What are my options Netgear R9000 Replacement with at least 6 LAN ports built in?

[azcc88]

The R9000 has served us well but it is time for a new upgrade. I have a few requirements with no exceptions.

1. Has to have 6 LAN ports minimum built in. (No, I'm not going to run external switch/hub, so please don't ask or offer a 4 port LAN option!!!!)
2. Has to be a non-mesh type router, single router similar to one R9000 device.

None of the Wifi 7 devices support more than 4 LAN ports built-in so those are out. I believe some older Wifi-6 models have 8 ports, but they are older models. Looking for something new I don't have to upgrade for a while.

Cheers

 

[azcc88]

I've been looking at these two but not sure what to make of the negative reviews:

ASUS RT-AX89X (AX6000)​

TP-Link (Archer AX10000)​

Curious on your thoughts. I expect there to be bad reviews by novices etc, but when people post the WAN port just died etc makes me nervous. I've seen my share of complaints about Netgear FW and issues.

 

[Tech9]

Your no exception requirements severely limit your choices.

 

[azcc88]

Sure but there's some options just like the ones I posted above I'm curious if there's others

 

[Tech9]

What had 8x LAN ports before from Asus routers wasn't very reliable. Issues with ports 5-8 were common. There is an additional switch inside. This is why folks around recommend using a switch. If the switch fails you replace a $20 device. When the built-in switch fails you replace $200+ device. Your choice. Pick your poison between the old Asus and TP-Link models. They were both released in 2019. It's 2024 now.

 

[azcc88]

I've had zero failures on LAN ports on the R9000. It would seem to me with all the latest technologies and manufacturing advances since when the r9000 was developed putting a switch in a router should not be difficult with ports lasting.

So my question still stands, are there good viable options with at least six ports?

 

[Tech9]

TP-Link Archer AX6000 also has 8x LAN ports:

AX6000 Next-Gen Wi-Fi Router

AX6000 Dual-Band Wi-Fi speed boosted by 1024-QAM delivers astonishing wireless speeds of up to 5952 Mbps: 4804 Mbps (5 GHz) and 1148 Mbps (2.4 GHz).

www.tp-link.com

 

[azcc88]

Thanks we'll look into this is this a new model or an older model?

 

[Tech9]

The same hardware as Archer AX11000 but dual-band. Released around 2019 like the others.

If you need brand spanking new model and you want to become a beta tester look here:

BE19000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Gaming Router

Archer GE800 is an innovative WiFi gaming router with a brand-new design. With up to 19 Gbps tri-band Wi-Fi, two 10G ports, two 2.5G ports, abundant gaming acceleration functions, GE800 boosts gaming traffic, stabilizes connections, and reduces latency to ensure your gaming stays immersive.

www.tp-link.com

2x 10GbE + 2x 2.5Gbe + 4x Gigabit ports and perhaps >$1000 price. Looks like Darth Vader's shuttle.

 

[azcc88]

It's 4 LAN ports, reminds me of the Netgear Darth Vader router lol.

I think both the models I list are tri-band, would not make sense to get a dual band

 

[azcc88]

These older models seem to be still supported from a firmware perspective. Reliability with the lan ports has me concerned based on what you said. I'm a little surprised they are not as reliable relative to the older r9000 for those ports at least

 

[Tech9]

You can use up to 7x ports for LAN on the "shuttle" model. Not available yet though. Darth Vader's approval needed. This guy is hard to find.

 

[coxhaus]

You know the number of LAN ports makes no technical difference than using an extra switch.

 

[azcc88]

You can use up to 7x ports for LAN on the "shuttle" model. Not available yet though. Darth Vader's approval needed. This guy is hard to find.

I only see 6 RJ45 jacks and the SFP port, I assume your thinking is use the 6 ports for the LAN and SFP for ISP into the shuttle. I think it would very much depend on if the FW allows those ports to be used for LAN instead of WAN. Marking shows it so it must.

 

[Tech9]

What is your current Netgear R9000 not doing for you?

Seems like a good quality Qualcomm hardware AC Wave 2... and one unusable AD.

 

[azcc88]

5Ghz drop out, suspect HW is getting old in the tooth and it's time before it completely fails.
An R7000 I had installed at another location for a family friend 5Ghz just completely died, loaded 3 different FW from different repo outside factory FW and confirmed the behavior in all loads.
Don't recall the MTBF but it's modern electronics, there is a certain level of expectation these days of failure due to component selection and design, ie poor thermal etc like on R9000, frankly replacing the IC is not worth my time on these older units.

I'm going to look at the options i found and research alt FW options and probably go with one of those unless someone else posts another option for me to research outside the darthvader option you found.

 

[Tech9]

My wife perhaps will stop talking to me for at least a month if I bring home such a device and place it in a central location.

 

[coxhaus]

Cisco tends not to fail as they are over engineered as far as hardware goes. They lose software support before hardware fails.
Cisco small business networking equipment can be relied on and are affordable for home use.

 

[azcc88]

My wife perhaps will stop talking to me for at least a month if I bring home such a device and place it in a central location.

This is hidden so to say in a custom media center, you wife would spare you

 

[Tech9]

Hidden in a custom media center perhaps is the reason of your R9000 failure. Routers have passive cooling and require some air circulation. Anyway, based on your requirements your choices are extremely limited to mostly older models. You have to decide what you want to do. So much trouble because you don't want an extra $20 device, perhaps also hidden from view. Good luck.