Wired vs Wireless router for ACTUAL routing use...

[Charlie Mack]

Hey everyone,

Just bought a home that has CAT5e and some CAT6 wire all throughout the house. I've always used a wireless router and now I am thinking about using a wired router and using the wireless routers as APs.

I have been trying to find information on any real differences between using a consumer wireless router, say a Asus AC68U, vs a wired router, Linksys LRT214. I'm not doing anything complex. A couple cell phones, a VOIP phone, a few tablets, a laptop, a HTPC, gaming rig, PS3, Mac Mini and whatever else, plus thinking about VPN. I will be upgrading my connection to 100 down/10 up, so I'd like to be able to fully utilize this as well. I use Plex at home and share out to family. I also have a Synology 1813+ that houses my movies, music, pictures, etc., so wondering if I'd benefit from LACP or is it not needed in my use case?

So is there any benefit in my use case for using something like the LRT214 over the AC68U? I currently use a Asus AC66U for everything in my curent house that I thought I'd use as an AP in the new place. Is the LRT214 overkill for my needs? Would I be better served using the AC68U with a Netgear GS105 Prosafe switch handling everything wired coming in, maybe? I need switches at places like the Living room where I'd connect multiple devices (HTPC, TV, PS3, etc), does that affect anything?

I'm open to ideas on other products and setups as well, but I'm trying to be as hands off as possible so I'd rather not have to go down the Ubiquiti or similar route and not use anything I'd have to closely manage or is overly complex. When I have more time, I'd love to fiddle and learn more. =)

Thanks!

 

[stevech]

Opinion: residence. A wired-only router in the $100 class combined with one or more 8 port switches, are fine. Put switches here and there to reduce cabling - unless you have the luxury of home-run cables.
But a WiFi router for this kind of use case is a better choice, IMO.

Just be sure to get all gear as gigE for the NAS to PC. Streaming 1080 over WiFi is usually disappointing. Streaming Netflix, ok.

Use WiFi only for mobile devices - immobile ones need a cat5/6 cable.

 

[Charlie Mack]

Opinion: residence. A wired-only router in the $100 class combined with one or more 8 port switches, are fine. Put switches here and there to reduce cabling - unless you have the luxury of home-run cables.
But a WiFi router for this kind of use case is a better choice, IMO.

Just be sure to get all gear as gigE for the NAS to PC. Streaming 1080 over WiFi is usually disappointing. Streaming Netflix, ok.

Use WiFi only for mobile devices - immobile ones need a cat5/6 cable.

Thanks. What wired router would you suggest?

Yeah, all video streaming will be over wired connection. The house has a combination of CAT5e and 6.

 

[Trip]

Hi Charlie. I tend to like the wired router + separate access point approach -- performance, troubleshooting and upgrades are usually made better/easier. For <200Mb/s, a gigabit MIPS router should be fine. On the bottom end, I often choose a $40 Netgear WNR3500L v2 running AdvancedTomato with wifi turned off for residential installs. I typically see year+ uptimes for device count/load similar to yours. For more fully supported options, the Linksys LRT/Cisco RV stuff is *usually* a good buy for basic routing needs, and their support tends to be decent. TP-Link's TL-ER stuff is also another option. This "SMB" class gear is still unfortunately in "trial-and-error" territory, though, so you might have to go through a model or two before settling on one that "works" the way you want. Such is the case in the segment, it seems.

 

[stevech]

I wouldn't do wired-only router for my residence.
Maybe, for an SMB.

 

[Nullity]

I wouldn't do wired-only router for my residence.

Why?

I thought having a wired router with some wireless APs was perfectly acceptable even preferable in many cases.

 

[Charlie Mack]

Same. I thought having a wired router with 1 or 2 wireless APs would be the best approach.

 

[Charlie Mack]

Hi Charlie. I tend to like the wired router + separate access point approach -- performance, troubleshooting and upgrades are usually made better/easier. For <200Mb/s, a gigabit MIPS router should be fine. On the bottom end, I often choose a $40 Netgear WNR3500L v2 running AdvancedTomato with wifi turned off for residential installs. I typically see year+ uptimes for device count/load similar to yours. For more fully supported options, the Linksys LRT/Cisco RV stuff is *usually* a good buy for basic routing needs, and their support tends to be decent. TP-Link's TL-ER stuff is also another option. This "SMB" class gear is still unfortunately in "trial-and-error" territory, though, so you might have to go through a model or two before settling on one that "works" the way you want. Such is the case in the segment, it seems.

Thanks for the reply. The way the house is currently wired, all points terminate in the basement with the cable modem there as well, hence why I thought having a wired router. Now I'm thinking maybe putting a switch down there, say a Netgear GS308 or TP-Link TL-SG108, to handle all wired connections and move the cable modem upstairs and use a Asus AC68U as my router and WiFi, with my current Asus AC66U as another WiFi AP.

I'm open to suggestions on an efficient switch, but preferably unmanaged or something not overly complex to manage.

 

[Trip]

You're welcome, Charlie. I'd say you could go either way with your setup, but perhaps your second idea may work better. Obviously, an all-in-one is a superior choice if re-purposing comes into the picture, and as long as you don't over-work or under-ventilate, it should provide you with enough of a service lifetime to get your money's worth out of it (1-2 years or more).

IMHO, that's really the primary advantage of a piecemeal setup (ie. separate router, AP, firewall, etc.) -- the performance, stability and longevity tend to go up by a factor of how much the load is distributed across devices (granted: modern, appropriate devices). More components require more space and power draw, but also give you that higher degree of specialization (read: performance) and easier upgrading/troubleshooting. That's the crux, though, and most consumers, probably yourself included, won't need anything beyond what something like an AC68U would offer in any one of those realms. And even if it falls short, say, at core routing or something similar, you could always re-purpose it as an access point and drop in something like an LRT or even an EdgeRouter Lite/PoE, should the need be that glaring. So I say you probably can't go wrong with the 68U - go for it?

 

[Charlie Mack]

You're welcome, Charlie. I'd say you could go either way with your setup, but perhaps your second idea may work better. Obviously, an all-in-one is a superior choice if re-purposing comes into the picture, and as long as you don't over-work or under-ventilate, it should provide you with enough of a service lifetime to get your money's worth out of it (1-2 years or more).

IMHO, that's really the primary advantage of a piecemeal setup (ie. separate router, AP, firewall, etc.) -- the performance, stability and longevity tend to go up by a factor of how much the load is distributed across devices (granted: modern, appropriate devices). More components require more space and power draw, but also give you that higher degree of specialization (read: performance) and easier upgrading/troubleshooting. That's the crux, though, and most consumers, probably yourself included, won't need anything beyond what something like an AC68U would offer in any one of those realms. And even if it falls short, say, at core routing or something similar, you could always re-purpose it as an access point and drop in something like an LRT or even an EdgeRouter Lite/PoE, should the need be that glaring. So I say you probably can't go wrong with the 68U - go for it?

Done! Thanks for your input. =) It makes sense and you are right, if I do find I need something else I can re-purpose it as a AP.

 

[Trip]

You're welcome! A note: for the sake of stability, you may want to flash the latest Merlin build of AsusWRT on your 68U (easily researched here at SNB). Be careful to properly flash, allow build time, clear the NVRAM, etc. before configuring, and you should be good to go. Do come back and let us know how it works out!

 

[colecaz]

First off, unless your wireless devices have the internal circuits to use AC1750 or higher speeds, there is no need to differentiate between your two routers. They are both excellent and wifi speed will be limited by the connected device capability, not by the router.

Your thoughts of putting the cable modem and a router upstairs and not in the basement will help wifi coverage on the level where the router is. And run a port from the router back to the home run room in the basement where you put a switch to distribute the network to the rest of the house. Put your second router as an access point on the second floor of your home (if you have a 2 story) for good coverage up there, or at the other end of the house from the primary router if you're single story.

And good switches, like the TP-Link or Netgear 8 port switches (GS-108, SG108, or equivalent) have lots of switching speed and processing power and can overcome any processing power the routers may lack or may be being used for other things like VPN. They will unload the router and speed up network transfers within your home. Just hook one port of the router to a port on the switch and plug the rest of your home run cables into the switch. If you need more than eight ports in your home run room you can get 16 or 24 port gigabit switches for around $100 and have room to grow. I just installed a SG1024DE from TP-Link for that reason and it works great.

If you need more Ethernet ports in a room, just add another switch in that room. Or put one of your routers there configured as an access point and use its built in switch.

You'll find having hard wired connections much better than the best wifi. Just be sure and get gigabit switches to match your gigabit routers and cabling.