Looking to migrate Mesh Wifi to Router/AP combo
Recently, my D-Link COVR AX1800 x2 Mesh Wifi is starting to have problems after 3-4 years of use. It starts to have wifi outage that requires reboot every few days, sometimes the admin dashboard just wouldn't load.
It's not a good product in the first place, no firmware updates, feature lacking dashboard, mobile app cannot detect the devices (same network), ethernet backhaul not working properly causing signal drops in the bedroom.
Anyways, my usecases:
ISP: 1Gbps (will upgrade to 2.5Gbps in the future)
Wifi Devices: Average 4, 12 at most, no heavy user
PC: 1, steam downloads/ torrenting
Router needs: Route specific domain traffic through VPN, currently using `singbox` on PC to achieve this
Current setup:
I have spent a day looking for my next solutions:
- ASUS TUF AX4200 -> Existing mesh as Wired AP
- ASUS TUF AX4200 -> UniFi Flex Mini Switch (for PoE) -> Netgear WAX202 / 2nd hand enterprise APs
- old PC with i5-4670, opnsense -> i226-V NIC -> switch -> APs
- ASUS ZenWiFi XD5 AX3000
Just looking for opinions on which choice(s) makes the most sense, or what should I reconsider.
For opnsense it's still in planning stage, I am unsure where to get 2port i226-V NIC properly, I found 1 on amazon for US$45, which is from China, and directly from China I can find US$30 options from taobao, just need assurance they are reasonably priced. I am from HK, shipping is not an issue.
Technical skill wise, I am a CS grad with good Linux experience, but lack networking knowledge.
Thanks in advance.