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kirb112

Occasional Visitor
Currently, I am running an RT-AC5300 running the latest version of Merlin. However, I am considering downgrading because I am also running a Synology DS916+ NAS. The NAS makes many of the features on the 5300, such as USB media access, etc. pointless to have. I do like the interface of Asus's line of routers, and I like the iOS app as well, as it allows me to easily cut the internet connectivity to my kids' iPads when I feel that they have been on them too long.

I have experience with TP-Link's line of VPN routers, and I am considering selling my 5300 and move to a wired rack-mountable solution, combined with an access point.

Dual WAN is a feature that I will be using, and I feel that TP-Link gives more configuration options that AsusWRT.

Link aggregation is also important, but I have a TP-Link switch that will be handling this for me.

My primary concern: I feel that my NAS replicates a lot of the features that the 5300 boasts, thus I am paying for a feature-loaded router, of which I will use only half of the features.

I am looking for advice as to whether I should keep my 5300, or go with a wired router + AP setup. I have someone who would buy my 5300 for pretty much full price, so I will get my money back on that if I decide to go this route.

Input would be greatly appreciated.
 
First question is, what was the reason that led you to buy the RT-AC5300 specifically rather than any other model such as the RT-AC88U (which mostly the same hardware, minus the second 5 GHz radio)? This will determine whether or not the 5300 is the best router for you right now or not - it depends on your needs.
 
I don't think the DS916+ NAS unit is much better (if at all, for single threaded performance) than the processor inside the RT-AC5300.

Depending on how you will actually configure your network, I think that they can both share the workload to make for an even better, overall, network experience.

As RMerlin mentioned, if you don't need a three radio router, consider buying an RT-AC3100 or an RT-AC88U instead (same basic hardware in all) to save some money.
 
First question is, what was the reason that led you to buy the RT-AC5300 specifically rather than any other model such as the RT-AC88U (which mostly the same hardware, minus the second 5 GHz radio)? This will determine whether or not the 5300 is the best router for you right now or not - it depends on your needs.

Because it's a very advanced router. I want the best performance, but don't necessarily need all of the features. What are recommendations for matched performance, without the features that my NAS can replicate?
 
I don't think the DS916+ NAS unit is much better (if at all, for single threaded performance) than the processor inside the RT-AC5300.

Depending on how you will actually configure your network, I think that they can both share the workload to make for an even better, overall, network experience.

As RMerlin mentioned, if you don't need a three radio router, consider buying an RT-AC3100 or an RT-AC88U instead (same basic hardware in all) to save some money.

I will be running TP-Link TL-SG1016DE switch as well because it supports link aggregation. Knowing this, which of these two routers would be preferred? I have looked at the RT-AC88U, which is very nice. However, I believe that the 88U as well as the 5300 each have only two ports that support link aggregation. I want to run aggregation on my 2 NIC Sinology NAS, and my desktop.
 
First question is, what was the reason that led you to buy the RT-AC5300 specifically rather than any other model such as the RT-AC88U (which mostly the same hardware, minus the second 5 GHz radio)? This will determine whether or not the 5300 is the best router for you right now or not - it depends on your needs.

I was also in the process of moving, selling my old house, and my wife was having a baby. So we were pretty slammed and I didn't have much time to research. I was using a Linksys E4200 from 2011, and I didn't want to underbuy on a new router.
 
I will be running TP-Link TL-SG1016DE switch as well because it supports link aggregation. Knowing this, which of these two routers would be preferred? I have looked at the RT-AC88U, which is very nice. However, I believe that the 88U as well as the 5300 each have only two ports that support link aggregation. I want to run aggregation on my 2 NIC Sinology NAS, and my desktop.

It doesn't seem you require a third radio then? The RT-AC3100 may be all you 'need'.

RT-AC3100 > TL-SG1016DE (in LAG).

NAS > TL-SG1016DE (in LAG).

TL-SG1016DE to rest of wired devices.
 
Currently, I am running an RT-AC5300 running the latest version of Merlin. However, I am considering downgrading because I am also running a Synology DS916+ NAS. The NAS makes many of the features on the 5300, such as USB media access, etc. pointless to have. I do like the interface of Asus's line of routers, and I like the iOS app as well, as it allows me to easily cut the internet connectivity to my kids' iPads when I feel that they have been on them too long.

To put some focus - Router/AP's with USB FileSharing capability - they're not NAS devices - it's a checkbox feature.

The Router itself, when allowed to move packets around - it does a ok job of it, and same with WiFi - and taking that into Context - that's good enough.

A NAS has different functional requirements, with different emphasis on tuning - and most consumer NAS boxes will perform as good, if not better, than a Router/AP with a shared USB drive - and you'll have additional functional benefits with a NAS compared to an All-in-One - Synology and QNAP do offer extensible features via their "app stores" that have a reasonable amount of QA and integration into their platforms..

While a Router can do some NAS functionality (minimal to check the boxes), it's main purpose is to be a router...
 
To put some focus - Router/AP's with USB FileSharing capability - they're not NAS devices - it's a checkbox feature.

The Router itself, when allowed to move packets around - it does a ok job of it, and same with WiFi - and taking that into Context - that's good enough.

A NAS has different functional requirements, with different emphasis on tuning - and most consumer NAS boxes will perform as good, if not better, than a Router/AP with a shared USB drive - and you'll have additional functional benefits with a NAS compared to an All-in-One - Synology and QNAP do offer extensible features via their "app stores" that have a reasonable amount of QA and integration into their platforms..

While a Router can do some NAS functionality (minimal to check the boxes), it's main purpose is to be a router...

My thoughts exactly. This is why I do not necessarily need all of the features of the 5300. My NAS does all of the things that these routers do, and obviously a lot more. I'd rather not pay for features in a router that I will not use, because I have a NAS.
 
My thoughts exactly. This is why I do not necessarily need all of the features of the 5300. My NAS does all of the things that these routers do, and obviously a lot more. I'd rather not pay for features in a router that I will not use, because I have a NAS.

Yeah, but a NAS might not make for a good Router - it's tuned for a specific purpose...

I've thought about this - as I have a QNAP TS-453Pro, and it has four gigabit interfaces (intel ones at that, for the win), but it's very task specific in that regard... but again, it's built for filesharing, and this is a different set of requirements, and if we were to put routing into it, we'd have to give some to get some...

FWIW - I run pfSense on a dedicated box, I have a managed switch, I have AP's that just do wireless, and the NAS - everything has a purpose, and they all do a good job at it.

Expensive - yes - and it meets my needs... at the same time though, I'm definitely overbuilt for my little network here, and this is a platform that would support a small to medium enterprise perhaps :D

Most folks are probably good with a single box, but sometimes it's just a checkbox feature to suit marketing asks...
 
Because it's a very advanced router. I want the best performance, but don't necessarily need all of the features. What are recommendations for matched performance, without the features that my NAS can replicate?

All high-end home gateways come with USB ports, so that's simply something you can ignore if you don't need it - there's no money to be saved there by searching for a model without USB ports, as these are typically either low-end routers, or business-class products.

The RT-AC88U/RT-AC3100 will offer the exact same performance as the RT-AC5300, for much less. The only real difference is the RT-AC5300 has a second 5 GHz radio, which you don't seem to need. So if you are looking to save some money, I would "downgrade" (it's more like a sidegrade, honestly) to one of these less expensive models.

Typically, almost every AC2600/AC3100/AC5300 class router will also come with USB ports. Just don't use them, and stick to your NAS for file sharing.
 
All high-end home gateways come with USB ports, so that's simply something you can ignore if you don't need it - there's no money to be saved there by searching for a model without USB ports, as these are typically either low-end routers, or business-class products.

The RT-AC88U/RT-AC3100 will offer the exact same performance as the RT-AC5300, for much less. The only real difference is the RT-AC5300 has a second 5 GHz radio, which you don't seem to need. So if you are looking to save some money, I would "downgrade" (it's more like a sidegrade, honestly) to one of these less expensive models.

Typically, almost every AC2600/AC3100/AC5300 class router will also come with USB ports. Just don't use them, and stick to your NAS for file sharing.
Will the 88U support link aggregation to two different machines? 2x Ethernet on my NAS and 2x on my desktop? If so, I don't need to buy the switch to enable LAG. Especially since the 88U has 8 LAN ports.
 
Will the 88U support link aggregation to two different machines? 2x Ethernet on my NAS and 2x on my desktop? If so, I don't need to buy the switch to enable LAG. Especially since the 88U has 8 LAN ports.

While the 8 LAN ports are great on the RT-AC88U, having two different chipsets driving them is less than optimal, imo. I don't know if you can do LAG with 4 of the ports on that router (I think not, though). But if you want to use it for something more than connecting 8 devices directly to the router, I would not trust the dual chipsets into the distant future for the 'extra' features you may need from them.
 
What is your goal of having LAG on the desktop computer? Faster access to the NAS? Or, is there more than that?
 
What is your goal of having LAG on the desktop computer? Faster access to the NAS? Or, is there more than that?
Exactly. I have a lot to transfer to the NAS, and I'd like to have the bandwidth for future large data transfers,
 
Exactly. I have a lot to transfer to the NAS, and I'd like to have the bandwidth for future large data transfers,

LAG is not RAID for networks - consider that it's more for capacity, but the speed is limited to link speed, so it will not be any faster, but it can support more concurrent connections...
 
LAG is not RAID for networks - consider that it's more for capacity, but the speed is limited to link speed, so it will not be any faster, but it can support more concurrent connections...

True. But in this case, LAG to the router and LAG to the computer will give him an effective 2GbE connection (less some overhead).
 
True. But in this case, LAG to the router and LAG to the computer will give him an effective 2GbE connection (less some overhead).

No - it doesn't...

It's gives him a bonded/balanced 1GB connection...
 

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