most solid/high quality wired router for day trader

[quanttrade99z]

Dear All,

I am a day trader who uses a network of 3 PCs to manage my trading.
I am currently using Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit as my router with cable internet connection…. I think my router been overheating (more than once a day) and killing my connection. It is hot to the touch. If I unplug it and plug it back it then it works again. I’m not sure if overheating is really the problem or not. (My old WRT54G was much better!)

My network usage is fairly like I think. I use Skype, surf the internet, run Bloomberg, and a couple of trading applications which pull in a limited number of tick data.

I am extremely unsatisfied with my current setup, I need to find a router which is 100% reliable. Speed is not the main concern, reliability is. Sometimes I need my programs to watch things over night, and if the network crashes I could have large trading losses (-$100,000 ++++), or missed profits.

I posted a similar question on Anandtech… in the end the recommended that I get a consultant. I want to avoid doing this unless absolutely necessary. If I get a consultant, I lose control of my network, and won’t be able to handle crashes/etc myself. I would prefer to keep it very simple.

Therefore, I want to get a top-of-the-line, most reliable WIRED router. Price is not important. Expensive is ok. Reliability (no overheating!) and no crashing is #1 goal. Speed would be good, but rock-solidness main goal. My networking/system admin skills are on the weak-side, so I am hoping I can get a router which is very easy for me to administer. Basically I want to install some software, turn it on, and have it work.

I have very limited WIRELESS needs. Maybe best for me to put that on separate wireless router on separate DSL connection. People have been telling me that wireless is less stable... so no problem... I can buy wired router, use that for my serious stuff.

If you recommend a separate router/switch setup, that’s fine too. Although my file sharing, etc, on the LAN is pretty limited. (Open an excel or word file from one computer on the other about 5-10 times a day. It would be nice if it was a little more snappy, but not all that important).

I have been buying “consumer grade” routers for many years… I was thinking of getting the NetGear WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Bank Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNDR3700)maybe this was foolish, and time for me to get a business grade one… so many choices, don’t know what to do.

Sorry for the long post... And a big thanks for all of your advice.

 

[thiggins]

Two things contribute to router heat-related problems: Gigabit switches and wireless.

You're headed in the right direction to look for non-wireless and I'd add non-Gigabit to that. You might look at the Cisco RV series, NETGEAR Pro Secures and Zyxel Zywalls. These are VPN routers, which you probably don't need. But they should be more reliable than the consumer stuff that you've been buying.

I'm sure others will have some good suggestions, too.

 

[kanewolf]

If your exposure is $100K if your network crashes, then I would think that a paid admin would be appropriate. You shouldn't have to worry about monitoring network hardware. You probably should also have business class internet service. Home grade service is not appropriate. A backup access method (cellular??) would also be appropriate in the event of an ISP outage. All these things cost $$ but, they are all deductable expenses.

 

[tipstir]

Dear All,

I am a day trader who uses a network of 3 PCs to manage my trading.
I am currently using Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit as my router with cable internet connection…. I think my router been overheating (more than once a day) and killing my connection. It is hot to the touch. If I unplug it and plug it back it then it works again. I’m not sure if overheating is really the problem or not. (My old WRT54G was much better!)

My network usage is fairly like I think. I use Skype, surf the internet, run Bloomberg, and a couple of trading applications which pull in a limited number of tick data.

I am extremely unsatisfied with my current setup, I need to find a router which is 100% reliable. Speed is not the main concern, reliability is. Sometimes I need my programs to watch things over night, and if the network crashes I could have large trading losses (-$100,000 ++++), or missed profits.

I posted a similar question on Anandtech… in the end the recommended that I get a consultant. I want to avoid doing this unless absolutely necessary. If I get a consultant, I lose control of my network, and won’t be able to handle crashes/etc myself. I would prefer to keep it very simple.

Therefore, I want to get a top-of-the-line, most reliable WIRED router. Price is not important. Expensive is ok. Reliability (no overheating!) and no crashing is #1 goal. Speed would be good, but rock-solidness main goal. My networking/system admin skills are on the weak-side, so I am hoping I can get a router which is very easy for me to administer. Basically I want to install some software, turn it on, and have it work.

I have very limited WIRELESS needs. Maybe best for me to put that on separate wireless router on separate DSL connection. People have been telling me that wireless is less stable... so no problem... I can buy wired router, use that for my serious stuff.

If you recommend a separate router/switch setup, that’s fine too. Although my file sharing, etc, on the LAN is pretty limited. (Open an excel or word file from one computer on the other about 5-10 times a day. It would be nice if it was a little more snappy, but not all that important).

I have been buying “consumer grade” routers for many years… I was thinking of getting the NetGear WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Bank Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNDR3700)maybe this was foolish, and time for me to get a business grade one… so many choices, don’t know what to do.

Sorry for the long post... And a big thanks for all of your advice.

Trading/stock market you can afford to have your network gear fail on your daily. What your doing will require a better router than what they have for the home type. Most of these router just can't handle heavy duty demanding load and some tend to overheat as your going though that now. Invest in Enterprise Load Balancing Router features two WAN ports, which allows two connections to the Internet at the same time This provides you double-bandwidth access and gives you the ability to implement internet connection redundancy for critical applications. With fail-over and automatic load balancing. Connect this to business switch then to wireless ap these can be WAP4400N from Linksys/Cisco. I don't know what your budget is but this is where I would start invest in better equipment and support for that network gear you can also lease it too.

 

[kurtsee]

Hi quanttrade99z,

Yes you need a enterprise-grade router that is reliable and user-friendly for your environment.

I want to share with you a review at http://www.amazon.com/review/RMLWZCPIDZMI4/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

"If your connection matters... I would suggest you give this a try. I personally cannot afford to have a disconnect during trading hours. "

I am an employee at Peplink and I could provide pre-sales support. Send a email to sales@peplink.com and we will talk.

-Kurt

 

[quanttrade99z]

narrowing down

Hello All

Thank you all for your comments/advice so far, I really appreciate everyone's help.

I think I have narrowed it down to:
Cisco Small Business RV042 10/100Mbps VPN Router

or

Netgear DUAL WAN GIGABIT SSL VPN FIREWALL FVS336G

I'm not very confident in my choices though... should I buy something much more expensive/better? I don't need VPN at all.... just care about reliability.... I would hate it if I bought Dual WAN for increased reliability, and this router ended up crashing more than single WAN... Does anyone have any experience with either? Are there better products?

 

[Dennis Wood]

We've been using the FVS336G for a few weeks now, and under heavy use, no crashes to speak of. If you're running SIP VOIP behind the router, you'll likely have issues unless you load beta firmware, available by calling support. SSL VPN on that unit is painless to set up and works well for remote access...but no 64bit support yet. I have posted the workaround to this problem. The unit does have four gigabit ports, however we don't use them other than to link the router to a Mediatrix SIP box, and a 24 port HP switch.

In terms of doing things yourself, Netgear's Prosafe support is good and available until very late, depending on what time zone you're in. They seem to provide more intense support for their business class products. If you're extremely business critical, and you want to do things yourself, buy two routers and keep one configured, updated, and ready to plug in. There is no substitute for in-house redundancy.