homelab
While I can't say I need this in my home -- I live by myself in a 2bdr apt -- have any of you tried any of this gear from Aliexpress? I can't say I ever thought to check out Aliexpress for gear like this. I used to work at an MSP, so practically everything I have is old stuff from clients who use Ubiquiti, Cisco, TP-Link, etc. Which is perfectly fine for my needs. Though all brands known and sold in the US.
But if I wanted/needed new stuff...Are these various brands and products from Aliexpress worthwhile? Good value or no? Or that too broad a question to ask?
I started with some firewall boxes and they’re still pumping years later as advertised.
I’m reminded of my friend coming back from China with suitcases of name brand clothing from the same factories the originals come from. All super cheap.
This stuff doesn’t necessarily cost a lot to produce, it’s just marked up to high hell around the world.
Duntun? Never heard of this brand. Is it safe to use?
I guess it depends your version of safe :p
It won’t murder you if that’s what you’re asking. You can always monitor your egress traffic if you’re concerned. Ultimately, for home use it likely doesn’t matter.
Spying today takes the form of custom silicon branded as the original with extra transistors added before fabbing. Usually higher nm processes since they can’t fab on the latest nodes.
Knowing this, the chance of getting a counterfeit chip on a name brand switch is non-negligible as it is, and those parts come from China too.
The firmware might be a concern, but again, you need to be a valuable target.