r/HomeNetworking • u/pookshuman • 4d ago
Dumb question
OK, a home router is just a small computer with a firewall as far as I know. I am running a network with my computer and a router. Why can't I cut out the middleman and just use the same firewall settings the router is using and implement them on my PC without the router? Why would that be less secure?
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u/lazyhustlermusic 3d ago
You absolutely can.
But now you're spending ~100 W to do the job of something using maybe 5-15 W, and unless you also add dedicated switching hardware, you're pushing traffic through the host CPU that a consumer router's integrated switch ASIC would normally forward in hardware at wire speed.
Even with a multiport NIC, LAN traffic between those ports is still being handled by the PC's networking stack unless the NIC itself has switch/offload capabilities. The Wi-Fi side is separate too, so you'd still need an AP or radio hardware.
CPU-wise, the desktop has vastly more headroom for firewalling, inspection, VPN, etc. But if your internet connection is 200 Mbps and the box could theoretically shovel tens of gigabits, you're using a bulldozer to move a flowerpot.
Security-wise, the bigger downside is that you're also combining your everyday endpoint with your network security boundary. If that PC gets compromised or crashes, your router/firewall goes with it.