Okay, so I wanted to turn my old PC into a home built router because... Well, why not! So I was just about to do in when low and behold, my parents wouldn't let me! So I was just thinking, could I make a virtual machine that was a router so that my Gaming PC was also my router? Idk if that is possible, but it would be cool :D If anyone could link me to any video tutorials or just tutorials or even just tell me if u can and if so how to do it here, then that would be great! It would suck if you couldnt do it, but still haha, It as a good idea!
Yes, you can virtualise the machine, however there are downfalls.
First, the hypervisor type. If you doing this within another OS, your using what is known as a type 2 hypervisor. The issue with this compared with a type 1 (bare metal) is the host OS isn't really aware of the virtualised guest. So if the Host OS requires the power the guest OS is using, its just going to use it and possibly stall the guest OS. Which is not good for something like a router.
Another issue which can be tied to the hypervisor type, is latency. As any process has to be passed through more application layers before finally getting to the hardware.
The third is from a security point of view. A router, in the case of pfsense, is also a firewall. A firewall being something that either lets traffic through or denies it based on set rules. Due to this, the WAN interface is on the open side of the firewall and is vulnerable to ANY connection. This would technically put your host machine both within and outside of the network.
Fourth, its on a gaming machine. With its own OS that will want to restart due to updates, possible crashes and other events that may cause you to have to stop the virtulised OS. Which would mean anyone else on the network would no longer have internet.
It can be done, but there are many issues with doing so. I run my router/firewall on dedicated hardware. Although before I did virtualise it under ESXI, but again on a dedicated virtualisation server that never shutdown.
Okay, thank you for that great feedback, what do u recommend that I do then? I don't have a massive budget, however, if you could maybe recommend a good router or two to get, then I would be very grateful! Thanks again :)
I am guessing you want to do some QoS and traffic shaping to prioritise your gaming traffic. Although a OP setup like pfsense would be great. You only really start to reap the benefits when you run a larger network (myself I have 1 game server, 2 web servers, a FTP server and a few others. As well as several desktops/laptops/phones that commit a lot of traffic each day)
Your best bet would be to look for something that supports DD-WRT (Linksys WRT54G/GS/GV) which will perfectly fine for a smaller network. From there you can get a greater control of the network.
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Doesnt sound like he knows what hes doing. Correct me if Im wrong. A router, you just need 2 NICs. If he can organice the network traffic its kinda easy then.
@topic starter: Better read first a book about Oracle Virtual Box/VMware/VirtualBox .