Hello, I am a prospective customer to Alta Labs. I am fresh out of college and currently working towards my CCNA certification so I have some general understanding of networking and devices. The main question I have is this: Is the Route10 a good choice for a SOHO/power user router
I have some questions regarding if purchasing a Route10 is a good option for myself. I currently am using a standard from-the-store router/AP solution that works well enough, but as I am adding more services to my network, I want to start incorporating VLANs, IPS/IDS, and high speed networking to access services such as a file server and media server on my network.
In my current setup, I have two access points connected with a 2.5G uplink to a small unmanaged PoE switch connected to my main router. I would like to connect these APs directly to the Route10 with the two PoE ports (essentially getting rid of the unmanaged switch for more controllability). I also have a 1G switch for my LAN connection that has a 10G SFP+ uplink as well.
Here are some technical questions that I have before I purchase a Route10:
Does the Route10 require the purchase of their software controller or use of their hardware controller to operate normally?
Can the 2nd SFP+ port act as a LAN port if the first 2.5G port is used as the WAN uplink?
How is the experience for inter-VLAN routing and network segmentation?
Is there anything else I should know before I pull the trigger?
I understand this is a relatively new product and the developers seem responsive and communicative about issues and their progress on updating and adding features. Personally, I love the idea of supporting this community with these devices and potentially using these devices elsewhere in my career as the company grows more robust and I have more experience with them.
Thank you for reading and answering my questions. I am excited to potentially join this community of networking and provide a powerful alternative to modern high-speed networking.
Tl;Dr: Is the Route10 worth it? Can the 2nd SFP+ port be used as a LAN port? Is the purchased software or hardware controller needed? Any tips? Excited to join the community.
No, the cloud controller is completely free. On premise there is a promo link floating around here somewhere, you can claim it for free. I stuck with the cloud controller.
Yes, it looks like you can assign any of the ports any of the roles. I’ve got a SFP+ to copper 10G SFP in my SFP+1, and a DAC in my SFP+2 going to my switch.
I don’t have much experience here, sorry.
SFP compatibility is, interesting at the moment - it’s a maturing product. Before buying whatever I’d look at confirmed reports of what works and what doesn’t.
Beyond that, I’ve got a 5G/5G fiber connection. It’s a silent router that routes that just fine, IDS is enabled - all that fun stuff. Does it and doesn’t break a sweat.
I moved from Mikrotik CCR1036-8G-2S+, which isn’t exactly a slouch either. I wanted to quiet down my rack a bit. With the addition of wireguard site2site officially supported in firmware now my techy itch is very happy. I’m running just the router at my house, and I’ve got the whole kit at my dad’s place - which includes my mother that works from home - it’s been fine since I put it in.
One thing I will tell you, it’s a router. They are still ironing out being a router. A lot of people have a lot of desires of what the router can do - I have a server for all of that stuff, personally. If you go in with the correct expectations I think it’s a fine piece of kit, and honestly for the price I don’t know of a router that can route 10gbps at the moment for the same price.
I haven’t bothered with trying out the on-premise stuff yet. From what it seems like - it’s still a work in progress. I did claim my promo key though for the future.
Thanks for the info. I’ve been doing some research of my own regarding the route10 and I am even planning on watching the stream later today. This looks like a great solution from a growing company and I think it is worth giving it a shot. Your answers also provided a lot of clarity into exactly what I am getting myself into but I have always enjoyed using new products and working in a community to improve a genuinely impressive and affordable product. After all, competition breeds innovation so I hope that Alta Labs continues to grow and push all network device manufacturers to innovate and provide quality products at an affordable price.
You can login at https://manage.alta.inc even without any Alta equipment to explore the management platform. Also check out help center for information about VLAN configuration.