Any hardware running OpenWRT [1] - you could try flashing your ASUS before buying a new one.

[1] https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/asus/rt-ac68u

I would probably look at dd-wrt.org first, as this has a broadcom chip and OpenWRT doesn't like binary blobs, but dd-wrt doesn't care.

Good point, I have JTAG in case I get stuck.

For routing, VPN, and firewall, I run pfSense on a Jetway NF36-2600 I bought 4 years ago. I intend to keep using it for another 6 more years. It's still massively overpowered for my limited bandwidth and can run normal FreeBSD packages. x64 beats ARM/MIPS/Other in convenience every time.

Keeping wireless separate allows me to use better commercial gear from Ruckus, Cisco, or Aruba for the WiFi. I'm currently using some 5th generation, 802.11n Airport Extremes that are now the bottleneck when transferring files around the house. Will probably go with Cisco 802.11ac gear later this year.

I am not a router expert. Two of my routers run OpenWRT [they're Buffalos [1] that shipped with it], my old Linksys WRT54G [2] hangs off the Xbox360 and runs dd-wrt in its measly 8 megabytes of RAM. It and one of the Buffalos are client-bridged [3] to the second Buffalo that sits on the gateway to my ISP.

Anyway, the dd-wrt wiki is a great resource for setting up a dd-wrt or OpenWRT router or routers. Particularly the tutorials: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Tutorials

Good luck.

[1]: http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series

[3]: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Client_Bridged

Speaking of which, are there any home routers out there without ridiculously tiny upload bandwidth? When I finally got FIOS I had to pay Verizon $300 for their crappy router that I can't even configure because even though my own router served perfectly well in every other regard, it couldn't handle more than 768kbps up.

Some old crusty Linksys from the early 2000's. I really should upgrade but I'm too lazy and locked into a great grandfathered deal from my ISP. They keep trying to offer me new routers and cable boxes just to break the deal but I'm smarter than that. I pay $25 a month for a 20 mbit connection.

The free one provided by my ISP some months ago, I suspect/hope that such recent models have better firmware to handle buffer-bloat etc.. but I haven't had enough reason to investigate. I would definitely upgrade anything older than 3 years though given the buffer-bloat lessons during that period.

I use two AirPort Extremes (one is actually a Time Capsule). I've never had an issues with it and my wi-fi performance is very good, Since I have a multiple Macs in my household, the automatic backups when connected to the network is very nice.

ASUS RT-AC66U (primary), AirPort Extreme (Secondary). And I weep for something better... ASUS firmware updates are starting to destabilize a multi-year solid and consistent experience.

Oh that's worrisome; have their firmware updates gone down in quality recently?

I'm using an Ubiquiti ER-X. It's not the easiest to configure, but it works well with my dual-WAN setup.

> and/or VPN back into home network

For that I would recommend our own service, https://wormhole.network, that uses open source software (SoftEther https://www.softether.org). You don't have to open ports on your router or play with firewalls configurations for it to work :)

TP‑Link Archer D9

Seemed a solid plug and play after deciding against spending time setting up OpenWRT.

I currently have basic router from ISP, but I'm waiting for Omnia Turris.