I have a Slate AX and want to set up a VPN to route traffic back through my home network. We have this AirPort Extreme router that still works. Could I use this to setup my home server/exit node? If so, any idea how?
Apologies if this is a dumb question.
No, this router doesn’t support running a VPN server but you can buy a second GL.iNet router and use it to run the Wireguard server and plug into the Airport. Or run Tailscale on it. Or buy an AppleTV and run Tailscale exit node on that.
More instructions: Digital Nomad VPN Tutorial using Wireguard or Tailscale
do not connect a device this old to the internet
No. As good as they were in their day, this device should be retired.
Buy a raspberry pi or an old computer with Linux to build VPN super easy
While an excellent device for its time, it’s long overdue to be retired. Good opportunity to buy latest-gen network gear.
Sorry. That device has very limited advanced features so… no.
And with how old the firmware must be, I wouldn’t risk using it anyway on a network that is connected to the internet
If you need a VPN serveron the cheap, you could simply run a small VM with WireGuard or OpenVPN, or even better, a Docker container
Retire this router now!
The last firmware update was version 7.9.1 which came out in 2019.
That’s 5 years without any major security updates.
Even if the device still works, you’re going to be putting your network at risk by continuing to use a discontinued device.
Just call it a loss at this point and buy a newer router. Most recent routers have some type of VPN server software preinstalled and are easily configurable. I personally use ASUS ZENWiFi routers which can do what you want out of the box.