Advice For New Router

[leggettcd]

I am going to upgrade my entire home network within the next two weeks. The equipment on the network will be (2) Windows PC's running N, a Mac Book Pro running AC, an XBox, (2) iphones AC, (2) smart TVs, one printer and NAS. I am currently using a Netgear WPN824 that only runs B & G with the xbox, 2 iphones and 2 windows pc's. I want to get something that will give me a lot more speed and range. This will be in a 2800 sq ft house so I need something with distance too. Been having problems with dropping off. My current router is over 10 years old. I don't know much about routing so wanting something that doesn't require a engineering degree to set up. My budget is around $300 or less. Want simplicity and stability without sacrificing a lot of speed. Looked at the Nighthawk X6, Asus AC87R and the AC68U but open to any suggestions. Thank you for your help and advise.

 

[leggettcd]

Guess I made a mistake by posting here. I worked in network design from the beginning of networks until retirement in 1999. My specialty was infrastructure, network design and routing for worldwide Fortune 500 companies with 2000+ employees. I held many certifications on business level Cisco and Wellfleet routers. I was always asked routing and network setup questions and was always willing to help someone learn or offer what advise I could. Had my generation not done this, where would the current router experts be? I retired just before wireless technology became available and have been out the technology loop since retirement. With over 100 views of my original, simple question and not a single reply, I must assume that only those with an up to date router vocabulary can get advice here. I cant believe how much things have changed with the equipment and those with the knowledge. Sorry to have bothered those on this forum with such a simple question.

 

[Trip]

First off, this forum is completely volunteer and very light in its traffic flow, so I'd hope you agree that coming here expecting to get immediate feedback may be a bit unrealistic, and further, vocalizing your distaste certainly won't help to attract those of us who would, as time permits, happily give our help for free. I am not easily dissuaded, and will gladly offer what I can. No need for a rebuttal, either, all is good, let's move on. /rant

Since you're looking to accommodate several N-class and higher wifi devices, I'd wager upgrading to gigabit wired speeds would be a good place to start. If not, then you could probably continue using your WPN824 for wired routing; otherwise, it's probably time for it to go. And for your wifi coverage, you might consider multiple standalone access points (N and/or AC), or even a mesh system like Ubiquiti UniFi, whereby you can blanket your house with much stronger coverage than any single consumer all-in-one could muster. I'm always a fan of the piecemeal approach, as opposed to purchasing a single unit hoping for the silver bullet. Really not that much extra complexity involved, either. Hopefully some of those ideas are helpful.

 

[leggettcd]

Being new to this forum, I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I was not vocalizing distaste, just frustration. I don't and didn't expect immediate response. That's why I waited until my post had been viewed over 100 times before questioning if I had made a mistake posting it here. As someone once in this business, I know time and resources are limited and, out of respect, I didn't want to clog up this forum with my post if I was posting on a site not intended for my type of question and/or my current experience level with this technology. I will try to make patience a virtue in future posts. Thank you for the info and reply. I am open to any and all suggestions.

 

[abailey]

Remember no matter how nice the router or AP is, only one device can communicate with a given radio at a time. So when you have multiple devices using wireless there will always be contention for airtime and sharing of bandwidth. This is not so bad for internet browsing and such but can cause problems when you start streaming video and things where it is a constant stream. Of the devices you listed many are devices that are not mobile. I would try to wire everything that could be wired. If you can't get a direct Ethernet cable connection look into using Ethernet over COAX, as well as Ethernet over powerlines. Basically take as much load off of wireless as possible, this will give you a better wireless experience for the devices that have to be wireless.
If you have several devices that are close to each other, and you can't get a wire to them, consider putting in a wireless bridge near them and wire the devices to the bridge. This way you only have one communication going on wirelessly for all those devices. This will help with air time contention.

 

[leggettcd]

What about a router suggestion? With this simple of a network do you think AC87R would be a good choice or I should back off the cutting edge a little and go with the AC68U?

 

[RogerSC]

Personally, I wouldn't go with the new "cutting edge" just yet. They haven't proven that they have advantages over the plain-vanilla wireless-1900AC routers that are out there now and are becoming mature. I find that the Netgear R7000 covers my whole house on both 5GHz. and 2.4GHz bands (don't use the 2.4GHz. band very much any more), and gives me all the performance I need with more available for the future when I need it. Wireless-ac works great, and other features like beamforming also help with the current wireless-1900AC wireless routers.

I would wait and see on the new crop of routers (Asus RT-AC87U, Netgear R8000 and R7500, etc.) what the benefits are from actual users, and what kind of wireless clients that you need to take full advantage of them. In addition to having to wait for the firmware for the new routers to stabilize, which most likely will take some months.

 

[fistv]

The layout of your house has a lot to do with it, If you have a central office area where the wan comes in and the ability to run wire to other areas I would go with a purely wired router and a switch, then connect to other rooms and add access points. There is a big difference in covering a 2700sq ft ranch vs a 2700 sqft colonial. The ranch is easier if the cellar is unfinished as you can run some wire to the extreme ends, same is true of a colonial to a point for the bottom floor. I lived for years with a 8 port SMC router, wired only, connected with wire access points to the other 2 floors.
The Ethernet over power is also a sound option, they have one that has 4 ports and that feature gives some other options. I'm not a real fan of wireless bridges, people buy them and use them so I guess they serve a purpose.