[GTALUG] Samsung router?

[Giles Orr]

On Wed, 28 Aug 2019 at 08:58, James Knott via talk <talk at gtalug.org> wrote:

> On 2019-08-27 09:37 PM, William Park via talk wrote:
> > I had routers from D-Link, TP-Link, Asus, Linksys.  They all died.
> > Current one is Asus RT-N66U and 5GHz band is flaking out.  So, while
> > browsing at Canada Computers, I found "Samsung Connect Home 2x2" and
> > "4x4".
> >
> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_1046_1573&item_id=109992
> >
> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_1046_1573&item_id=109994
> >
> > Anyone heard good thing about them, as pure wireless router?  The online
> > reviews mostly talk about "smart" features which I have no idea what
> > they're talking about.
>
> The manual is a little short on detail.  While it's shown being used as
> an access point, it says it's a router.  However, I see nothing about
> configuring anything about networks.  Does it support IPv6?  VLANs?  I
> strongly support separate access points and have one on my home
> network.  However, separate access points tend to support PoE.  There is
> no mention of that.  Even with the full user manual, there is simply not
> enough info to make an educated decision.
>
> http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201801/20180123114518553/ET-WV530_UM_EU_ASIA_Type_Rev.1.0_180123.pdf
>
> The D-Link DAP-2660 business grade AP appears to be a more capable
> device in that price range.
>
> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_1056_356&item_id=076368
>

My first criteria when selecting an access point is "does it support
OpenWRT?"  (Or any open source firmware, but I prefer OpenWRT as I'm
familiar with it.)  My current WAP is the TP-Link Archer C1750.  It's
pretty old, but sturdy, well equipped (reasonable amount of memory, a
couple USB ports - one of which I'm happily using for a 2TB network-shared
hard drive), and well supported.  OpenWRT is almost certainly more secure
than the stock firmware, and certainly more capable (although there are
instances where it doesn't support specialized hardware that the stock
firmware of course does - again, read up before you buy).  Even if you
don't intend to update the firmware I think checking for support is a good
idea because you're encouraging companies to produce open-source-compatible
hardware, and if there's a major security problem with the original
firmware that's not fixed at some future date, you at least have options.

The Samsungs you mentioned aren't supported.  Neither is the DAP-2660 named
by James Knott.

Your starting point:
https://openwrt.org/toh/

The TP-Link Archer c1750:
https://openwrt.org/toh/start?dataflt%5BBrand*%7E%5D=tp-link&dataflt%5BModel*%7E%5D=1750

Note that this is a game of versions: if you're buying the c1750, you want
to buy one of the known versions, anything from v1 through v5.  If you
encounter a "v6" (I don't know if that exists yet), it appears to not be
supported yet.  These versions are printed in very small numbers on the box
- or, depending on the manufacturer ... some don't bother putting it on the
outside so you can't tell the version until you open the package.  <sigh>
Yeah, getting the right WAP for OSS is a PITA, but you're already a Linux
user and used to fighting with your hardware, right?

-- 
Giles
https://www.gilesorr.com/
gilesorr at gmail.com
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