penner42

The GLi line of routers come with OpenWRT pre-installed and will do what you need. I have the GL-AR300M and love it. You can even configure the switch on the outside of the case to enable/disable the VPN! They have a variety of options to choose from, including a dual-band one that looks pretty nice, but is unfortunately quite a bit bigger physically.

They also seem to keep on top of security updates pretty well. For example: https://www.gl-inet.com/forums/topic...masq-and-wpa2/

KRSW

2 reasons I continue to use it: 1) Single sign-in, 2) Security. Don't underestimate how much simpler #1 makes life, especially if you're trying to use something like a Roku/FireTV stick on the road. The travel routers are so small that I'd never notice the weight savings of carrying/not carrying it, and they've become immensely helpful. I pressed ALL of mine into service after Hurricane Irma, using them to bridge hardwired LANs on clients' networks to cellular hotspots. I can't really come up with a good reason NOT to carry it.

penner42

3) To route Roku traffic through a VPN to bypass location restrictions when on the road. (I actually have mine set up to just route through my home internet connection.)

AroundAndAbout

One of my preferences is to have both WAN & LAN ports. Makes it more flexible and secure when required.
Another is for dual band. Sometimes the Wifi is so crowded, being able to connect on 2.4GHz and locally transmit on 5GHz seems a winner to me.
The Netgear PR2000 has dual ports but not dual band & has been on my travels the last few years. I found it and it's software more robust than on the TP-link MR3020 sitting in my drawer.
The PR2000 is a plug pack design, but can also be USB powered.
I've been monitoring the GL-iNet.com products for a while & that's what I'd buy if I were to buy a new one today. I was holding out for a small dual band version, however the dual band version recently released is a little on the large size. Still may be
Another dual band one is the TP-Link WR902AC. Only one LAN port though.
Onboard VPN is an advantage, however regular VPN's are frequently blocked (eg China's GFW) & in those cases better to use a PC or mobile client.

chx1975

Yeah small dual band dual RJ45 is the Holy Grail, it doesn't exist.

kirimcd

Came across this post looking for a solution for a very similar use case - thanks for all the great info guys!

Basically I'm trying to have a set up whereby I have a 802.11ac router with its own SSID and OpenVPN config all ready to go, and simply need to repeat a WiFi signal when I'm visiting clients. Weight is not really an issue for me as I often spend a couple of weeks at on a client premises but I want to be able to "config and forget" my router for about 5 devices. So all I have to do each time is simply to get the router to repeat the signal of the client's WiFi.

Just to confirm my understanding - the GL-AR750 would be able to do that, wouldn't it?

penner42

You need it to connect to an OpenVPN network, and route all traffic through it? Or just connect to the OpenVPN to get on your own network and access other machines? Either way, yes, it will do that. (Assuming it works the same as the GL-AR300M I have. I haven't actually used the GL-AR750.)

chx1975

The GL-AR750 is way too big for this thread please see OpenWRT, USB powered, dual band multi RJ45 travel router instead.

kirimcd

Correct, possibly with some sort of kill switch to prevent leaks, albeit I understand the latest firmware forces you to input custom DNSs to prevent that (not quite a kill switch though)

Is your GL-AR300M solid enough for 5-10 devices?

And once it's connected to the WiFi network of my choice, is there any reason why services shouldn't work? I mean will the OpenVPN tunnel insure that my navigation is completely untraceable from the host?

penner42

I haven't connected more than 5 devices, but it works well with that many. As far as the security, I can't say. I've gone as far as going to ipleak.net and seeing what it says when going through the router, but I haven't done a thorough security check on it. I mostly care about it looking like I'm at home more than rock solid security. If OpenVPN is set up properly, I can't see why not, though.

docbert

Do you have your clients permissions to do this? At many companies being caught doing that would be a quick way to be shown the door and never let back in...

nkedel

Do they have guest wifi, or only secured? In general, outside vendors would be on the guest wifi, and repeating that for their own VPN use wouldn't be a problem.

kirimcd

Exactly right. I would be on their guest network where they've expressly authorised me to connect how I wish, albeit I usually sign a waiver form for illicit activities (which I'll be too busy to go for anyway).

However, as weight is not really an issue for me, I'm still puzzled whether this is the most home-router-like solution

nkedel

There are a ton of home routers which will handle OpenWRT (or Tomato, etc) and which will be good OpenVPN routers. Experience-wise, any router running OpenWRT is pretty much OpenWRT; it completely replaces the manufacturer's software.

kirimcd