Author Topic: What router do you use?  (Read 27210 times)

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Offline GreyWoolfeTopic starter

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What router do you use?
« on: November 30, 2014, 09:59:58 pm »
My Linksys WRT54G is getting long in the tooth and suddenly I am regularly rebooting the router to bring the network back up.  I am favoring the Linksys EA6350 or the EA6100.  Does anyone have experience with either of these?  What is everyone using?  The one thing I am interested in is having a USB port on it to connect a 1TB hard drive to so I can share data across several computers.  I am trying to keep the budget under 150USD if I can.  SWIMBO doesn't want me to spend a fortune but wants her Internet when she wants it. |O
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Offline lpc32

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2014, 10:15:46 pm »
$150 is quite a lot. I'd probably go for the cheapest that is Gigabit and can run 3rd party firmware. Maybe a TPLink WR1043 v2 for about $50. You shouldn't expect great USB performance, but I think that would be the norm with routers.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YLAUU8/

If you want 802.11ac, maybe a TPLink AC1750 for $80 is a good option: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUSDVBQ/
Haven't checked about 3rd party firmware for this one.

Edit: Found now a simpler 802.11ac option: TPLink AC750 for about $40. Haven't read up on it, maybe it's better than the 1043.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704206
« Last Edit: November 30, 2014, 10:25:03 pm by lpc32 »
 

Offline edavid

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2014, 10:19:08 pm »
Check out smallnetbuilder.com for detailed reviews including storage performance.
 

n45048

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2014, 10:31:08 pm »
I use pfSense (https://www.pfsense.org) which is a free and powerful open source router/firewall. I run it as a standalone appliance on an older Dell 1RU server, although it will run on just about anything with a Pentium II processor or better.

At one stage I had it running quite successfully on an old Watchguard FireBox II appliance (I think it had a 266MHz CPU).

So if you have an old computer kicking around, throw a few NICs in it and give it a go. It won't cost you anything.
 

Offline rollatorwieltje

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2014, 10:36:54 pm »
I have a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND, the old white model. USB performance is poor, not really useful if you're dealing with large files. Maybe a few megabytes per second at most.

It can do about 120 mbit wan<->lan, not sure what happens when you open many connections. I never really used it's routing features, I just use it as an access point.

Minor annoyance is that I have to reset it maybe once in 2-3 months, for some reason the wifi stops working. The SSID is visible but none of my wifi devices can connect to it.

I actually use a mini-ITX system running M0n0wall as a router, but I don't think that will fit your budget.
 

Offline retiredcaps

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2014, 10:54:39 pm »
My Linksys WRT54G is getting long in the tooth and suddenly I am regularly rebooting the router to bring the network back up.
Take it apart.  You might have bloated capacitors?  If yes, easy fix.  If no bad capacitors there, try another AC adapter as it might have bad caps in it as well.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/files/img_0027_660.jpg

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/files/img_0029_179.jpg
 

Offline robrenz

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2014, 11:05:57 pm »
3hp variable speed Bosch Plunge router with 1/2" collet capacity  :-+                        :-DD

Offline Dave Turner

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2014, 11:53:08 pm »
I wasn't allowed to install one in one of our racks even as a joke - no sense of humour  :-// .
 

Offline GreyWoolfeTopic starter

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2014, 01:03:26 am »
3hp variable speed Bosch Plunge router with 1/2" collet capacity  :-+                        :-DD

That'll work but where is the USB port for the HD? :-DD
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Offline Fsck

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2014, 01:54:58 am »
sophos home utm on an i3 3220 based system.
"This is a one line proof...if we start sufficiently far to the left."
 

Offline true

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2014, 02:04:33 am »
You ask what router I use, but it sounds like you want recommendations for what you should use.

I second a TL-WR1043ND or TL-WDR4300 with OpenWRT; have hundreds deployed with only one failure, and that was a random bit flip in flash.

I use a custom Gentoo-based router, running on a fanless J1900 (quadcore 2GHz) :)

rollatorwieltje, which firmware on your 1043ND? there was a problem for a while with Atheros-based routers and OpenWRT that caused wireless issues including non-communication but SSID still being broadcast. You shouldn't have to reboot anymore with 14.07 final.
 

Offline SL4P

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2014, 03:50:07 am »
Snapgear / Cyberguard / Secure Computing / McAfee.... SG-580
(They changed names a few times over the life!)_
Also have an unused SG-300 laying around somewhere.

Kinda neat for hackers that want to breach your firewall - telling them your WAN facing hardware.
- unless you have additional strategies in place...
Don't ask a question if you aren't willing to listen to the answer.
 

Offline coppice

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2014, 04:59:17 am »
I second a TL-WR1043ND or TL-WDR4300 with OpenWRT; have hundreds deployed with only one failure, and that was a random bit flip in flash.
The TL-WR1043ND is a great device if you only need 2.4GHz coverage. However, 2.4GHz is so heavily used that most of us REALLY need 5GHz coverage too. I think it won't be too long before 5GHz is just as crowded and troublesome as 2.4GHz is today, but at least a dual band router will work well for most people right now.

If you live far from the madding crowd, and you don't need huge throughput, I guess the TL-WR1043ND is still a great value for money choice.
 

Offline janengelbrecht

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Offline bingo600

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2014, 10:09:00 am »
TL-WDR4300

I have one of these w. original fw , but was thinking about changing to dd-wrt , as i used that on the old wrt54G.

Any experinces with dd-wrt and a  TL-WDR4300 ?

/Bingo
 

Offline Jeroen3

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2014, 10:48:15 am »
I have a Netgear WNDR-4000, and I'm not happy since it cannot publish DNS settings to clients. It always tell clients he is the DNS, and he slows stuff down. (100/100 fiber)
But, when DNS servers are setup locally the thing does its job without issues.
 

Offline Dielectric

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2014, 03:50:58 pm »
I got ticked off at Linksys and all the other popular consumer routers and got a Mikrotik RB951:
http://routerboard.com/RB951-2n

You can spend more and get MORE POWER but this one is good for a home router.  The management interface is super geeky but if you're on this board, you should be able to handle it.  Way more capability than I need but it's been really reliable, zero reboots needed.
 

Offline SteveyG

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2014, 08:41:47 pm »
I'm running pfSense on a Watchguard Firebox x1250 with a CPU and RAM upgrade to the highest the board supports to boost VPN speeds. I'd highly recommend a setup like this. Admittedly there's a few tweaks to get the LCD and front panel LEDs working which also needs repeating if you update BSD, but it's all documented and easy to follow.

I run a set of PoE AP's for wireless.
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Offline rollatorwieltje

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2014, 08:52:13 pm »

rollatorwieltje, which firmware on your 1043ND? there was a problem for a while with Atheros-based routers and OpenWRT that caused wireless issues including non-communication but SSID still being broadcast. You shouldn't have to reboot anymore with 14.07 final.

The stock TP-Link firmware

Firmware Version:    
3.13.15 Build 140319 Rel.41339n
Hardware Version:    
WR1043ND v1 00000000

 

Offline jlmoon

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2014, 10:45:40 pm »
Ubiquiti Edgerouters and associated wireless bridges and airstations.  So far, I feel these are the best in the business.
Recharged Volt-Nut
 

Offline fake-name

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #20 on: December 01, 2014, 10:45:48 pm »
I run PFsense as well.

I've been very happy with it. Running on a supermicro Atom server mobo with two integrated NICs, and a $40 ssd (60 GB). It's low power, and very reliable.
 

Offline eas

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #21 on: December 01, 2014, 11:43:59 pm »
I'm using a netgear WNDR3800 with OpenWRT.

I've been debating whether to upgrade for a while. If I do, there are a few ways to go:
Router only, no Wifi: Ubiquiti EdgeRouter
Router + WiFi: TP-Link Archer C7 running OpenWRT or, something from MikroTik, once theyir 802.11ac stuff rolls out.
 

Offline Dave Turner

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #22 on: December 02, 2014, 12:30:45 am »
When I was in the business there was an adage that 'you never got sacked for specifying Cisco'. I don't necessarily agree with that adage but what is your context; personal, small, medium or corporate business? It does make a difference.
 

Offline true

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #23 on: December 02, 2014, 04:07:06 am »
I second a TL-WR1043ND or TL-WDR4300 with OpenWRT; have hundreds deployed with only one failure, and that was a random bit flip in flash.
The TL-WR1043ND is a great device if you only need 2.4GHz coverage. However, 2.4GHz is so heavily used that most of us REALLY need 5GHz coverage too.
Which is why I mentioned TL-WDR4300, a dual-band 802.11n router.

Most of our installs are 1043nd as most customers have no idea how their WiFi works much less how to grunt a greeting properly and have so much money they don't have neighbors.


Quote from: bingo600
Any experinces with dd-wrt and a  TL-WDR4300 ?
DD-WRT is garbage. Additionally, I don't think it works on this device - if it does, great, who cares? You can use OpenWRT on this device.


rollatorwieltje, yes, I see this with stock firmware, anywhere from a week to a couple months. OpenWRT was worse for a while, but 14.07 final is better. If you are using it only as a wireless router and not using USB or care about WPS (or AOSS, something I recommend disabling anyway), try that.


Ubiquiti Edgerouters and associated wireless bridges and airstations.  So far, I feel these are the best in the business.
Been meaning to try one, but I don't like closed equipment, and also Ubiquiti loves to overpromise and underdeliver. We use a lot of UniFi and airmax gear though.


eas, no sense upgrading now if it works, you probably wouldn't notice a difference unless you have >100mbit WAN speeds. Wait.
 

Offline coppice

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Re: What router do you use?
« Reply #24 on: December 02, 2014, 04:15:16 am »
Most of our installs are 1043nd as most customers have no idea how their WiFi works much less how to grunt a greeting properly and have so much money they don't have neighbors.
If they are that rich don't they need the extra capacity at 5GHz for their own use?  :)
 


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