Need to upgrade to gigabit router

[bucknhacks]

Hello,
So, I'm looking for suggestions on a new gigabit router to replace my current TP Link 100mbps model. We're upgrading to 200, or 300mbps from TimeWarner/Spectrum cable.
I'm looking for something easy to use (no eight week coding/programing crash course needed), reliable, and affordable. $150 and under. Any more expensive, and I'll probably go wireless, and use the lan ports.

Thanks for the help,
B

 

[pete y testing]

TP Link 100mbps model

what model is this ?

and affordable. $150 and under. Any more expensive, and I'll probably go wireless, and use the lan ports.

sorry but i dont understand this

also $150 is quite limiting budget wise

 

[CaptainSTX]

Hello,
So, I'm looking for suggestions on a new gigabit router to replace my current TP Link 100mbps model. We're upgrading to 200, or 300mbps from TimeWarner/Spectrum cable.
I'm looking for something easy to use (no eight week coding/programing crash course needed), reliable, and affordable. $150 and under. Any more expensive, and I'll probably go wireless, and use the lan ports.

Thanks for the help,
B

Start by seeing if this router will meet your needs.


TP-Link Gigabit VPN Router (TL-R600VPN)

Amazon has them for $59.

You don't necessarily have to use the VPN features.

 

[bucknhacks]

what model is this ?


TL-R860



sorry but i dont understand this

also $150 is quite limiting budget wise

Was looking for a low $ (~ $100) basic wired router, but from what I've seen, anything low $ has low wan/lan throughput, so I'll go wireless, and use the lan ports.

 

[System Error Message]

Was looking for a low $ (~ $100) basic wired router, but from what I've seen, anything low $ has low wan/lan throughput, so I'll go wireless, and use the lan ports.

not necessarily, as a basic router both mikrotik and ubiquiti has a setup wizard that lets you set up home networks and you can get really faster routers for as low as $60. For just internet alone both the ERL and RB750gx3 will handle 1Gb/s with hardware acceleration. Not much programming or learning required for them but you do need to learn the basic security for them.

For example on mikrotik the simplest defence is to whitelist the output chain on input and drop everything else on input under firewall. For the price, performance and reliability both mikrotik and ubiquiti are much better than any VPN router out there.

pfsense is also a good option too that can be cheap if you recycle and buy a 2nd hand intel server NIC for it. Even a core2duo with 2GB of ram is plenty and you only need to know how to get pfsense to usb drive and installing an OS from usb. Its the easiest out of the 3 as it has a GUI for a lot of things but doesnt scare you with its appearance like mikrotik by revealing every possible option in the GUI at a time.

For $150 you could get an asus AC68U which would fit your needs. Many similar routers like this cost around the same too and as long as you dont get dlink you'll be fine. Essentially some brands are good at other things. For example the netgear equivalent r7000 works well but the stock firmware isnt great as netgear's hardware quality tends to be good but not their firmware. ASUS tend to do well with both. tp link keeps their firmware feature set simple and doesnt equip their routers with higher end hardware like asus or other brands rather their CPU may be 20% lower clocked as they pick the cheaper SoC variants. This is probably what you'll be familiar with compared to the rest but consumer routers except a few arent really known for working as well.

However you should avoid VPN routers under every circumstance as their platforms come with underpowered CPU and firmware with a lot of bugs.

 

[bucknhacks]

Thank you.

 

[Samir]

I recently picked up an archer c5 for under $80 just to use the wifi. Our connection is 150/25 and it works flawlessly, even as the connection speeds spike nearing 200Mbs. I'd take a look. Set up is cake too if you've used even just one router before.

 

[bucknhacks]

pfsense is also a good option too that can be cheap if you recycle and buy a 2nd hand intel server NIC for it. Even a core2duo with 2GB of ram is plenty and you only need to know how to get pfsense to usb drive and installing an OS from usb. Its the easiest out of the 3 as it has a GUI for a lot of things but doesnt scare you with its appearance like mikrotik by revealing every possible option in the GUI at a time.

Hello,
So, if I were to go this route, I could make the box into a VPN server/router? Or, would I need a single router, and a single VPN server?

 

[System Error Message]

Hello,
So, if I were to go this route, I could make the box into a VPN server/router? Or, would I need a single router, and a single VPN server?

it could also be a vpn router as well

 

[MichaelCG]

pfSense out of the box without additional installs handles the FW, router, and VPN functions easily. There are packages available to add more features if you want them and have the resources available to run them. My pfSense box is my FW, router, openVPN server, and anti-virus proxy server. I also have Snort running...but this is more to tinker with only.

Without Snort running, I know my box can handle around 950Mbps on my Internet connection. My system is an older HP enterprise desktop (Core2 E4600) I picked up at MicroCenter with two additional Intel Gigabit NICs added.

 

[bucknhacks]

pfSense out of the box without additional installs handles the FW, router, and VPN functions easily. There are packages available to add more features if you want them and have the resources available to run them. My pfSense box is my FW, router, openVPN server, and anti-virus proxy server. I also have Snort running...but this is more to tinker with only.

Without Snort running, I know my box can handle around 950Mbps on my Internet connection. My system is an older HP enterprise desktop (Core2 E4600) I picked up at MicroCenter with two additional Intel Gigabit NICs added.

What's the best resource on the web for (how to) putting together something like that from start to finish?
We're on a 200 down, 20 up plan with Spectrum. Is that 20Mbps up going to be a deal breaker?

Lastly, what kind of download speeds are you getting when running the vpn?


ty

 

[MichaelCG]

Best resource...read the forums here and on the pfsense community. You can also look at OPNsense which is just another fork of pfSense with some slightly different packaging. Unfortunately I can't help much more than that....I have been toying with these systems for years and mostly knew enough to get going along. I started toying with these back in the m0n0wall days. My first m0n0wall box was a Cyrix 6x86 box...I think..(it could have been an AMD/K6?)...it has been a long long time.

They really are simple. Get a desktop, add some network cards, download the distribution of choice, follow the basic install instructions....and bam...done. There are basic install guides on the sites of both pfSense and OPNsense.

A basic Core2 CPU or higher will easily handle your speeds. I am using mine on 1000 up and 1000 down with no issues.

As for download speeds. My setup is a openVPN server on pfSense, and my client is my iPhone6 and a Windows laptop. When on a fast connection, I can hit right around the 100Mbps mark on both. The iPhone gets faster speeds than the laptop...I am assuming that is a client issue.

I am NOT using pfSense as a VPN client yet. This is what I am still researching...my current setup is to give me security and privacy when I am not at home. So if I am sitting on public WiFi at Starbucks, I can use my VPN to secure my traffic back to my house. This does NOT hide me from my local ISP, but it hides me from the prying eyes on the open public WiFi I am using.

 

[bucknhacks]

MichaelCG

Thank you very much for the added information. The download speed sure takes a major kick to the cacahuates from the VPN.

 

[Samir]

We're on a 200 down, 20 up plan with Spectrum. Is that 20Mbps up going to be a deal breaker?

20Mbps won't be the issue vs 200Mbps. It's the highest bandwidth processing that you have to worry about--same as any other router.

 

[coxhaus]

I have Spectrum 300 running with pfsense 2.3. It has run very well for about 2 years. It was TimeWarner before Spectrum. AT&T is stringing fiber in my neighborhood so hopefully in the future I can run faster.