Just like the operating system on your computer & cell phone, you can change the software running on your router.

  • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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    11 months ago

    I’m a bit surprised OpenWrt is in the same list as the rest. It really is in a league of its own on a technical and functional level. OpenWrt is much closer to a typical server Linux OS. Yes you can use it as a dumb flash-it-and-go firmware replacement on supported hardware, but it can do so much more.

    • vividspecter@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      You can also run openwrt on x86 boxes and not just a random selection of embedded devices. That might feel silly, but you get the benefit of Linux’s more advanced bufferbloat mitigation and a nice clean and relatively easy to understand UI.

      • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        Not silly at all for multi-gig connections. I’m running it on Pi 4 which does well for a 1Gbps connection with SQM. Sometimes it’s cheaper to get old x86 hatdware to do the same. Or I’ve heard you could run it in a Docker container on a bigger machine.

        • vividspecter@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Or I’ve heard you could run it in a Docker container on a bigger machine

          You can definitely run it in a VM (which is how I handle it) but container support wouldn’t surprise me.

          The “silly” part was more that if you have x86 you can use opnsense/pfsense but I’m with you in that SQM is a big draw. And the BSDs were well behind on wireguard support when I first switched to x86, although they have since caught up now I believe.