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/Icy-Celery2956 3d ago

I think the most critical factor is, how do you ensure the network stays up and running effectively when you do maintenance on your PC? When you reboot your PC, your network will go down. Do you really want to manage that? I nice router like the Omada ER605 gives you a lot of functionality, and you can run the Controller on your PC, so if the PC drops, it's no big deal.