R7000 or LRT214 for Home Router Only Use...

[y2jdmbfan]

Guys,

This is a continuation of a post from another forum, but I need a router to use in my home network. I have a gig switch in the basement utility room where all the rooms terminations are and I just moved my cable modem and current R7000 down there. I initially disabled the wireless on the R7000 and bought a AC87U for use as an access point. I am not happy with the wireless range / performance of the 87U and was going to return it for another R7000 or for an LRT214 and move the current R7000 upstairs for use as an access point. The charts seems to show the R7000 has better performance. The cost difference between the 2 is minimal. I have 125/25 service from Comcast. I have 4 Tivo units on the network, PS3, PS4, XB1, PC, 4K Media Player, TV, and then a few cell phones, 2 tablets, laptops, a dropcam and my home security zigbee system with 4 cameras on Powerline adapaters is tied in as well.

Thanks,

Y2J

 

[microchip]

I would avoid the R7000 if you're not prepared to run 3rd party FW.

 

[y2jdmbfan]

Care to expand on that? I am using one now and haven't had any issues.

Thanks!

 

[microchip]

Care to expand on that? I am using one now and haven't had any issues.

Thanks!

- WAN that drops ever so often
- ICMPv6 being filtered
- the dhcp6s server crashing whenever one of my machines tries to renew its IPv6 address
- Sometimes unstable WIFI (but I was not able to blame it on the router as I got fed up with the other things and installed 3rd party FW)

and if you count these too, ugly and limited FW

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Not to go off topic here but my ICMPv6 is being filtered in both Merlin and John's fork any ideas why, possibly something in my computers firewall ??

 

[microchip]

Not to go off topic here but my ICMPv6 is being filtered in both Merlin and John's fork any ideas why, possibly something in my computers firewall ??

Most likely. ICMPv6 is not filtered in Asus' FW & co and I also allow ICMPv6 to pass through all my computers firewalls. So all my IPv6 tests pass with a 10/10 rating

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Most likely. ICMPv6 is not filtered in Asus' FW & co and I also allow ICMPv6 to pass through all my computers firewalls. So all my IPv6 tests pass with a 10/10 rating

Thanks i always get a 10/10 but checking the other test site would give 17/20 showing filtered. I figured it out and made a firewall rule in my Win 7 computer to allow ICMPv6 and now all is well. 19/20 on the test. Nothing i can do about the v6 reverse DNS to get a solid 20/20 as comcast is the only one that can control that.

http://ipv6-test.com/

 

[microchip]

yes, i also get a 19/20 on that site. Reverse DNS is not important for the working of IPv6

 

[y2jdmbfan]

So for my usage above, is the LRT214 or R7000 better in a router only mode?

 

[Deleted member 22229]

yes, i also get a 19/20 on that site. Reverse DNS is not important for the working of IPv6

Good to know.. If anyone else has this issue here is how i fixed mine.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc972926(v=ws.10).aspx

 

[microchip]

So for my usage above, is the LRT214 or R7000 better in a router only mode?

I think either will do, but I cannot talk about the LRT214 as I don't own it. The R7000 performs well if you don't have issues with its firmware like I did

 

[y2jdmbfan]

An update....I picked up an LRT214 after work and installed it when I got home. I was impressed with the device when unpacking it, but once I hooked it up to the network, that kinda changed. I couldn't get my full 125/25 speeds going through the LRT214. The speeds would fluctuate greatly. I updated the firmware and did a factory reset with no change. I ended up putting the RT-AC87R I had previously picked up for use as the access point in place as the router and I was back to my full speeds. I do like the firmware on the RT-AC87R, seems much more full featured than the R7000 firmware, at least it gives more detailed information and settings. However, the RT-AC87R is a bit expensive to use as a router only. The R7000 works great in the kitchen atop of the corner cabinets. I can get full 125/25 on the 5GHz band pretty much in all corners of the house and the basement, much better than the wireless performance of the RT-AC87R.

 

[microchip]

An update....I picked up an LRT214 after work and installed it when I got home. I was impressed with the device when unpacking it, but once I hooked it up to the network, that kinda changed. I couldn't get my full 125/25 speeds going through the LRT214. The speeds would fluctuate greatly. I updated the firmware and did a factory reset with no change. I ended up putting the RT-AC87R I had previously picked up for use as the access point in place as the router and I was back to my full speeds. I do like the firmware on the RT-AC87R, seems much more full featured than the R7000 firmware, at least it gives more detailed information and settings. However, the RT-AC87R is a bit expensive to use as a router only. The R7000 works great in the kitchen atop of the corner cabinets. I can get full 125/25 on the 5GHz band pretty much in all corners of the house and the basement, much better than the wireless performance of the RT-AC87R.

It may sound strange, but I got a moderate WiFi range/signal boost when installing Xvortex's FW on the R7000. You only need to set the transmit power of the WiFi to 40-43% or so (don't ask me why, but if you set it higher you get a speed penalty when you're close to the router)

Since you just picked up the LRT214, did you also get a return policy? If so, return it and buy something else (maybe another R7000?). Granted, I don't know the prices so you may end up paying more