OPNsense Forum

English Forums => Hardware and Performance => Topic started by: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 03:58:23 PM

Title: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 03:58:23 PM
So i have a mini pc and i am using it for firewalling. I have proxmox ve and run opnsense and i was thinking to add a wlan device. So shall i buy a wifi 6 router or use my mini pcs whole power and add a wifi 6 card? I also will have to buy a voip device which costs but lets forget about cost. Whats more efficient secure and customizable?
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: dmark on June 24, 2024, 05:09:22 PM
Running a WIFI Accesspoint on PC hardware sounds not very energy-efficient for me.
I would buy one or more (depending on the size of the location) real accesspoints (not routers), eg. Ubiquiti and a PoE-and VLAN-capable switch. If you already have a proxmox host you could easily run an Unifi controller.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 05:44:07 PM
Ubiquiti aps cost a lot and dont come with voip capabilities
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Seimus on June 24, 2024, 08:59:54 PM
If you want to go the route of OpenSource, get a WiFi 6 router that can run OpenWRT. You can set the OpenWRT as Dumm AP.

I am using it like this and having as well L2 VLANs with Dedicated SSIDs on the OpenWRT.

Regards,
S.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: cookiemonster on June 25, 2024, 12:18:00 AM
There is also a post somewhere here with a user sharing how to setup a bhyve VM _in_ OPN for OpenWRT for this purpose.
So you can do that or the VM in Proxmox alongside OPN.

You could try with an inexpensive Wifi card, but check beforehand online searches if it can be put in AP mode.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: bimbar on June 25, 2024, 12:39:25 PM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 05:44:07 PM
Ubiquiti aps cost a lot and dont come with voip capabilities

Actually they're fairly cheap, at least if you think in business terms.

You might want to look into mikrotik, there are very cheap devices available.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 03:31:39 PM
Quote from: Seimus on June 24, 2024, 08:59:54 PM
If you want to go the route of OpenSource, get a WiFi 6 router that can run OpenWRT. You can set the OpenWRT as Dumm AP.

I am using it like this and having as well L2 VLANs with Dedicated SSIDs on the OpenWRT.

Regards,
S.
Why not just buy a wifi card fou my mini pc and run it there ?
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 03:32:28 PM
Quote from: bimbar on June 25, 2024, 12:39:25 PM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 05:44:07 PM
Ubiquiti aps cost a lot and dont come with voip capabilities

Actually they're fairly cheap, at least if you think in business terms.

You might want to look into mikrotik, there are very cheap devices available.
Even if fisrly cheap they dont ussualy come with voip
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 03:34:02 PM
Quote from: cookiemonster on June 25, 2024, 12:18:00 AM
There is also a post somewhere here with a user sharing how to setup a bhyve VM _in_ OPN for OpenWRT for this purpose.
So you can do that or the VM in Proxmox alongside OPN.

You could try with an inexpensive Wifi card, but check beforehand online searches if it can be put in AP mode.
I anyway run proxmox so running a vm inside a vm is not needed. But wieic6 cards at least cost 40 euros and a voip adapter 50. I am pretty sure i can find a decent to good router with this money. But if running openwrt is your recommendation i take it thank you
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: cookiemonster on June 25, 2024, 03:43:45 PM
For voip adapter I assume you mean a device to connect your PSTN phone into a switch port like the grandstreams (I have one as it happens, an 801). If so, I imagine is possible that as soon as you put a "normal" router in AP mode, it won't have the voip functionality enabled. If that functionality is kept, then that might be a better solution but in general those devices expect to be plugged into a switch.
You might want to expand on what you mean by "voip capabilities"
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Seimus on June 25, 2024, 03:50:47 PM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 03:31:39 PM
Why not just buy a wifi card fou my mini pc and run it there ?

Because a FW is not an Access point same as its not a Switch. If you are going to put a FW into your network you should not have it as well as an AP.

You should want these two devices, doing two different things, to be separate either virtually or physically.

Also same as cookie asked, what do you mean by "voip capabilities"?

Regards,
S.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 05:32:25 PM
Quote from: cookiemonster on June 25, 2024, 03:43:45 PM
For voip adapter I assume you mean a device to connect your PSTN phone into a switch port like the grandstreams (I have one as it happens, an 801). If so, I imagine is possible that as soon as you put a "normal" router in AP mode, it won't have the voip functionality enabled. If that functionality is kept, then that might be a better solution but in general those devices expect to be plugged into a switch.
You might want to expand on what you mean by "voip capabilities"
Im sorry the mistake is at my question. I dont want ap specifically but i want to give opmsense wireless capabilities similar to ap but having voip too. So having wlan, lan if i use a router with extra ethernet ports and voip.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Patrick M. Hausen on June 25, 2024, 05:46:42 PM
But OPNsense does not do VoIP.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Greg_E on June 25, 2024, 07:35:01 PM
Voip device like a phone or Voip server like FreePBX? A phone shouldn't be a big deal, a server will need much more but you can run some of them on a raspberry pi.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 07:52:23 PM
You know, an outer device, a rj45 to rj11 converter a voip gateway in other words. I will have to buy this one tlo if i get the wifi card and the cost rises. So router or run openwrt
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: cookiemonster on June 25, 2024, 11:34:29 PM
Like the one I use Grandstream 801. Plugs into RJ45 on one of my switch ports and the "old school" landline plugs into its RJ11. No configuration needed in OPN except I don't like my provider pushing "functionality" via new firmware into it, so I block on OPN the "call home". I was lucky my friend worked there and gave me admin creds for it. But yes, that is a separate device.
I also assume here you don't mean a pbx style router like for an office with multiple users with different "lines" for your question.
Point being that a "consumer router with VOIP" is to my knowledge, nothing other than one with an RJ11 port for the phone and QoS to give priority to the voip traffic. If you have plenty of bandwith on your package, you don't normally need to worry about it.
So all in all you still need a separate device for that voip part, and another for creating a Wifi Access Point.
If you were to create the VM mentioned, you need only buy a wifi card for that one of the two devices.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: bimbar on June 26, 2024, 09:51:39 AM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 03:32:28 PM
Quote from: bimbar on June 25, 2024, 12:39:25 PM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 05:44:07 PM
Ubiquiti aps cost a lot and dont come with voip capabilities

Actually they're fairly cheap, at least if you think in business terms.

You might want to look into mikrotik, there are very cheap devices available.
Even if fisrly cheap they dont ussualy come with voip

Because they're access points, none of this comes with voip, and it really shouldn't either.
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 27, 2024, 02:06:17 PM
Quote from: bimbar on June 26, 2024, 09:51:39 AM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 25, 2024, 03:32:28 PM
Quote from: bimbar on June 25, 2024, 12:39:25 PM
Quote from: Marinoz on June 24, 2024, 05:44:07 PM
Ubiquiti aps cost a lot and dont come with voip capabilities

Actually they're fairly cheap, at least if you think in business terms.

You might want to look into mikrotik, there are very cheap devices available.
Even if fisrly cheap they dont ussualy come with voip

Because they're access points, none of this comes with voip, and it really shouldn't either.
thats my problem brooooo i need a device that comes with ap capabilities and voip so a router. but my questioj remains consumer router or run openwrt and buy a wifi card and a voip grandstream as cookie mentioned
Title: Re: Router or openwrt?
Post by: Marinoz on June 27, 2024, 02:07:39 PM
Quote from: cookiemonster on June 25, 2024, 11:34:29 PM
Like the one I use Grandstream 801. Plugs into RJ45 on one of my switch ports and the "old school" landline plugs into its RJ11. No configuration needed in OPN except I don't like my provider pushing "functionality" via new firmware into it, so I block on OPN the "call home". I was lucky my friend worked there and gave me admin creds for it. But yes, that is a separate device.
I also assume here you don't mean a pbx style router like for an office with multiple users with different "lines" for your question.
Point being that a "consumer router with VOIP" is to my knowledge, nothing other than one with an RJ11 port for the phone and QoS to give priority to the voip traffic. If you have plenty of bandwith on your package, you don't normally need to worry about it.
So all in all you still need a separate device for that voip part, and another for creating a Wifi Access Point.
If you were to create the VM mentioned, you need only buy a wifi card for that one of the two devices.
Maybe i havent clarified a lot of things. I know it takes two devices to do this thing  thatd why my question is router with around 100 euros or a wifi 6card of 50 euros and a voip grandstream which is around 60