Router Recomendation For VPN Use

[GregW]

Greetings.
Can someone here make a recommendation for the best Asus Merlin supported router for VPN use?
I currently have an RT AC66U that I have not attempted to configure to utilize a VPN service. From what I understand the AC66U does not have sufficient processing power to use a VPN with.

I would like to run strong encryption on the VPN. I currently run the Private Internet Access service on my Nvidia Shield. It however appears to be limited to 128 bit encryption on the Shield. From my understanding this encryption level is not sufficient.

I would like to purchase the most powerful router that Merlin supports for this purpose. Cost is not really a major concern, because I view it as a purchase that will hopefully last for many years.

Thank You in advance

 

[skeal]

Greetings.
Can someone here make a recommendation for the best Asus Merlin supported router for VPN use?
I currently have an RT AC66U that I have not attempted to configure to utilize a VPN service. From what I understand the AC66U does not have sufficient processing power to use a VPN with.

I would like to run strong encryption on the VPN. I currently run the Private Internet Access service on my Nvidia Shield. It however appears to be limited to 128 bit encryption on the Shield. From my understanding this encryption level is not sufficient.

I would like to purchase the most powerful router that Merlin supports for this purpose. Cost is not really a major concern, because I view it as a purchase that will hopefully last for many years.

Thank You in advance

The AC 86u

 

[GregW]

The AC 86u

Thank you for your reply. After looking into the AC 86U, from what I can see, is a VPN support model. The other ones apparently don't feature the VPN options.

Am I correct in this?

 

[kfp]

The other ones apparently don't feature the VPN options.

Am I correct in this?

Other models can run an OpenVPN server too, just on less powerful hardware so your throughout would be less than that of 86U.

 

[DonnyJohnny]

Price not concern?
But a mini pc like Qotom and install pfsense or sophos.
Good VPN cum firewall.
Get those i7. Around USD 250 to USD300

 

[kfp]

But a mini pc like Qotom

OP is specifically looking for a router supported by Merlin..

 

[GregW]

Thanks again for everybody replies.
I am intrigued with the Qotom pc solution, however I am concerned that it would be more difficult to manage compared to a Merlin based router.

 

[terminator]

I got a 86U a few days ago. One major thing was I needed VPN client support. Currently only 2 clients have their IP set on the router and all their traffic is automatically routed through the always on VPN connection. I don't have a need for other devices to hit VPN. I have a total of 30 wifi clients connected and 1 hardwired windows machine. 1-2 HD streams are often on. CPU core 1 and & 2 barely goes above 2-5% and memory stays at 70%, so I am thinking there is plenty of juice to spare. I am very happy so far!

 

[GregW]

I got a 86U a few days ago. One major thing was I needed VPN client support. Currently only 2 clients have their IP set on the router and all their traffic is automatically routed through the always on VPN connection. I don't have a need for other devices to hit VPN. I have a total of 30 wifi clients connected and 1 hardwired windows machine. 1-2 HD streams are often on. CPU core 1 and & 2 barely goes above 2-5% and memory stays at 70%, so I am thinking there is plenty of juice to spare. I am very happy so far!

Thanks for the 86U info.
Can I ask what level of encryption you are using for the VPN?
My Nvidia Shield running the private internet access client will only do AES 128.
Also if I may ask, who do you recommend for a VPN provider? I've read mixed reviews on PIA as far as speed goes. I have issues sometimes with the speed also.

Thanks

 

[DonnyJohnny]

Thanks again for everybody replies.
I am intrigued with the Qotom pc solution, however I am concerned that it would be more difficult to manage compared to a Merlin based router.

Hardware wise. Up to your needs and configuration. It is the software that makes the different. There are a lot of firewall/router software. Common players are pfsense and sophos. Both have free solution.

I was reading about setting up VPN client for mini pc. I see that sophos don’t seem to support using as VPN client. Only as VPN server.
Pfsense have support for both client and server.
https://getflix.zendesk.com/hc/en-g...l-VPN-Setup-for-pfSense-Router-OpenVPN-Client
Both software have good community support too. You can always Google “pfsense vs sophos”
Most importantly is they are good security solution and highly customisable with “plug-in/add-on”. Example https://turbofuture.com/computers/The-Best-pfSense-Packages
As usual, Hardware wise, more package u have, more memory you need. But memory are cheap these days and you can always upgrade as and when needed.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Thanks for the 86U info.
Can I ask what level of encryption you are using for the VPN?
My Nvidia Shield running the private internet access client will only do AES 128.
Also if I may ask, who do you recommend for a VPN provider? I've read mixed reviews on PIA as far as speed goes. I have issues sometimes with the speed also.

Thanks

PIA will use AES-256-CBC on Port 1197.

PIA's speed is the best I have found in comparison to Astrill, Strong and a couple of others. Using my VPN appliance with an I7 processor I can sometimes get VPN download speeds of over 400 Mbps though other times it falls to 220 Mbps. My gig connection from Comcast seems to be highly variable without the VPN so I don't know who to blame for the variations in my VPN speed, probably both.

 

[GregW]

PIA will use AES-256-CBC on Port 1197.

PIA's speed is the best I have found in comparison to Astrill, Strong and a couple of others. Using my VPN appliance with an I7 processor I can sometimes get VPN download speeds of over 400 Mbps though other times it falls to 220 Mbps. My gig connection from Comcast seems to be highly variable without the VPN so I don't know who to blame for the variations in my VPN speed, probably both.

Is this info from a previous thread by you still accurate for what you are running?

I have the Qotom Q370G4. Quad Core I7 4500 CPU Equipped 8G RAM - 16GB Msata SSD. 4 Intel 10/100/1000 Ethernet Ports, 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 , HDMI, Video , Mic, Audio Out. Also orderd an additional Msata SSD to I could easily switch OS. Started off with Pfsense which Qotom flashed onto the SSD. Now using OpenWRT.

Over kill for what it is doing but I wanted to be able to repurpose it as mini desktop if it didn't work out as VPN appliance.

Their web site is very confusing. If you need assistance try working with Sunny Lau. His email export05@qotom.com. He was very responsivie and seems to check his e-mail 24/7. Machine shipped from China. Had it in less than four days.

Power efficent just draws five watts when not heavily loaded.

 

[terminator]

Thanks for the 86U info.
Can I ask what level of encryption you are using for the VPN?
My Nvidia Shield running the private internet access client will only do AES 128.
Also if I may ask, who do you recommend for a VPN provider? I've read mixed reviews on PIA as far as speed goes. I have issues sometimes with the speed also.

Thanks

I am using NordVPN that is AES 256 I believe. You can also do double VPN where it bounces off two servers before hitting the destination. I haven't tried a ton to compare it to many but I was using btguard in past and the speed wasn't that good (about 2 mbps). With NordVPN, I get over 20-30+ mbps consistently.

 

[terminator]

I am using NordVPN that is AES 256 I believe. You can also do double VPN where it bounces off two servers before hitting the destination. I haven't tried a ton to compare it to many but I was using btguard in past and the speed wasn't that good (about 2 mbps). With NordVPN, I get over 20-30+ mbps consistently.

Here is a quick comparison that comes up on google search for the top 2 https://restoreprivacy.com/nordvpn-vs-pia/
Depending on what you are using it for, PIA is based in United States so I didn't go with them.

 

[GregW]

I am using NordVPN that is AES 256 I believe. You can also do double VPN where it bounces off two servers before hitting the destination. I haven't tried a ton to compare it to many but I was using btguard in past and the speed wasn't that good (about 2 mbps). With NordVPN, I get over 20-30+ mbps consistently.

Wow, that's impressive with the double VPN.

 

[GregW]

Here is a quick comparison that comes up on google search for the top 2 https://restoreprivacy.com/nordvpn-vs-pia/
Depending on what you are using it for, PIA is based in United States so I didn't go with them.

That's a good point about PIA being based in the US.

 

[Xentrk]

We had some fun in the Router forum discussing OpenVPN performance earlier this year. I did my best to summarize the discussion in this post https://x3mtek.com/openvpn-performance/

In the post, you will see various performance metrics of different CPUs. I converted an old Win 7 PC topfSense appliance and my OpenVPN performance is approx 95 Mbps to a server half way across the globe.

I helped a friend configure an AC86U and setup a VPN client to the same location I used. But I never saw the improved OpenVPN performance that others reported when compared to an AC88U.

Use the AES-GCM-128 cipher with SHA1 for best performance.

Yesterday, I changed the Access Point from a D-Link 880L flashed with DD-WRT to an Asus AC1900. The change gave me an improvement in WiFi performance on the 5 Ghz band. On the D-Link, I was averaging 115 Mbps down and 80 Mbps up on native WAN. I now average 175 Mbps up and 90 Mbps down on the AC1900. I do see download peaks 200 Mbps on 5 Ghz. So the change in Access Point made an improvement.

When connected to the VPN tunnel in Los Angeles on the 5 Ghz WiFi band, I get a peak of 75 Mbps down with an average of 54 Mbps. I get a peak of 40 Mbps down and an average of 25 Mbps upload. On my AC88U, I was lucky to get 10 Mbps.

The pfBlockerNG package allows me to block ads and malware. I also use it to create ipv4 lists from ASN numbers for selective routing. On the Asus, I had to write code to do this. A new beta release of pfBlockerNG will have graphs like pi-hole. The learning curve was not too bad. I plan on posting my configuration and how to perform selective routing in a future blog post.

 

[terminator]

Wow, that's impressive with the double VPN.

Just to clarify, I don't use double VPN. I get those speeds with single VPN.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Is this info from a previous thread by you still accurate for what you are running?

I have the Qotom Q370G4. Quad Core I7 4500 CPU Equipped 8G RAM - 16GB Msata SSD. 4 Intel 10/100/1000 Ethernet Ports, 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 , HDMI, Video , Mic, Audio Out. Also orderd an additional Msata SSD to I could easily switch OS. Started off with Pfsense which Qotom flashed onto the SSD. Now using OpenWRT.

Over kill for what it is doing but I wanted to be able to repurpose it as mini desktop if it didn't work out as VPN appliance.

Their web site is very confusing. If you need assistance try working with Sunny Lau. His email export05@qotom.com. He was very responsivie and seems to check his e-mail 24/7. Machine shipped from China. Had it in less than four days.

Power efficent just draws five watts when not heavily loaded.

Yes that is what I'm using to run my VPN on. It is double NATed behind my primary router.

 

[doczenith1]

I use PIA and when using the windows client I see speeds of around 250 Mbps down 450 up. With my 86U I get around 220 Mbps both ways. I'm using UDP on port 1198 with the following settings:
Data encryption: AES-128-CBC
Data authentication: SHA1
Handshake: RSA-2048