[CentOS] Off-Topic: Travel Router and Firewall

[H]

On 11/23/2016 09:56 PM, Mauricio Tavares wrote:
> Go to the openwrt site and see what replaced the TP-Link TL_WRN702N.
> The new one has 2 ether ports and can be USB powered.
>
> Of course, there are those who will say you should use a raspberry pi
> for that...
>
> On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 3:18 PM, H <agents at meddatainc.com> wrote:
>> This is off-topic and the only connection with CentOS is that the laptop
>> will be running CentOS...
>>
>> I am looking for a travel router/firewall for a number of reasons:
>>
>> - Protect against outside attacks when outside the office/home not relying
>> on whatever protection the laptop/tablet/phone offers.
>>
>> - Allow for fast transfer for data between devices without being limited by
>> the bandwidth of the hotel etc., even without being connected to the
>> internet.
>>
>> - Allow for multiple devices even when the hotel etc. only allows one device
>> to be registered.
>>
>> The ideal device should:
>>
>> - Be small, ideally be able to be charged via a USB port.
>>
>> - Use open-source software that the user can update.
>>
>> - Allow the user to log on the device and set up the connection with the
>> hotel etc. which often requires a userid and password to be entered on a
>> browser page.
>>
>> - Allow using either a RJ-45 wired or wireless connection to the outside
>> net.
>>
>> - Have at least two RJ-45 ports to connect a laptop avoiding WiFi.
>>
>> - Allow for VPN tunneling.
>>
>> If anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated!
>> _______________________________________________
>> CentOS mailing list
>> CentOS at centos.org
>> https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
> _______________________________________________
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS at centos.org
> https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

I did visit both the OpenWRT lists and the TP-Link website. On the latter, I found four travel routers: WR810N 300 Mbps, powered from an outlet and 2 RJ-45 ports, its predecessor WR710N 150 Mbps, WR802N 300 Mbps and powered via micro-USB port and 1 RJ-45 port, and finally WR702N 150 Mbps. If I read correctly, only the 8xx models have at least 8 Mb of flash memory required for OpenWRT so it's down to either WR810N or WR802N. Of note is that all routers are apparently sold in a US version where the firmware is locked and a European version where it is not, the latter easier to flash.

OpenWRT seems like a good solution. However, I am not an expert on this and two questions remain:

- Will OpenWRT allow me to using a computer, tablet or phone configure the access when the hotel (or similar) uses a web page where one has to enter userid and password?

- When the router is connected to the WAN using an Ethernet cable, am I correct that it is used in AP (Access Point) mode? And when the router is connected to the WAN using WiFi and the user devices access the router it is used in Bridge mode?

Thank you for all the suggestions and comments so far!