[ADVICE] :Wired Gigabit Router

[chicu1981]

Hi Everyone,
I need some design help.

I have a 4 story town house 3 stories above ground and a basement. House is wired at multiple spots on each floor for Ethernet. All CAT5E cables go to my basement cabinet where I have my switch.


In my previous setup I had my cable Modem in bridge mode and I had my Asus AC-68U as my main router. Everything was on the main floor behind my television.

I just got a Gigabit Cable Internet connection. However, My new cable modem interface is pretty crappy. I also got a Cable BOX. It a big heavy box and now i don't have enough room for a Modem, Router and cable box.

I need to move my modem Downstairs in the basement. But I need to keep my AC68u behind my television for good wireless coverage throughout the house. I plan to use the AC68u as an AP.

In the basement I need a new router with similar capability as my AC68u .


ANy wired option which I can use?

 

[chicu1981]

Anyone?

 

[L&LD]

No need to bump your own post within hours (minimum 24 hours is considered minimum netiquette). Have patience and someone may help.

 

[chicu1981]

No need to bump your own post within hours (minimum 24 hours is considered minimum netiquette). Have patience and someone may help.

Apologies.

 

[L&LD]

Apologies.

No. Apologies are not required (just informing you of the expected behavior here).

 

[System Error Message]

It really depends on what you want from a router. If you arent skilled and you all the auto or features of networking areant really a need for you than any router with hardware acceleration will suffice however if you gigabit but you also want firewall, UTM etc than there are a few ways but they require skill and effort.
The CCR1009 from mikrotik is well capable of multi gigabit internet with firewall, QoS, etc but it is a dedicated router so you cant install other stuff on it.

Using x86 is even more tedious than using mikrotik but you can have an all in one device that can perform its tasks at gigabit speeds. You would need an OS such as a linux server or a networking focused one that lets you install stuff, install and configure all the things you need. It is a very tedious process but it can turn out really well.

You can however add x86 behind mikrotik to perform the tasks that mikrotik cant such as squid, UTM, anti virus, etc and have mikrotik automatically redirect traffic to the x86 box first before going back to mikrotik and than internet.

Any method using x86 will require 2 NICs, preferably intel NICs at least and if you use x86 behind mikrotik you will need to bond 2 ports together to get full gigabit speeds (assuming forwarding requirements are 2Gb/s). You could also get a TILE dev device which will have more than the mikrotik CCR and do the same things as x86 can despite being the platform the CCR uses but you will have to go through the trouble of compiling linux and all the programs you want on it from source and picking a distro and programs that do multicore well.

People wont respond fast if you dont mention your requirements like what do you want from a router and what do you need from it. Do you need vlans? Internet vlan? what VPN throughput? forwarding speed needed (this is your upload + download so symmetric gigabit internet requires 2Gb/s forwarding to max it out), what other features such as types of QoS, firewall, UTM, file server, torrent client, etc? I usually troll people who just ask general stuff without specifying details because if you just get a router based on what someone suggests you arent going to be as satisfied or happy (you might even feel bad or disappointed) than if you do a bit of research, find something that matches your requirements best to the goals and requirements you set. Its good to ask but you have to specify details.

I suggested non consumer because for both ubiquiti and consumer routers their gigabit throughput is dependent on hardware acceleration, without it it will be some years before they can do NAT at gigabit speeds with configs. Mikrotik has interestingly managed firewall and QoS with hardware acceleration if you look at the benchmark of their recent MIPS routers but for 4 times the price the CCR is many times better with more ram than any consumer router. If you're someone who doesnt need all those QoS, firewall and advanced stuff than you have many to pick from. I consider ubiquiti as a mini server just like using x86 with linux but as a router ubiquiti is terrible, its great if you dont need much and you want to make the most of it's configurability such as installing anti virus on it and other UTM capabilities but it will not perform those duties at gigabit speeds. The edgerouter pro tops out squid3 at 160Mb/s if it can use both cores, people say its QoS and firewall speed is about 300Mb/s but hardware NAT without any other things is gigabit.

I say ubiquiti as a router is terrible because right now im using it as a backup and without my mikrotik router doing all the hacking and such it doesnt do its job well such as not taking my config when i reconfigured DNS so without mikrotik hijacking and doing stuff it will try to use a non existant DNS server first before trying the one provided by DHCP despite the config specifying otherwise. There are also some bugs in its functionality as a router which isnt too bad but can sometimes be internet breaking. However if it is a choice between ubiquiti and a consumer router as a router i would pick ubiquiti as consumer routers tend to have more serious bugs but that may soon change thanks to RMerlin, openWRT and tomato.

Edit: Regarding your space problem they dont all need to be in the same place. You can also ceiling mount devices.

 

[chicu1981]

Thank you for the very detailed response. I will come back with list of my requirements.

 

[chicu1981]

I have

• 1 macbook,
• 1 ipad
• 3 cellphones,
• 1 PC
• 1 NAS
• AmazonfireTV
• Chromecast
• I also run a Plex sever on my PC
• PC also run some other downloading servers usch as NZBGET Couchpotatoe and Sonarr

I would like to maximize my internet poerformacne. Al though I am a Computer/Electrical engineer I am not too keen on the RouterOS by Microtik. Would prefer something a bit more simpler and turnkey but still be able to get gigabit performance. I have budgeted $100 could go to $200

I would also like to spend money on something reliable. Not too keen on restarting and keep debugging the network.

 

[L&LD]

Hi Everyone,
I need some design help.

I have a 4 story town house 3 stories above ground and a basement. House is wired at multiple spots on each floor for Ethernet. All CAT5E cables go to my basement cabinet where I have my switch.


In my previous setup I had my cable Modem in bridge mode and I had my Asus AC-68U as my main router. Everything was on the main floor behind my television.

I just got a Gigabit Cable Internet connection. However, My new cable modem interface is pretty crappy. I also got a Cable BOX. It a big heavy box and now i don't have enough room for a Modem, Router and cable box.

I need to move my modem Downstairs in the basement. But I need to keep my AC68u behind my television for good wireless coverage throughout the house. I plan to use the AC68u as an AP.

In the basement I need a new router with similar capability as my AC68u .


ANy wired option which I can use?

If you need to stick closer to your $100 budget, then an RT-AC56U for the basement may be all you need.

If you can spend more, an additional RT-AC68U will also serve you well.

Run a LAN cable, Cat5e or better, from your modem to the new (basement) router. Run another cable from your basement router to your existing RT-AC68U behind the TV (a better location is recommended though) and use it as an AP.

This should be very straightforward and simple to do after you have run the LAN cables to the locations you need.

 

[System Error Message]

X86 and pfsense requires some configuration but it is not as difficult as mikrotik or ubiquiti. There are some x86 boxes dedicated to being a router at $100, some a bit more but with more performance/features. To configure pfsense is a bit like configuring any other router using the GUI on the web, as long as you how to define your network and install a linux OS it would be easy.

 

[zeppelin55]

Ok, so I need similar help. I had a ubiquiti edgerouter; but the thing died (the GUI wouldn't load and stability was declining, it probably could have been saved, but then I bricked it anyway...). I then bought an LRT214; and the thing seems ok, but it seems to have stability issues. If someone with experience could comment on that as well; it just seems to have issues; but it could be the new ubiquiti (5) firmware is causing issues as well.

I have two Ubiquiti UAC-APs ceiling mounted in my house.

My requirements are simple:

WALL Mountable
Gigabit.
at least 3 or 4 LAN ports.

I could buy another switch to get around the lan port issue, but I would prefer just having one box with those. It wouldn't be a dealbreaker though.

In my youth I would have been more willing to do something custom, but mostly since this thing sits a wall, light and reliable is preferable.

Thanks,

Kyle

 

[sfx2000]

X86 and pfsense requires some configuration but it is not as difficult as mikrotik or ubiquiti. There are some x86 boxes dedicated to being a router at $100, some a bit more but with more performance/features. To configure pfsense is a bit like configuring any other router using the GUI on the web, as long as you how to define your network and install a linux OS it would be easy.

Those 100 dollar boxes leave a bit to be desired - it depends on the network interfaces, and driver quality in the FreeBSD 10.2/10.3 distribution...

pfSense, on first run, has a wizard setup that will get one up and running - they keep a lot of stuff in alternate screens that are accessible.

If one has run the gamut of consumer grade Router/AP's, pfSense is an choice... but the EdgeRouters and Microtik's are also good options.

Just keep in mind that all of these platforms do expect a fair amount of networking knowledge to use to the fullest extent.

(yes, I run pfSense myself, and pretty happy with it)

 

[System Error Message]

It may be possible to recover your Ubiquiti edgerouter but it involves getting a new PSU, replacing capacitors, finding a debug port you can use to install firmware (this is why mikrotik routers have some sort of backup boot incase the main OS gets messed up and a serial port). I replaced my CCR's PSU as the voltage was unstable, when the voltage went below the threshold it would go into a boot loop. The replacement process wasnt that straightforward, there was a lot of desoldering, wiring, soldering, gluing, taping as the PSU wasnt in the plug, it was a module in the unit itself.

If you've used ubiquiti edgerouters and all you need is a router that only does routing, not other things like printer sharing, install other software like what you can do on the edgerouter, mikrotik has many choices so you should look them up.

If being compact isnt a requirement theres nothing stopping you from wallmounting a desktop . Simply get some brackets, drill them to the wall and put your desktop on it. an inexpensive 4 port intel server NIC would serve well.

Ubiquiti APs should have POE in. The Ubiquiti edgerouter POE can power them but it effectively has only 3 LAN ports, not 4 as some would believe due to the port configuration. The mikrotik RB3011 has many ethernet ports (2x5 switched ports) and has a flexible config with 1 POE out port, it can only power 1 Ubiquiti AP only. It uses qualcomm's CPU so it does better than broadcom's ARM implementation and faster than MIPS for software tasks. Ubiquiti edgerouters rely heavily on hardware acceleration to obtain their rated performance and their performance numbers dont apply to normal use.

 

[zeppelin55]

It may be possible to recover your Ubiquiti edgerouter but it involves getting a new PSU, replacing capacitors, finding a debug port you can use to install firmware (this is why mikrotik routers have some sort of backup boot incase the main OS gets messed up and a serial port). I replaced my CCR's PSU as the voltage was unstable, when the voltage went below the threshold it would go into a boot loop. The replacement process wasnt that straightforward, there was a lot of desoldering, wiring, soldering, gluing, taping as the PSU wasnt in the plug, it was a module in the unit itself.

If you've used ubiquiti edgerouters and all you need is a router that only does routing, not other things like printer sharing, install other software like what you can do on the edgerouter, mikrotik has many choices so you should look them up.

If being compact isnt a requirement theres nothing stopping you from wallmounting a desktop . Simply get some brackets, drill them to the wall and put your desktop on it. an inexpensive 4 port intel server NIC would serve well.

Ubiquiti APs should have POE in. The Ubiquiti edgerouter POE can power them but it effectively has only 3 LAN ports, not 4 as some would believe due to the port configuration. The mikrotik RB3011 has many ethernet ports (2x5 switched ports) and has a flexible config with 1 POE out port, it can only power 1 Ubiquiti AP only. It uses qualcomm's CPU so it does better than broadcom's ARM implementation and faster than MIPS for software tasks. Ubiquiti edgerouters rely heavily on hardware acceleration to obtain their rated performance and their performance numbers dont apply to normal use.

So my ubiquiti definitely needs a new PSU as I plugged in a wrong voltage PSU.

I would much rather wall mount a desktop; but my wall is also in my garage in Baltimore; and it does not stay cool in the summer.

I am wondering if that is why my LRT214 is having minor stability issues as well ? It seems like DHCP gets messed up occasionally and my devices end up with an IP I am unfamiliar with.

I will look at these Mikrotiks.

 

[sfx2000]

So my ubiquiti definitely needs a new PSU as I plugged in a wrong voltage PSU.

I would much rather wall mount a desktop; but my wall is also in my garage in Baltimore; and it does not stay cool in the summer.

I am wondering if that is why my LRT214 is having minor stability issues as well ? It seems like DHCP gets messed up occasionally and my devices end up with an IP I am unfamiliar with.

I will look at these Mikrotiks.

I'm running pfSense on a Netgate RCE-V2440 - they're not cheap at $349, but they are passively cooled and they do include a fan header if one needs to run it with a CPU fan...

 

[System Error Message]

Sometimes a router's instability is due to it having a bad PSU, but if the router is still running and things dont always run great but still run, that means the firmware could be crap. In the case of your linksys it could be the firmware being crap as it still runs rather than hang or reboot. Usually the computing part lasts longer than the PSU itself as the PSU itself is the one taking all the damage.

Good PSU with good firmware really makes a good device. Still if you've already got the linksys before spending to get something else first check does the linksys have enough CPU horsepower for what you want it to do? Does it have enough RAM? If it does 3rd party firmware like openwrt can do good. If your needs are great in either hardware or software for something that openwrt cant give than a better router like ubiquiti or mikrotik or using x86 is a much better choice, i mean they still are a better choice but its more on whether you currently have what you need.