid who wants to use the 10 year old Nintendo DS :D

Try to pick a quite time (late night, early morning) and do some speed tests with various settings. It's never perfect because there is the "Internet" but you can certainly try uploading and downloading files locally using a modern browser.

Also, get something like Wifi Analzyer on Android or other myriad of free wifi scanners on your PC/Mac. Look for the least utilized channel and go with that. Or better yet, if you can, only use the 5GHz channel. Assuming distance is not an issue.

Finally, the speeds associated with the 802.11 standards are the theoretical maximum. So you never hit 10Mbps with 802.11b for example. It's like those handheld radios you can buy. Rated for 40 Miles. And in reality, you're lucky if you get 1/4 of a mile! LOL

Every little bit helps. It's about how fast you can utilize the channel so other people and packets can use the RF. So eliminate the "compatibility"mode and only use the latest supported by your phones/PCs. At this point, almost all devices should support N at the least. But don't enable b since no one should be using it. Unless you have a kid who wants to use the 10 year old Nintendo DS :D

 

Try to pick a quite time (late night, early morning) and do some speed tests with various settings. It's never perfect because there is the "Internet" but you can certainly try uploading and downloading files locally using a modern browser.

 

Also, get something like Wifi Analzyer on Android or other myriad of free wifi scanners on your PC/Mac. Look for the least utilized channel and go with that. Or better yet, if you can, only use the 5GHz channel. Assuming distance is not an issue.

 

Finally, the speeds associated with the 802.11 standards are the theoretical maximum. So you never hit 10Mbps with 802.11b for example. It's like those handheld radios you can buy. Rated for 40 Miles. And in reality, you're lucky if you get 1/4 of a mile! LOL

Thanks for the reply . Kinda like my 10mbps internet , wherin i rarely see over 1 mbps downloads .

Thanks for the reply . Kinda like my 10mbps internet , wherin i rarely see over 1 mbps downloads .

Hmm, that seems a little to extreme. One note of caution though. Folks in networking always count in bits. So 1Kbps is 1000 bits per second.

All developers and apps count in bytes. So 1KBps is 1,000 Bytes per second *or* 1,024 Bytes per second.

So 1MBytes/sec is 8 Mbits/sec. So you have to be a little careful. Or you do have a horrendous RF interference and you can't get past the 1Mbps bottleneck.

Always worth testing with LAN connected PC.

Custom built router

a friend has a 300Mbps connection to his ISP, but he often sees 42MB/s downloads via Steam (stats shown in the steam client).

how does that work?

is that the 1024/1000 conversion ?

a friend has a 300Mbps connection to his ISP, but he often sees 42MB/s downloads via Steam (stats shown in the steam client).

 

how does that work?

is that the 1024/1000 conversion ?

The ISP's software rate limit you. And it's a shared connection so it's never truly get exactly 300Mbps. It will go up or down depending on other connections. For example, on my 1Gbps up/down FiOS connection, When I backup my files, I can reach 900Mbps+ at 1AM. But if I try it at 5PM, I typically get 400+Mbps.

And I'm limited to 1Gbps since they have a gigabit handoff to me. Your friend will have a gigabit handoff as well, but software rate-limited.

And the QoS mechanism can be quite as simple as random drop to weighted drop, to - even simpler - fair queuing.

So you add all that up, and you can experience burst throughput from time to time. And not too be too pedantic but throughput numbers are averages. In reality, it's 100% used or 0 % used. So over time, we average it and get the numbers that we're used to.

but with the 1024 calculations you mentioned, isn’t the 42MB/s downloads significantly more than theoretically possible maximum?

according to the earlier posts, we should get less than, not more than

but with the 1024 calculations you mentioned, isn’t the 42MB/s downloads significantly more than theoretically possible maximum?

 

according to the earlier posts, we should get less than, not more than

Depends one who wrote the calculation. There in lies the problem. When I troubleshoot, and I have to be very very accurate, then I ask. I ask the developer if he's counting 1K as 1024 or 1000. In almost all cases, it's the former.

But people who write network specific software almost always default to 1000 bytes. So who knows with SteamVR.

And the difference between the two isn't terribly great. What is about, about 3%? It matters when you're doing detailed study, but no one will notice it.

hmm, something is still not right.

if 1 byte is 8 bits, and you need the occasional overhead bits, i still don’t see how you can get 42MB/s down a 300Mbps link, regardless of the size of a K unit.

hmm, something is still not right.

 

if 1 byte is 8 bits, and you need the occasional overhead bits, i still don’t see how you can get 42MB/s down a 300Mbps link, regardless of the size of a K unit.

Remember, it's rate limited by software. Which allows him to burst.

So his 300Mbps connection can only be made with optical connections (OC3, 12) which never happens. Or it can happen with multiple 100Mbps connections which is technically possible but he could NEVER EVER go above the physical medium. And the most likely scenario is that he's connected to a gigabit port that's shared. And software limited to 300Mbps.

Remember, the overhead is all the headers Ethernet, IP and TCP plus things that only happens at the phy/electrical level like SFD, Preamble etc.

And the data portion of an IP packet can only be as big as 1500 bytes. Unless jumbo frame is used which an ISP will never do.

Custom built router

are the overhead and header bits included in the 300Mbps ISP account limit, or is that actually 300Mbps of pure data?

are the overhead and header bits included in the 300Mbps ISP account limit, or is that actually 300Mbps of pure data?

Some, but not all of it. Some of it happens at the electrical level that no router can count. So Start Field Delimeter, CRC check comes to mind.

But all Ethernet, IP, and TCP header (all overhead) will get counted.