kesawi
New Around Here
I have an existing Netgear WNDR3800 running OpenWrt Barrier Breaker 14.07 that I currently use a the WiFi AP for my home network which is showing its age. I have a separate pfSense router and a managed switch so I am purely concerned with wireless functionality and performance rather than other features.
My network is made up of a mix of devices supporting 802.11n & 802.1ac, 2.4GHGz & 5GHz, and 20MHz & 40MHz channels including laptops, mobiles and tablets. I currently have 4 SSIDs on each band assigned to 4 VLANs:
The Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 R7000 and ASUS RT-68U seem to be the two most recommended AC1900 routers, however I'm a little unclear whether each supports my requirements. I've also considered the Netgear EX7000 (as I don't need the router function), but it's not clear how much of the WiFi functionality has been cut from it. Given where I need to position the AP, I'd prefer it to have a desk stand so that I can mount it vertically. From what I can gather:
My network is made up of a mix of devices supporting 802.11n & 802.1ac, 2.4GHGz & 5GHz, and 20MHz & 40MHz channels including laptops, mobiles and tablets. I currently have 4 SSIDs on each band assigned to 4 VLANs:
- SSID1 - VLAN1 - Main subnet - WPA2-enterprise
- SSID2 - VLAN2 - Kid's devices - WPA2-enterprise
- SSID3 - VLAN3 - Limited access to main subnet - WPA2-PSK
- SSID4 - VLAN4 - Guest subnet
The Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 R7000 and ASUS RT-68U seem to be the two most recommended AC1900 routers, however I'm a little unclear whether each supports my requirements. I've also considered the Netgear EX7000 (as I don't need the router function), but it's not clear how much of the WiFi functionality has been cut from it. Given where I need to position the AP, I'd prefer it to have a desk stand so that I can mount it vertically. From what I can gather:
R7000
I'd appreciate clarification from anyone who owns one of these devices as to whether it will meet my requirements, as I'm uncertain from the information I can find.- Supports VLAN tagging from natively within the netgear firmware
- Only allows two SSIDs per band natively within the netgear firmware
- Supports multiple SSIDs under DD-WRT
- Possibly supports VLANs under DD-WRT and may require additional configuration from the CLI.
- No open-wrt support.
- No desk stand for vertical mounting?
- Unknown if it supports VLAN tagging from natively within the netgear firmware
- Only allows two SSIDs per band natively within the netgear firmware (can't find any reference in the manual, but review site makes brief mention)
- Does not appear to have DD-WRT support.
- No open-wrt support.
- Comes with desk stand for vertical mounting
- Doesn't appear to natively support VLANs in GUI (may be possible through CLI)
- Allows 3 SSIDs natively per band, however can only split between guest and intranet, not separate VLANs (may be possible through CLI).
- Supports multiple SSIDs under DD-WRT
- Appears to support VLANs under DD-WRT
- No open-wrt support
- Comes with desk stand for vertical mounting