GL.iNet - GL-AXT1800 / Slate AX

> What inspired you to start your selfhosting journey? What's one project you're most proud of so far, and what's the most expensive piece of equipment you've acquired for? My laptop was too loud to keep it on at night. So I moved most services on dedicated hardware. Most expensive was a Slate AX, lol, but that's not part of the permanent infra. > How would winning the unit(s) from this giveaway help you take your setup to the next level? Comet would allow me to manage the monster in the garage in the fortuitous case sshd fails. Flint 3 would just be cool, even if it does look like Batman's router. > Which channels do you most frequently use to learn about or purchase IT equipment? Amazon, it's always Amazon. > Looking ahead, if we were to do another giveaway, what is one product from another brand (e.g., a server, storage device or ANYTHING) that you'd love to see as a prize? A radio-transparent cupboard for all my apartment's network equipment!

I have the GL-AXT-1800. I have traveled extensively all over the world with it for the last 3-4 years. I use NordVPN with it to get FuboTV, Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV and Youtube and Apple Music. No problems works great and all my other devices auto connect to my SSID using the NordVPN link from my router. I also travel with my Apple TV hard wired into my GLinet router. I bring an HDMI cable to use on the hotel tv. I usually just remove the Hotel HDMI cable and use mine. I also bring a couple TriBit bluetooth speakers. It works for me and sounds awesome. You can also add NordVPN to your Apple TV. It works by double VPN as well!

Update: slate ax purchased and works like a champ. Recommend.

A major drawback to using a travel router as a permanent home router compared to normal routers is the wifi range. You'll find that the antennas of the travel routers are much smaller and lower powered than those of traditional routers meaning the range is hindered. If you live in an apartment then this may not be an issue, however if you live in a house, that could be problematic. Travel routers are meant to be used in close proximity to the connecting devices ie within a hotel room for example. So don't expect a miracle when it comes to the wifi range (compared to traditional routers). In regards to Beryl AX vs Slate AX, it would all depend on what you need. I doubt you would actually feel the difference in speed between both in the real world, but the Slate has an additional gigabit port that might be beneficial to hard wire one of your devices on your network. If you have a switch, then this advantage isn't really one to consider though. If you're really thinking about using a travel router as your permanent home router, then it's best that you think about your environment. If you live in a smaller place (studio or apartment), then it might work really well for you. If you live in a larger place with plenty of walls, then I would recommend getting another Flint. I hope this helps 🙂

1. I was sick of buying servers in the past which cancels or change what they are (contract wise) or even not change with too little ram or cores (or slow ones). Root servers was too expensive in the past so I started to do servers in my home. 2. I am still running old 1gb routers+switches and really wanted to upgrade to something faster, also use a KVM would save me to walk two floors and working in the cold basement. 3. Amazon mostly, that's were I bought a GL-AXT1800 too. 4. NAS systems should be more affordable and more powerfull without draining a lot of power. I used QNAP in the past and it was awefully slow and are obsolete 2 years later.

A lot of this depends on the speed (up and down) of your home internet. Brume 2 is definitely the choice for the home server. Small, easy to use, and you don't need wifi for a server anyways. For the client, I'd probably use another Brume 2 if you don't need wifi from the client end. If you need wifi, I'd probably get beryl AX. Alternately, if you have faster home internet (500 up and down), I'd get Slate AX for the server and the client.

I second GL.inet. One thing to note is that they have two similar models - Beryl AX and Slate AX. The Beryl uses a chipset that’s supported upstream by OpenWRT, while the Slate does not. I recommend the Beryl for that reason.

I wouldn’t recommend it for a few reasons. I used my SlateAX as my home router for about a year, and it was fine for our 2 story townhouse, however it gets quite hot under normal conditions. I ended up putting a fan beneath it. When the Flint 2 came up for preorder for $90 with free shipping I jumped on it. The difference is night and day. Not only does it run cooler, but the signal strength is stronger. Your home is quite large and with brick any router you purchase will likely have coverage issues. Personally, I’d recommend picking up a small POE switch and running an access point on the top floor. Flat cables can be hidden well along trim. The Flint 3 is about to be released to I suspect they’ll offer a substantial preorder discount as well if you’re on their mailing list

Beryl AX because it's newer and has the least problems with its firmware (due to Mediatek chip). Only reason to get the Slate AX would be if you needed the extra LAN port or maybe higher supported WireGuard speeds. But most places you travel are not going to support near 500 Mbps in my experience.

I'm using PFSense for this exact thing. I have PFSense loaded on a Dell R420 for this purpose. Alternatively you can purchase a travel router - Slate Ax-1800 or similar. This has Tailscale already loaded. I keep the PFSense at home and travel with the Slate and my laptop which has Tailscale on it. I use the PFSense at home as my exit node because that setup is more stable and reliable. Hope this provides options for you.