Need to upgrade from Sonicwall TZ 190

[peteriley]

Hi:

I've been struggling to use a TZ 190 Sonicwall on a Time Warner Fiber Optic network. One of the major limitations is not supporting gigabit on the LAN. However, it's also tough maintaining the 5mps symmetric that we're 'guaranteed' by TW because of their requirement of 100mbs full duplex throughout the network.

I really do like the TZ GUI though and I'm hesitant to go to a Cisco router; what little I've done with them seems to be more difficult.

Do you have a recommendation for a good router that will do gigabit LAN, work well with full duplex/100mbs and support a group of 20 high-bandwidth users? I'd rather pay more for a setup that doesn't require constant maintenance.

In terms of services, we need very little: we only support Linux and Macs, and really only open SSH, IMAP/SSL, and SMTP. We don't need all the bells and whistles of 3G, Wireless, virus protection. Just something that we can setup and leave, hopefully.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, Pete

 

[thiggins]

Sorry, I'm not sure what your problem is. The TZ190 supports 10/100 full duplex on WAN and LAN ports. Routing speed was tested to be 25 Mbps up and down, so that should be plenty for a 5 Mbps connection. Or is that a missprint?

 

[peteriley]

Hi Tim,

Sorry for being confusing. I guess I'm looking for a router that will serve gigabit to all machines behind it (but which go through the ports on the router), but 100mpb/full duplex through it. If I don't enforce the 100mb/s/FD on the computers, I get a flaky response from upload speed tests (the DL always seems to be OK). If I do enforce it, of course, I can't get gigabit between the machines. I also have a 24-port switch, but it's auto-sensing and ruins the upload speed if I use it.

Perhaps there is a more configurable switch that would work so I can keep the router, but so far I haven't found it.

I didn't have this problem with either T1's, Coax, or DSL connections, and it's only really the upload speed that gets impacted when everything isn't just right. It's something to do with the fiber and TW's requirement that everything be 100mps/FD. I also wondered whether I could ask them to swap out the 100mps card and put in a 10mps. That might fix the upload speeds, but wouldn't allow us to expand past 10 in the future.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[thiggins]

There are not many routers that allow you to set the WAN or LAN port speed.
Might be easier to use a Gigabit router and just throw a 10/100 switch between your modem and the router WAN port.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I'm not sure why they're trying to tell you to put gigabit on the LAN side of the router. With most business networks..you have your main switch, and you uplink your router to the switch...and not plug much else into the routers LAN side. So you have a 24 port gigabit switch for your LAN..you should be all set, LAN transfers happen at gigabit speeds between the workstations and server.

With a 5 meg internet pipe..quite honestly a 10 meg port on your router won't even be a bottleneck. Certainly a 100 meg LAN port isn't.

When you say "20 high bandwidth users"..define "high bandwidth"..what is typical internet use?

 

[mmelters]

How about the Netgear UTM-25?

For the criteria you mention, I'd take a good look at Netgear's UTM25.
Gigabit on both WAN and LAN ports, and enough (claimed) performance to support decent throughput.
Can't tell you much about personal experience yet, mine is expected to arrive in two weeks.

YMMV,
Regards,
Marcel

 

[Dennis Wood]

The Draytek 2950 we've been playing with here does allow various speed settings (or auto) on both WAN interfaces, and serves up gigabit on the LAN side.

Cheers,
Dennis.

 

[peteriley]

Hi Marcel,

How did the UTM25 work out? I still haven't found a good solution yet to this issue. Seems like I might have to buy and try. In that case, is there a preferred vendor that will accept returns easier than others?

-Pete

For the criteria you mention, I'd take a good look at Netgear's UTM25.
Gigabit on both WAN and LAN ports, and enough (claimed) performance to support decent throughput.
Can't tell you much about personal experience yet, mine is expected to arrive in two weeks.

YMMV,
Regards,
Marcel