topic Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN in Full Fibre

PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

ScottyKernow — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 09:21:54 GMT

Quick question for someone in the know

Currently i have Nord VPN installed on my TV, Phone and Tablet, it makes me feel safer 😉

They can still all see each other on my local WiFi

It would be far neater, in my opinion, if the VPN software could be on the Router. All devices would benefit regardless rather than being installed on each individual device

Does the PlusNet router have the ability to heve this installed?

If not, do PlusNet offer another router that does?

Many thanks in advance

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

MisterW — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 09:40:43 GMT

Does the PlusNet router have the ability to heve this installed? No

If not, do PlusNet offer another router that does? No

Most of the routers that have the facility to run a VPN client are based on DD-WRT or OPENWRT.

As far as I'm aware no ISP supplied routers are capable or running a VPN client.

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

bill888 — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 10:40:28 GMT

fwiw, Nordvpn don't support PPTP or L2TP 'less secure' vpn protocols any more, so you can't use any old cheap 'off the shelf' cable router any more as a VPN router without needing additional software. That leaves OpenVPN and Wireguard protocols.

As far as I'm aware, only some high end Asus and most GL.inet routers support openvpn protocol 'out of the box'.

eg. Asus RT-AC86u can handle 'up to' 75 mbps openvpn speeds 'out of the box'. RMerlin's AsusWrt can double this to 'upto' 150 mbps in theory. The RT-AC85P supports 'upto' 19 mbps, RT-AC51U supports 'upto' 12 mbps openvpn speeds out of the box. Wireless speeds likely to be lower.

Otherwise, most budget routers running openwrt or ddwrt costing less than £100 can't offer openvpn speeds greater than 25 mbps. eg. TPlink Archer C7 v5 (17 mbps over ethernet). TPlink Archer C6 v3/Xiaomi 4A Gigabit (19 mbps over ethernet), Linksys MR8300/EA8300/ea6350v3 (25 mbps over ethernet). Speeds will be even slower over wifi !

Considerably faster vpn speeds are possible with Wireguard vpn protocol using 'low budget' hardware, but this is 'work in progress' (ie. not reliable) imho. You would need to look at routers which support OpenWrt for example.

A word of warning, OpenWrt can open up a bag of worms - specifically compatibility/stability can be problem with wireless devices.

I think some GL.inet routers support Wireguard protocol, but I seem to recall there have been reports it does not always work....

Finally, some websites have got wise to VPNs and will try and actively block it if one is detected. eg. banks and streaming video services.

fwiw, if you wish to dabble with VPN router, I suggest connect it to existing Plusnet Hub LAN port, so you have the option of switching easily between VPN and non-VPN internet access.

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

ScottyKernow — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 10:56:12 GMT

Wow!
Thats an answer and a half
I will read that a couple of tine to make sure i understand it
😁
Appreciate your time to post that

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

bill888 — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:21:15 GMT

You're welcome.

A quick look on ebay reveals one seller (h***84) offering Xiaomi 4A Gigabit router for £18 + £3.50 p&p. Powered by Mediatek quad-core 880 MHz MIPS chip. Open box and comes with 2 pin EU power adapter. I purchased one from this seller at the beginning of the year. Provided it is still the old 'Giga version', it will run OpenWrt. My one runs 22.03.0-rc4 with openvpn - I only switch it on as and when I need it.

Contrary to what I said earlier about sub-£100 routers, I note Amazon UK appear to offer this router for 80 quid, but check the reviews.... (There may be more reviews on Amazon USA website)

GL.iNet AX1800

https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-ax1800/

boasts 'upto' 112 Mbps openvpn speeds, and 'upto' 667 Mbps wireguard speeds

Asus offer RT-AX53U AX1800 router for similar money. The high 1.5 GHz clocked processor 'may' be capable of 50 mbps openvpn speeds out of the box over ethernet, but don't quote me.

RT-AX53U specs

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

bill888 — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:51:49 GMT

I forgot to include link for OpenWrt installation on Xiaomi 4A Gigabit router in previous post. It requires a linux (or Windows) PC. Not the easiest to install compared to other routers. I use the Windows installation method without issues.

https://openwrt.org/inbox/toh/xiaomi/xiaomi_mi_router_4a_gigabit_edition

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

RealAleMadrid — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 14:12:01 GMT

@ScottyKernow Why do you want to use a VPN on your connection? You say it makes you feel safer, but it shouldn't be necessary. I think all it will do is make your connection slower, the encryption performed on a VPN link requires a a lot of processing power and as @bill888 has explained in detail most consumer grade routers will not perform well.

I see from your other posts that you want move to Plusnet FTTP, not sure what speeds you have with BT but if you want the higher speeds that are available you may find that without a very high spec router you will struggle to get decent speed over a VPN.

I have an enterprise grade router which I will use when FTTP eventually comes to my area. Under Lab test conditions It's WAN to LAN throughput is just over 800Mbps with maximum size ethernet packets. With an IPSec-VPN using AES128-SHA encryption the throughput is reduced to below 400Mbps and in a test that is more like actual data traffic with a mixture of ethernet frame sizes it is down to a not very impressive figure of around 100 - 120Mbps.

The conclusion - Fast VPN speeds are not easy and need high end (= expensive ) equipment.🙄

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

ScottyKernow — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 14:28:30 GMT

Have sent a direct message

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

pjmarsh — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 14:29:18 GMT

Just to backup what @RealAleMadrid says. I'm on Fibre 900, and have a pretty new high spec work laptop. This usually tops out around 300Mbps on speed tests. My 5 year old Mac Book Pro and my even older laptop can both max out the line on a speedtest.

The difference? My work laptop has a vpn on it which we (the users that is) can't turn off. This proxies all our traffic via a 3rd party, and that is what is limiting my speed from there. It's not the processing power of my laptop, but most likely some limits (either resources, networking or config limits) that are slowing it down.

Re: PlusNet full fibre router + VPN

ScottyKernow — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 14:52:31 GMT

Thanks for all the replies everyone
This is what i find great about these types of forums, so much useful information !
Think i will leave the VPNs on the devices and switch on and off as i feel its required
Now just waiting to get back on PlusNet...