Advice on router for small hotell

[Glenn1]

We have a small hotel where we like to provide as good internet as possible. Our current router is a consumer grade (rt-ac68u) and it does not handle all the traffic that well (especially when enabling QoS).

We have a unifi switch and APs and since we have been fairly satisfied with these we have been looking at the edgerouter pro or Linksys LRT224.

We will connect this new router to 2 ADSL lines so we need dual wan.
The hotel has ap 40 connected users (including cameras, ip phones, tv, servers and NAS) and a max of 50 connected guests). and we have two VOIP lines.

So the question is which router? The edgerouter seems powerful, but more difficult to set up (I´m no expert in networking) whereas the Linksys is cheaper and easier to set up (already configured for load balancing dual wans)

Thanks in advance
Glenn

 

[L&LD]

Do not connect the hotel's network to the guest network.

Use each ADSL connection for each network instead.

If you need more speed, then add another ADSL connection for the network that needs it.

 

[Trip]

Hi Glenn and welcome to SNB.

Before you get too much amateur advice thrown your way that just delves right into random models and specs, may I humbly suggest that you hire an IT pro(s) to the build this out and do the config. Much less headache all the way around and chances are anything they put into play is going to be set-and-forget, or very close to it. ROI should be pretty quick and obvious given the pitfalls you will most likely avoid.

If you are set on accomplishing this yourself, then I'd suggest a Peplink Balance 20 if your aggregate internet speed is <100 Mb/s (up + down), otherwise the Balance One Core for up to 600 Mb/s. Their real advantages are support, usability and reliability. For example, if you get stuck during setup, you can call them and they'll literally connect to you via remote session (assuming you can get at least 1 of the DSL links up and running) and do the entire config for you.

Otherwise, the initial two models you mentioned are entirely different animals (FYI) -- the ER Pro being way more configurable and powerful than the LRT. If you and/or your IT admin have the chops, Ubiquiti or Mikrotik would definitely be something to look at. Otherwise, the Cisco RV-325/320 or Linksys LRT224 are decent; they have their bugs (mostly documented) but when they do work people seem to find they work well.

EDIT: You can certainly explore handling the dual-WAN with firewalls and UTMs as well, such as a Sophos SG series, etc. but I find dropping one of these in behind the router to sometimes be a better bet -- segmented responsibilities often yield better performance and easier troubleshooting/healing if things go wrong.

Best of luck with the deployment.

 

[maleksandrov]

We have a small hotel where we like to provide as good internet as possible. Our current router is a consumer grade (rt-ac68u) and it does not handle all the traffic that well (especially when enabling QoS).

We have a unifi switch and APs and since we have been fairly satisfied with these we have been looking at the edgerouter pro or Linksys LRT224.

We will connect this new ruter to 2 ADSL lines so we need dual wan.
The hotel has ap 40 connected users (including cameras, ip phones, tv, servers and NAS) and a max of 50 connected guests). and we have two VOIP lines.

So the question is which router? The edgerouter seems powerful, but more difficult to set up (I´m no expert in networking) whereas the Linksys is cheaper and easier to set up (already configured for load balancing dual wans)

Thanks in advance
Glenn

We have a small hotel where we like to provide as good internet as possible. Our current router is a consumer grade (rt-ac68u) and it does not handle all the traffic that well (especially when enabling QoS).

We have a unifi switch and APs and since we have been fairly satisfied with these we have been looking at the edgerouter pro or Linksys LRT224.

We will connect this new router to 2 ADSL lines so we need dual wan.
The hotel has ap 40 connected users (including cameras, ip phones, tv, servers and NAS) and a max of 50 connected guests). and we have two VOIP lines.

So the question is which router? The edgerouter seems powerful, but more difficult to set up (I´m no expert in networking) whereas the Linksys is cheaper and easier to set up (already configured for load balancing dual wans)

Thanks in advance
Glenn

Hi Glenn1,

Generally you have to consider several things when choosing a router for this purpose (in your case a small hotel). First of all the number of concurrent connections supported, then the LAN/WAN ports features, security features and the overall reliability. Accessible, cost-effective and highly reliable solution is RV320/325 series router with dual WAN including load balancing and failover. It can support 20 000 on RV320 or 40 000 on RV325 concurrent connections. Moreover it supports high-capacity virtual private networks (VPNs) and is easy to setup and management, firmware upgradable through web browser. And last but not least is the outstanding support that you get with Cisco Small Business Support Service. These and many other advantages compared with LRT224 and rt-ac68u you can find at:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/produc...abit-wan-vpn-router/datasheet-c78-729726.html

Regards,
Martin

 

[coxhaus]

A hotel would be an interesting theoretical VLAN and QOS project. I have not done one but it sounds interesting. Anybody else?

I would use VLANs to separate for the business side, IP cameras, TVs, clients, and VOIP using a VLAN for each.
Two internet connections sound good for load balancing and failover. I would use a layer 3 switch to run the VLANs and for crossover points where devices needed to be shared across VLANs. Plus the Cisco SG300 layer 3 switch has phone support built in to the smart ports..

QOS is going to be tuff. The phones need to be first on the local side and then tie them into a couple of pots connections. I guess VOIP has replaced pots lines. I am weak hear on equipment like the main switch board. Clients need to be last after maintaining your info structure. Clients also need to be controlled to stop bandwidth hogs. IP cameras don't need bandwidth as I would carry a backup off site to save internet bandwidth.

Wireless would be setup with roaming SSIDs. This would be hard also.

What am I missing? How would you set one up?

 

[System Error Message]

i would advice against the linksys or cisco rv because they do not compare to what ubiquiti, mikrotik and peplink offers. Even though peplink is more expensive they do multiWAN better and have better support than linksys or cisco rv. So if you hire a pro you will find that mikrotik offers quite a lot (a lot of hotels do use them) since they have some features already present such as hotspot.

if you have VOIP going over your internet connection you will need a configurable router like mikrotik or ubiquiti (not sure if peplink can) because you can reserve bandwidth for VOIP while at the same time performing all sorts of QoS for other things.

Dont go for low end cisco gear, they do not perform better than the other brands that are out there. I suggest a layer 3 semi or fully managed switch depending on if you plan to do LAN filtering or not. I suggest you perform layers 1,2,3 segmentation (switch port groups + vlans + IP segmentation). In some switches it means changing which ports are switched with which ports.

I know many would suggest cisco but if you really take a look at the low end cisco is not worth going for as they dont even have the support they used to have as they've reserved support for their higher end gear. Even their low end switches are a shame to what cisco used to offer.

One other thing you havent considered yet is pfsense or a UTM based router. A networked based Anti malware is very important for a public network. Security is something you do need to worry about aside from just QoS and segmentation. Keeping your network free from malware and hijackers is important. I really think you should hire a pro who at least does security as well.

 

[coxhaus]

VoIP now comes from your ISP like AT&T or TWC. They control QOS for VOIP. It terminates at the back of the ISPs modem. So you don't need a router to do VOIP over the internet. You just need to control it on the LAN side unless you are using local phone wires through out the building. It works pretty much like the old pots lines except behind the scenes it really is IP based.

I have a RV320 router and all I can say is it is fast with one internet connection and stable. It has not required any reboots. All the heavy lifting is done by my layer 3 switch which is much faster than the average router. The small business gear is menu driven and easy to configure. IOS is much more complicated to use. So depends on who configures the gear. There is nothing wrong with Cisco IOS gear. I used it for years and it would be a good choice for a large hotel. A small seaside hotel I am not so sure as it get expensive and has advanced features not needed for small applications.

I think Untangle UTM would be a smart move for a hotel. I should of added this to my list.

Remember they currently have a network which they installed. So I would say it is very small scale. I think they are looking for internet back up and better networking. I don't think they are looking for a high dollar big network.