on 15-08-2022 10:53
As a software developer and network admin of 4 children I was thinking of investing in a routerOS router so I can customize it to how I prefer (parental restrictions, load balancing/bandwidth caps etc). Has anyone got experience with it or could give some feedback on their experience?
Many Thanks!
Answered! Go to Answer
on 18-08-2022 19:03
Something I have advised in the past is to use a old wifi router and install (free) ddwrt or openwrt on it. That can give you the same options as routeros.
To consider: You config this as an access point with it's own wifi name etc. Give that to the kids and friends who come along. You can set times of access etc across all devices using that AP. Good so you do not have to keep track on phones, borrowed devices etc. You keep you main VM wifi just for you adults.
When it comes to parental control this can be very tricky and time consuming to manage, you could use a free dns service IP that filters out adult content for instance eg: https://cleanbrowsing.org/filters/ (not used this) lots of other providers out there like cloudfare.
on 15-08-2022 12:33
on 15-08-2022 13:03
Yea the price point and set of features make it really attractive to me. I hate being walled in by the VM hubs configuration which is lacking on a lot of features. I don't want to break the bank on cisco level equipment just for domestic purposes but I really want to have more control over my network.
on 15-08-2022 16:26
on 15-08-2022 16:32
on 18-08-2022 19:03
Something I have advised in the past is to use a old wifi router and install (free) ddwrt or openwrt on it. That can give you the same options as routeros.
To consider: You config this as an access point with it's own wifi name etc. Give that to the kids and friends who come along. You can set times of access etc across all devices using that AP. Good so you do not have to keep track on phones, borrowed devices etc. You keep you main VM wifi just for you adults.
When it comes to parental control this can be very tricky and time consuming to manage, you could use a free dns service IP that filters out adult content for instance eg: https://cleanbrowsing.org/filters/ (not used this) lots of other providers out there like cloudfare.
on 21-09-2022 13:09
Have a look at PfSense Community edition. Then grab an old Intel I5 from eBay. Add a second NIC, and you will have all the features you need. If you want smaller silent HW, there's plenty of Celeron Micro-PC platforms out there for a few hundred.