1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,200 Are you tired of your wireless router dropping your internet connection at the worst possible times? 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:10,400 It turns out you can build your very own router that'll perform a lot better and 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:17,120 it's a lot simpler to do than you might think. But why does store bought and ISP provided routers tend to be so unreliable in the first place? 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,760 So, a typical wireless router is actually three devices in one. 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:26,800 The actual router part is what moves traffic between the internet and the gadgets in your home. 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,240 All those LAN ports on the back of it serve as a switch, 7 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,840 which allow multiple wired devices to connect to the same home network. 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,880 Finally, there's a wireless access point, which enables wi-fi through those antennas that stick 9 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,280 out of the top. Unfortunately, these three-in-one routers can be a little bit like one of those 10 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,640 restaurants that tries to serve food from three different parts of the world. 11 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:51,920 Instead of doing one thing well, they do three things... just okay. 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,640 A big reason is because the CPUs they contain are usually underpowered and can get 13 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:04,480 overwhelmed if you have lots of devices connected to your network. More specifically, commodity routers often have CPUs based on older ARM designs. 14 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:09,680 Even on higher-end routers, such as these two, that cost hundreds of dollars and promise you the moon, 15 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:15,120 if only. The chips are only about as powerful as something you'd find in a low-end smartphone. 16 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,720 In this case, it's a Cortex A53 from 2012. 17 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,800 No wonder so many routers drop out with as much data as we suck down these days. 18 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,280 And that isn't even counting the underpowered wi-fi. I want my 4K Netflix! 19 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,040 But do you need a bunch of high-end hardware to build something better? 20 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:37,920 Mercifully, the answer is no. Typically, a home-built router is basically just a PC that's running a special operating system. 21 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:45,680 Just about any reasonably modern PC will do. If you've got a multicore X64 CPU from the last 10 years or so and a modest 4GB of RAM, 22 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,840 you likely have enough to build a system that will run circles around your old router, 23 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,320 and will be a heck of a lot more reliable and nicer to look at. 24 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:59,680 This means a DIY router can live on anything from a newly built desktop to an old laptop 25 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:04,000 you've kept in a closet to one of those small mini PCs that aren't much bigger than a cup of coffee. 26 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:10,320 But I wouldn't recommend anything with an ARM CPU, as operating system support for those chips is still rather poor, 27 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,920 and we're trying to make our lives easy here. But there is one special thing you need to make sure you do have. 28 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:20,080 Your DIY router needs to have at least two Ethernet ports, 29 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,320 one for WAN, or your internet connection, and one for your home LAN. 30 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,920 You can then buy an inexpensive switch and connect it to your LAN port 31 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:33,600 to get your other devices onto your home network. Because remember that whole your router is more than one device thing? 32 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,240 That's what we're doing here. The piece is coming together. 33 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,440 If you're using a desktop, you can easily add a second Ethernet port 34 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:46,240 by buying a separate PCIe card, which can usually be found for cheap on sites like eBay. 35 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:52,880 And if you get a card with more than one port, you can even put different devices on separate LANs for added security. 36 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:57,120 So like if an attacker compromises an unsecured device like a TV or camera, 37 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,640 your more sensitive devices like PCs will be protected. 38 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:05,680 It's okay to play favorites here. But if you want to keep things simple and just keep everything on one network, 39 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,520 the best practice is to buy a switch instead of a multi-port card. 40 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,800 Since using a card like that as a switch, or bridging, 41 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,880 is one of the few things that can overwhelm your CPU and her performance. 42 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,960 Now it's time to talk about our third Amigo, the wireless access point. 43 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,680 You can actually just use your old router as an access point by putting it in AP mode, 44 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,680 but you'll usually get better performance if you buy a dedicated access point. 45 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:34,720 There are lots of options out there. Just get a well-reviewed one with the range and bandwidth you need, 46 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,080 hook it up, and you'll have a fully functional and powerful home network. 47 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,480 But what about an operating system? Windows 11? 48 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:48,720 No. Probably the most popular option for DIYers is called PF Sense, 49 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:53,040 which is a completely free and open-source router and firewall solution. 50 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,480 It's based on a Unix-like operating system called FreeBSD 51 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:05,120 and offers a GUI similar to an off-the-shelf router, but with way more features so that you can have maximum control over your network. 52 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:10,240 I mean, it's your network. It even offers optional packages that can perform functions like intrusion 53 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,800 detection and ad blocking. Some other operating system options are OPN Sense, 54 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:19,920 which is a fork of PF Sense with some additional security features, and Sophos XG for Home, 55 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,680 which is a free version of a paid firewall aimed at commercial users. 56 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,880 But whatever you go with, make sure you have compatible hardware. 57 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,560 All of these options play very nicely with Intel network controllers, 58 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:36,640 and less so with other brands. So it's good practice to make sure both the Ethernet port built into your motherboard 59 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,040 and any PCIe cards you use are connected to Intel controllers. 60 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:47,200 And no, they did not pay us to say that. And if you still have problems getting your ports to work on PF Sense, 61 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,360 try OPN Sense instead, as it uses a newer version of FreeBSD 62 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,960 and tends to support some of the newer Ethernet controllers built into motherboards. 63 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,400 Do keep in mind though that setting up PF Sense or OPN Sense 64 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,560 isn't quite as straightforward as just connecting a $30 router from Walmart, 65 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,800 but as long as your goal is just to get up and running without doing anything too fancy, 66 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,360 it's not actually a very difficult process. And there are plenty of good how-to guides online 67 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:17,440 that show you how to get your Ethernet ports configured properly. Both operating systems have plenty of documentation to help you along as well, 68 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,600 which we'll link in the description below. And remember, if you can't get it working, 69 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,240 just unplug it and plug it back in. 70 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,200 And that'll fix it. And that'll do it for this video. 71 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,720 Thanks for watching, guys. Like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. 72 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:38,640 Check out our other videos and comment below with video suggestions. And don't forget, subscribe. 73 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,080 And follow.