What to buy ... Netgear WNDR3700?

[NickPDX]

I have been using a Linksys WRT150N as my main router for about 2 years now I think. About a month ago there was a lightning storm and the power went out. After that the wireless has not worked on my router. I have tried reflashing firmware, changing bands amongst other things but nothing gets it back working. I decided it was time to replace the router. I wanted to step up to something that has gigabit LAN so I went with what appeared to be one of the top routers currently, Belkin N+. It was a big mistake. I had never tried a Belkin router before and I don't plan on it again.

I returned it to the store and am now shopping again. Linksys and Netgear have been the companies that I have had the best luck with in the past, so I am thinking about sticking with them. The current generation Linksys body style has me a little worried about overheating problems, and I have read many reviews that seem to back that up. The Netgear that I am looking to buy is Netgear WNDR3700. It looks like it has a lot of newer features that I may use down the road and it has a lot of good things going that I would use now. I was just reading some other forum chatter and people are becoming skeptical of the router because it has not came out yet when it was supposed to be out Q1 2009. Has anybody heard much about this router, good or bad?

I am currently trying to decide between, this Netgear model (if it comes out this week like it appears to ... best buy has it on their site now), or a TRENDnet TEW-633GR. The TRENDnet is considerably cheaper, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Most importantly I am looking for a router with Gigabit LAN, and is dependable (long term and short term). I don't want to have to reboot the router to get it to catch the modem connection, or have to deal with it rebooting itself. The wireless is not the biggest concern of mine as I only have a laptop with a G connection, and a Nintendo Wii connected to the wireless.

Thanks to anybody that can offer any input. Those two models are what I think to be my top options right now but I am opened to other ideas. Thanks again!

Nick

PS I do a lot of HD video streaming and internet downloads. The router will get a workout on the wired side of things that is why I am looking for something stable.

 

[Kixstar]

Router

Get the D-Link DIR-655, Hardware A4, Firmware 1.21

Avoid upgrading to the 1.31 Firmware

I use this in a decent sized network and it handles WiFi media streaming really well. It also has a 1Gig switch so it handles wired traffic extremely well.

Kix

 

[thiggins]

The TEW-633GR is essentially a DIR-655 clone. I'm seeing DIR-655's for

The WNDR3700 has been long-delayed. NETGEAR has not contacted me regarding review, which they usually do.

Why bother with a draft 11n router if you have only 11g clients? New draft 11n routers will continue to appear and not all will be upgraded to the final standard which is due end of this year.

I'd get a separate gigabit switch and a cheap 11g (or draft 11n if you like) router and wait on Draft 11n.

 

[NickPDX]

I had not thought of going that route ... but it is a good idea. Now I have to figure out which switch to buy. Here is some more information about my current setup:

I have a wireless router and a wired router both setup in seperate rooms in my house with multiple devices connected through each.

Office:
1 - Comcast Motorolla Modem (connected to->)
1 - Wireless Router (non-gigabit) (4-ports wired)
1 - NAS (gigabit speed) (wired port-1)
1 - Desktop PC (wired gigabit) (wired port-2)
1 - Wall Ethernet Port (wired under house to living room) (wired port-3)
2 - wireless g devices (Nintendo Wii, HP Laptop)

Living Room:
1 - Router (wireless disabled/acting as wired access point) (4-ports wired)
1 - XBOX 360 (wired port-1)
1 - Popcorn Hour Media Center (wired port-2)

I was thinking that I could buy a gigabit switch and put it in the office and then buy a wireless G router and put it in the living room. By putting the wireless router in the living room it will get it closer to where the wireless devices are so that makes sense.

A quick look on newegg shows that the DLink DGS-2208 or DGS-2205 are both highly rated switches. I have read a couple user reviews that show people have had issues with using these in mixed environments, gigabit and non devices. I only have the two gigabit devices the PC and the NAS so I need them to be able to utilize the gigabit speed while the other devices work properly with the standard 10/100 speeds.

Thanks again for the advice. I am going to do some more reading and see if I can figure out which way to go with this stuff.

Nick

 

[thiggins]

The only "problems" encountered when mixing Gigabit and 10/100 devices on a Gigabit switch should come from flow control.

Unmanaged gigabit switches are commodity products. Buy on price, brand preference and warranty.

8 Port Gigabit Switch Roundup is somewhat dated. But may have useful info for you.

 

[NickPDX]

I really have appreciated the input you guys have gave me ... it has opened my eyes to a different way of tackling my home network. I have done a lot of reading today and think that I have a good handle on what I should do. I was doing some messing around while sitting in class today and drew out how the network would hook up. I included that picture, bad quality I know but does it all look how it should?

At first I was thinking that I would be able to put just a switch coming off of the modem and then have the wireless router in "room 2" sending the wireless internet out to the house and wired to the 2 devices out there. I have now realized that a switch does not act that way, correct? Would it be a good option to buy a wired gigabit router to have in room 1 to take the place of the two devices that would have been there otherwise? I would then put the Wireless-G router in room 2 acting as just an access point with wireless and wired options.

I am thinking that having the router and switch as it is in my picture would be the best option because it separates the gigabit and non-gigabit devices from eachother. I then shouldn't have to worry about flow control at all, even though I have looked on my PC NIC (Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E GBE NIC) and the flow control option is very easily changed.

I am going to continue to do more reading but I hope that I am able to get this hammered out before the weekend so maybe I can take advantage of some good July 4th sales.

Thanks again for the help! Hopefully with all the reading I am doing I can repay the favor to others on the forum down the road.

Nick

 

[thiggins]

At first I was thinking that I would be able to put just a switch coming off of the modem and then have the wireless router in "room 2" sending the wireless internet out to the house and wired to the 2 devices out there. I have now realized that a switch does not act that way, correct?

Don't know what you mean. But I'm guessing that you mean that the switch would not share Internet to PC1 and NAS, which is correct. The router shares the Internet connection and also provides a firewall to provide a first level of security for your LAN.

Would it be a good option to buy a wired gigabit router to have in room 1 to take the place of the two devices that would have been there otherwise? I would then put the Wireless-G router in room 2 acting as just an access point with wireless and wired options.

Sure. But you'll find wireless gigabit routers more plentiful and probably cheaper because that's what companies make more of.

I am thinking that having the router and switch as it is in my picture would be the best option because it separates the gigabit and non-gigabit devices from eachother. I then shouldn't have to worry about flow control at all, even though I have looked on my PC NIC (Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E GBE NIC) and the flow control option is very easily changed.

Adding the 10/100 switch won't prevent problems with flow control since it probably supports 802.3x. So if, say the NAS were providing simultaneous streams to PC1 and the Xbox, you might still get the problem. But you probably wouldn't notice because even 100 Mbps Ethernet can handle multiple HD streams.

You need only one switch. And if you have flow control problems you need to disable flow control at the transmit NIC or switch port.

 

[NickPDX]

You were right on with what I was initially thinking about a switch but I had figured out before this post that that was not how a switch acts. I need the router as the initial device off the modem to share the internet with the devices connected either directly to the router or connected through a switch.

The second switch in room 2 is needed to extend the connection to the devices in that room. The wall port has just one port with a single wired connection coming directly from room 1. I am currently using an old Dlink router that would reboot with the wireless enabled to perform the same action as the second switch will be doing. I think the new switch will be more reliable at least long term for sure.

Thanks for the correction on flow control. I was not thinking about the fact that the nas is still connected beyond the one switch.

I think that I am set on buying a Dlink unmanaged switch. I have to decide between the 8 or 5 port model (2205 or 2208 I believe). They look the same other than the # of ports and I think the 8 port said something about having a larger packet size (?). I am guessing that any larger specs would be just to support the 3 additional ports and there would be no real noticable difference in performance. The Fry's near me has the 5 port on sale for $29.99 so I think that I am leaning that direction.

 

[thiggins]

With the single line running to Room 2, the second switch makes sense.
Be sure you disable DHCP on the old D-Link router as well as disabling wireless.

Unmanaged switches are commodities. Buy on brand preference, price and warranty. Since gigabit switches run hotter and most don't put heatsinks on the switch chip(s), you might want to put a little more weighting on warranty length for you final decision.