Which router model I should buy to use in my office

[aavvtomjerry]

Dear all

May I ask for your help?

My company needs to but the new router to use in our office. Our staff have around 50 devices maximum but normally around 10-15 devices daily. Our current router always has problems. It frequently lost 5Ghz and router frequently freeze. We have to go to restart from time to time. Sometimes, we have training in our office and a lot of people use the network. We cannot do anything on the current router at all. My company decides to buy a new router for next year's budget. We are a small company and have no IT staff. So I have to do this to help fix the problem.

I decide to buy the Asus Router that I have a long experience with them for more than 10 years on different models. It will be easy for me to configuration and troubleshooting the new router. The budget around 300 USD.

May anyone can help to select the model of the Asus router that fit for the requirement above.

Thank you.

 

[microchip]

Currently, the AC86U is the choice and very well supported and fast

 

[CrystalLattice]

No consumer router will ever work well in your situation. No consumer router is secure. Also, you have a major problem with peak capacity(>50 clients at a time using bandwidth). This is what I use in my office:

1. Linksys EA4500 (Amazon/Ebay new $50, put free OpenWrt firmware[openwrt.org] on it, it's easy). This is very high security compared to Asus, Netgear, D-Link, etc. You now have the equivalent of a $2000 business network firewall. Will handle 700 MBPS connection.

2. Ruckus R510 access point (new on ebay, $200). Just plug into your EA4500. Use a POE power injector, $20, to supply power. Easy network software comes with it. Can handle up to 500 client devices. Add R510's if you need more coverage or capacity.

In your situation I would not risk using anything else, for capacity and security. You could substitute another router with Openwrt from Openwrt.org . You could use dd-WRT or Gargoyle software, they're a little easier to use, like an Asus. You could substitute a Tp-link EA225 or 245 access point for less money. You may need a network switch eventually as your need for wired connections grows.

This is all much easier to do than it looks. Good luck!

 

[aavvtomjerry]

Currently, the AC86U is the choice and very well supported and fast

Thanks for your answer. This is the one I had experience.

 

[aavvtomjerry]

No consumer router will ever work well in your situation. No consumer router is secure. This is what I use in my office:

1. Linksys EA4500 (Amazon/Ebay new $50, put free OpenWrt firmware[openwrt.org] on it, it's easy). This is very high security compared to Asus, Netgear, D-Link, etc. You now have the equivalent of a $2000 business network firewall. Will handle 700MBPS connection.

2. Ruckus R510 access point (new on ebay, $200). Just plug into your EA4500. Easy network software comes with it. Can handle up to 500 client devices. Add R510's if you need more coverage or capacity.

In your situation I would not risk using anything else. You could substitute another router with Openwrt from Openwrt.org . You could substitute a Tp-link EA225 or 245 access point for less money.

This is much easier to do than it looks. Good luck!

Thanks for your answer. I will go to study more from your recommendation.

 

[aavvtomjerry]

Don't use a home router in a business, if you can avoid it.

How about this one.

Cisco Aironet 1815i

This is the one my friend recommend. Is it possible to cover all the requirement. It still in my budget.

 

[coxhaus]

I would use Cisco small business gear. I recommend using one of Cisco's L3 switches like the SG350 switches they have several models, so the router will not become bogged down with local traffic. For wireless I like the Cisco WAP581 APs. This will blow your budget but this will build you good info structure which will keep your employees working and making money. There will be no lock ups or reboots, it will just work.

I would think there is no problem using a Cisco Aironet 1815 with the Cisco small business gear. The only problem I see is you will need to use command line to setup the Aironet 1815. This will be difficult for a new user. The Cisco small business gear has wizards to get you configured fast and easy.

PS
Here is a thread I started for building a small business network
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fixing-a-small-business-network.47581/

I would not recommend any consumer all in one router wireless for a small business. You are asking for trouble.

 

[L&LD]

That budget needs to be increased for enterprise equipment (and setup).

Depending on what type of business your company is doing, an RT-AC86U as suggested above along with RMerlin firmware and appropriate amtm scripts will do very nicely for a small business.

Particularly if it is in a secured location that would lessen the chance of it being tampered with (without anyone else knowing).

The enterprise equipment is ideal. The budget seems to be an issue here though.

 

[Val D.]

an RT-AC86U as suggested above along with RMerlin firmware and appropriate amtm scripts will do very nicely for a small business.

A router offering options to send user data to a third party company is priceless for any business, small or large, no doubt about it. You forgot to mention the swap file on a cheap USB. The cheaper the USB, the better for the business, I guess.

@aavvtomjerry, don’t buy a disposable consumer product with questionable security.

 

[Trip]

That budget needs to be increased for enterprise equipment (and setup).

For true enterprise grade gear, yes. But 300 is at least enough for an SMB-grade router/firewall, PoE injector or small PoE switch, and one mid-grade AP; plenty for a small office with a max client load of 50 or so and simple route/switch needs.

@aavvtomjerry - For $300, I'd look at a Ubiquiti ER-X ($60, best for <200Mb/s internet, but will NAT up to 1Gb/s aggregate) or the ER-4 ($175, best for <500Mb/s internet, but will NAT up to 2Gb/s). If you're really skilled, a Mikrotik RB4011 ($165, can NAT 2.5Gb/s aggregate). Couple any of those with a PoE+ injector ($30-40) and either a working pull Ruckus R510 off eBay or for a new AP, a TP-Link EAP245v3, and you'll have a pretty solid setup.

@coxhaus - Cisco RV/SG/WAP is a solid combo, but for the OP's budget I'm afraid an L3 switch is out. I would instead collapse switching and PoE onto the gateway and do an RV260P with a single WAP581. Still ~$500-550 total, but the gear will last and is supported for a while.

 

[L&LD]

A router offering options to send user data to a third party company is priceless for any business, small or large, no doubt about it. You forgot to mention the swap file on a cheap USB. The cheaper the USB, the better for the business, I guess.

@aavvtomjerry, don’t buy a disposable consumer product with questionable security.

Of course, you would have to be skilled enough to configure it. But I thought that was a given.

 

[coxhaus]

@coxhaus - Cisco RV/SG/WAP is a solid combo, but for the OP's budget I'm afraid an L3 switch is out. I would instead collapse switching and PoE onto the gateway and do an RV260P with a single WAP581. Still ~$500-550 total, but the gear will last and is supported for a while.[/QUOTE]

Good to hear about the RV260p. We needed a lower priced POE+ router. How does it compare to the RV340 router performance wise?

 

[Val D.]

Of course, you would have to be skilled enough to configure it.

In this specific case configuring RT-AC86U will take about 2 minutes. Remove the power first, detach the antennae, put everything in the box, send it back to where it came from. Leave this thread to @Trip and @coxhaus to handle. They know what is needed, you clearly don't. Thanks for trying though.

 

[L&LD]

In this specific case configuring RT-AC86U will take about 2 minutes. Remove the power first, detach the antennae, put everything in the box, send it back to where it came from. Leave this thread to @Trip and @coxhaus to handle. They know what is needed, you clearly don't. Thanks for trying though.

I fully agree they can handle it. Particularly now that the op has changed their mind about the budget and Asus routers too.

What nobody needs though is your unnecessary input. Thanks for being annoying though.

 

[Val D.]

Particularly now that the op has changed their mind about the budget and Asus routers too.

That's the idea, to point him in the right direction. I'm intentionally annoying to you hoping you'll realize at some point your ASUS + custom firmware + custom scripts + cheap USB is far from universal solution and it's time to stop offering it in every thread, no matter what the case is.

I would ask @aavvtomjerry to share some details about the layout and size of this office, because "a lot of people using the network" (how many is "a lot" first) means they have to fit somewhere, and knowing some things about Fire Code (at least here in Canada) tells me this place must be sufficiently big. Also, many office 2-3 story buildings have metal structure and that may change the WiFi performance of access point(s) used. I would expect some wired devices to be used also (if not now, then soon) and nothing is mentioned about PCs, printers, copiers, etc. No information on what network speed is needed and what ISP line is currently in use. But the first problem I see here is the very low budget that needs adjustment in order to do the things properly.

 

[L&LD]

That's the idea, to point him in the right direction. I'm intentionally annoying to you hoping you'll realize at some point your ASUS + custom firmware + custom scripts + cheap USB is far from universal solution and it's time to stop offering it in every thread, no matter what the case is.

I would ask @aavvtomjerry to share some details about the layout and size of this office, because "a lot of people using the network" (how many is "a lot" first) means they have to fit somewhere, and knowing some things about Fire Code (at least here in Canada) tells me this place must be sufficiently big. Also, many office 2-3 story buildings have metal structure and that may change the WiFi performance of access point(s) used. I would expect some wired devices to be used also (if not now, then soon) and nothing is mentioned about PCs, printers, copiers, etc. No information on what network speed is needed and what ISP line is currently in use. But the first problem I see here is the very low budget that needs adjustment in order to do the things properly.

And we're doing that without your questionable help. What I offered above was solid advice, even if you can't understand it. And stop generalizing what kind of posts I make.

Please stop spamming the threads with your inferior attitude and allow the people who want to help, to do so.

Your self-admitted vigilantism against me is growing old. Find a different hobby to amuse yourself.

This is my last post directed to you. Have a great life.

 

[Val D.]

What I offered above was solid advice...

L&LD, please... move along.
Focus on your "Nuclear Reset" technology, this is what some ASUS consumer products need quite often.

 

[aavvtomjerry]

Thanks for the answers from everyone.

I found that I have to study a lot to do that.
I need more time to find the model that I can find in my country and will back to you again.

Thank you.

 

[Trip]

Good to hear about the RV260p. We needed a lower priced POE+ router. How does it compare to the RV340 router performance wise?

260P: NAT 800Mb/s, IPSec 75Mb/s and 8-port LAN, 4 with 60W total PoE+. Released 10/2018. ~$250 street price. 345P: NAT 900, IPSec 600, 16-port LAN with 120W PoE+. Released 06/2016. ~$500 street price.

So the 260P is a couple years newer (which hopefully means longer support), roughly half the price, almost as much NAT and PoE for up to 4 APs. The only real concession is 75Mb of IPSec; probably not crucial for most 260 use-cases. Here's the comparison matrix of all the RVs for quick reference.

As for others' suggestions, I welcome them even if they're a bit different from what I'd do. Lord knows I don't know everything, so lets give each other a pass, for the sake of more discussion if nothing else.

 

[CrystalLattice]

@aavvtomjerry : The more I think about, your easy solution for now is to just go with the Asus RT-AC86U for now! It won't be secure, but it may be stable enough for your needs. If you grow your business more, just hire a small business IT contractor to offload the responsibilty. Sorry I steered you towards the mini office network with separate router, switch(or not), and access point. There is some complication that way; you may want simplicity with what you know for now, with single router.