Upgraded router for home network.

[hallm]

(I have posted this in the router section because that is the device I’m having the most difficulty in selecting, but I’ve included my wish list for the balance of my network just so you can see where I’m going with this just in case they might influence which router to use.)

Hi folks, I’m looking for some guidance here on upgrading my current home wired network. My network used to consist of a Linksys BEFSR81 8 port router and a Linksys WRT610N wireless router configured as an access point. These have been in service since approximately 2005 so they don’t own me anything. Around two weeks ago there must’ve been some sort of power surge which caused both of these devices to become non-functional.

My network has grown to exceed the 8 port router including the addition of a Synology NAS, two wired desktop computers, Denon home theater unit, centralized printer, Apple TV, and a large Samsung panel. All of these had a wired spot on the router. The access point was used by our mobile devices.

Since I’m looking at replacing both of these units I thought I would investigate what would be the best wired router which would feed a 24 port switch along with two access points as replacement equipment.

I have had experience with the Ubiquiti line of products and I’ve used several of their radios to establish a small wireless network in a campground. I was looking at their EdgeRouter Lite as the gateway to my network, but on further investigation the ability to configure this router may test my limited networking skills. I would like to find another router of similar nature which has a more user-friendly interface. Another router I was considering is aTP-Link SafeStream™ Gigabit Broadband VPN RouterTL-R600VPN.

The switch I was considering is a TP-Link 24-Port Gigabit Easy Smart SwitchTL-SG1024DE which appears to be fairly simple to set up.

And to replace my wireless router I was thinking of using a pair of Ubiquiti UniFi AP: 2.4Ghz PoE access points. I wanted to get away from an AP device with a wall wart attached to it for a cleaner looking install and the PoE of these units would achieve that.

So there is my story. I am struggling with selecting a gigabit router as there seems to be a large selection with many features.

I would appreciate any comments that might help me to guide me in my router selection.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[System Error Message]

Its hard to determine what you want without some details.

What is your internet download and upload?
How much VPN throughput are you looking for? Are you looking to max out your connection?

How many devices will you are and will they be in the same place?

As for APs theres the R7000 which can run merlin firmware, the asus AC56U, asus AC66U and ASUS AC68U. The linksys also has a good router/AP which i think is the wrt1900AC.

Mikrotik has very cheap APs that are cheaper that handle more than ubiquiti. The only isssue with ubiquiti APs is that they have limited hardware resource to handle lots of clients. In general mikrotik routerboards are much better but are much harder to configure.

 

[hallm]

Hello SEM

Here is what I have wired:
Desktop computer.
HP printer.
Synology 209 NAS.
Samsung TV.
Apple TV.
Denon theater unit

Linksys WRT610N configured as an A/P
Ipads x 3
Asus Laptop
Mac Books x 2

My current home town friendly cable provider has just been swallowed up by a larger conglomerate cable company and right now my speed tests show a 16 Mbps down and .5 Mbps up. I might change this package once everything settles down to 100/10 in the fall. I have never played around with VPN but have an interest in it possibly. I also have an interest in remotely logging into the campground wifi which is 300 km away just to keep an eye on things but that would be another posting altogether.

As you can see my old router had it easy and was not under much stress. The kids are starting to return home from university and they are streaming on their Mac books and on Netflicks as well. I have never maxed out my download limit of 150 Gbs, but the kids came close last month.

When I purchased the Linksys BEFSR81 I never imagined using all 8 ports but I have, and I am still pulling more wire for a recent basement reno that is going to include approximately 8 more outlets. I am also tinkering with installing security cameras as well which would run back to a video recorder but that is not carved in stone just yet. That is why I am looking at a separate switch to go with the router for all these connections.

I really wanted to stay away from the AP’s that are sprouting multiple antennas and wall warts and that is why I was looking at the Ubiquiti UniFi AP or something similar looking for a ceiling or wall mount application.

I think that I was looking for a wired router that wasn’t trying to be a switch and a wireless unit all in one and except for the Ubiquiti equipment we used in 2010 for the campground, it has been a few years since I had looked at what’s new in routers.

hope this additional info helps and I will check out the equipment you have so kind to list in the mean time.

Thanks again for your help.

Mike

 

[System Error Message]

it helps a lot. Basically any recent consumer router with a 600Mhz MIPS or dual core ARM can handle a 110Mb/s of NAT throughput through software. The main difference is VPN performance in which case the ARM is faster than MIPS especially because the ARM CPUs have higher clocks that help for openVPN.

Ubiquiti edgerouters all use MIPS CPUs with hardware acceleration like consumer routers do so they suck at VPN throughput. If you're using PPTP VPN than ARM based routers can handle it but SSTP and heavily encrypted VPN requires a totally different CPU and router such as PPC, TILE and x86 based ones that consumer routers just dont have.

Software NAT performance is important if you use features like firewalls, port forwarding, etc which the hardware NAT cannot give and hardware NAT will cause the router to freeze on too much load such as too many connections. Good routers will just drop connections when they use too much hardware resource.

APs you can get dedicated (have only 1 port) or you can use routers as APs. Multiple Antennas actually help with wireless reception but you may want to take a close look at the antennas that are used. Many consumer routers use sub-standard antennas (its just a wire in a plastic case) which you can replace with proper or higher dBi ones if you need the range.

Your router does the control, the most APs can do is control LAN transmission. Semi managed switches are inexpensive but with 24 ports they can get pricey. I have mentioned brand reliability in a few threads before. TP-link works well on basic features but can crap out when you do anything more. Netgears have good hardware but their firmware sometimes have issues while zyxel seems to do well in both. I would suggest choosing netgear/zyxel/Ubiquiti/Mikrotik for your switches that arent restrictive in port teaming. You can use regular routers as APs and 4 port switches at the same time if you plan to install cameras so it simplifies wiring and you get to distribute wifi around.

If you use port teaming with your NAS and higher performance stuff it will help to cope with multiple cams and you dont need a wifi router for each cam, rather you can have some connected to wifi routers and some connected to plain unmanaged switches (if multiple and there are other devices) otherwise just connect them directly. If you plan out properly you will be able to deal with future expansion and not have to do much cabling other than what is necessary.