WiFi router
- Thread starter bigred
- Start date
x2; moved as well and this Comcast router sucks balls; would like to hear recommendations yous technicals types have...
I had a Netgear Pro A/B/G for years, and it rocked. My old roommate still has it and it still works (~8 years old).
I bought a Linksys capable of DD-WRT when I moved, but was having speed issues with it. (not capable of what I'm paying for from COX). I liked the GUI and had lots of options for local DNS, VPN and other items.
I looked at several new ones, even bought one before buying a different one. Right now I have a Buffalo WZR-1750DHP. I got it because it supports a VPN endpoint, usb port accessible from the internet. The gui sucks balls. It supports DD-WRT as well, but that chain is 5 years old, and no new development planned.
Things you might want to think about:
Do any of your devices support AC?
Do you need/want VPN endpoint support?
Do you need to connect a printer to it (most have a client, not native LPD support)
What's your price range?
What link speeds does your cable/DSL modem support? Do you need only 100mbit or gig uplink?
I bought a Linksys capable of DD-WRT when I moved, but was having speed issues with it. (not capable of what I'm paying for from COX). I liked the GUI and had lots of options for local DNS, VPN and other items.
I looked at several new ones, even bought one before buying a different one. Right now I have a Buffalo WZR-1750DHP. I got it because it supports a VPN endpoint, usb port accessible from the internet. The gui sucks balls. It supports DD-WRT as well, but that chain is 5 years old, and no new development planned.
Things you might want to think about:
Do any of your devices support AC?
Do you need/want VPN endpoint support?
Do you need to connect a printer to it (most have a client, not native LPD support)
What's your price range?
What link speeds does your cable/DSL modem support? Do you need only 100mbit or gig uplink?
If you want the very best WiFi access point, you want an Ubiquiti. They have several APs with prices varying based on the speeds. If you plan on doing 4K video streaming wirelessly, I recommend one of the faster ones. Even if your current devices don't support the new protocols, your next device will. If you've ever been to a conference at a hotel and were amazed that the wifi was still decent even though you were in a big room with hundreds of other wifi users on laptops, it's because they were using a Ubiquiti. These are the best WiFi APs money can buy.
Three models to choose from:
Good: http://amzn.com/B004XXMUCQ
Better: http://amzn.com/B005H4CDF4
Best (802.11ac): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0048&cm_re=UAP_PRO-_-0ED-0005-00048-_-Product or http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1184036-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_ac_pro_unifi_ap.html
An important note:
These are not "routers", they are purely access points. They do only one thing and do it really well. You'll still need a router of some sort. You can get any old Netgear and disable the wifi on it and it becomes a "router" that you can use with these. If you like to tinker, a superior alternative is to use an old PC with two ethernet cards and PFsense to build your own router.
Three models to choose from:
Good: http://amzn.com/B004XXMUCQ
Better: http://amzn.com/B005H4CDF4
Best (802.11ac): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0048&cm_re=UAP_PRO-_-0ED-0005-00048-_-Product or http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1184036-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_ac_pro_unifi_ap.html
An important note:
These are not "routers", they are purely access points. They do only one thing and do it really well. You'll still need a router of some sort. You can get any old Netgear and disable the wifi on it and it becomes a "router" that you can use with these. If you like to tinker, a superior alternative is to use an old PC with two ethernet cards and PFsense to build your own router.
I don't know what you're after, but if it's a consumer grade "router" package, Netgear is the way to go, and it's kind of hard to beat the N900 for the price, unless you need higher speeds or other features, which is unlikely. It's good enough for FPS multiplayer, which is saying something.
I'm using one right now here. It's got the juice to fire my Xbox one for everything without a hitch while handling other devices, and the range is pretty obscene for what it is. 2,500 square feet with all metal studs in this particular building, and the signal is good for HD streaming, gaming, and heavy downloads throughout the place.
Actually, this is a previous model; several generations back. I've used the newest one and it's just as good.
I do have their flagship Nighthawk in another building, but that stuff is really for other purposes. Likewise, separate components are for other purposes.
Cheers,
Kennith
I'm using one right now here. It's got the juice to fire my Xbox one for everything without a hitch while handling other devices, and the range is pretty obscene for what it is. 2,500 square feet with all metal studs in this particular building, and the signal is good for HD streaming, gaming, and heavy downloads throughout the place.
Actually, this is a previous model; several generations back. I've used the newest one and it's just as good.
I do have their flagship Nighthawk in another building, but that stuff is really for other purposes. Likewise, separate components are for other purposes.
Cheers,
Kennith
Those are a step up from a router package. Might be what he's after, though. Even those aren't used to their potential most of the time.
Here's sort of a review explaining the basics of what an access point is, with a focus on that manufacturer.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zw0TKDuv_g4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Cheers,
Kennith
Funny, I have enough spare Cisco LWAP equipment to light my building up like a microwave oven. a/b/g/n and licensed 5ghz stuff. Plus a 2800 router or better to send traffic to the Internet. Too much work for me anymore. I'm settling for single device that does it all.
But for many years in the early days of home routers and wifi, I used a DOS pc with IPRoute (dos app). Used 3com 3c509 cards and Cisco Aironet 900mhz proprietary ISA cards. It ran spectacularly, handled NAT and multiple interfaces. This was back when COX hadn't implemented a protocol to block Netbios yet. I could (and did) send my pagefile.sys to people's inkjet printers. :reddevil: That's how I learned most of the basic Cisco routing commands (IpRoute mimicked the command structure).
Long Story: I was dating Shannon at the time. She couldn't figure out why we needed this, it was overkill, etc, etc. I had a Fujitsu Stylistic tablet (368,16mb ram) as a portable. It had an Aironet card. I'd find her out back in the hammock chatting with friends on webchat. Pretty soon we had a similar setup at her house, so she could take her work laptop back and forth between our houses complete with printers on Milan print boxes. From then, it was off to B series routers and beyond. ( I still have the DOS PC and the Stylistic)
TL;DR: new technology kicks ass over old stuff
* also forgot to add: some wifi routers support POE. So if you need to put the router out where there's no power, you can run it over cat5.
**PPS: Ubiquity owes me a free AP for attending a demo a year ago.
AC will get you longevity if you buy a quality wireless router. I've run ASUS routers ever since my d-link took a big shit after 7 months, don't buy d-link. For the money you can't beat the ASUS RT-N66U. Everything in our home is wireless. 2.4 or 5GHz. Our 5GHz pulls 80MBPS all day long downstairs, router is up.
We have 12 clients and it never misses a beat. I have an small obsession with quality in home wireless. Don't waste your money on range extenders and all that crap unless you have a 5000 sq. ft. home. Spend a bit more now and don't worry about it for years.
ASUS.
I do hear Netgear (nighthawk router) has gotten their shit together as well, can't vouch for it.
Here:
http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-...e=UTF8&qid=1444527058&sr=1-1&keywords=rt-n66u
We have 12 clients and it never misses a beat. I have an small obsession with quality in home wireless. Don't waste your money on range extenders and all that crap unless you have a 5000 sq. ft. home. Spend a bit more now and don't worry about it for years.
ASUS.
I do hear Netgear (nighthawk router) has gotten their shit together as well, can't vouch for it.
Here:
http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-...e=UTF8&qid=1444527058&sr=1-1&keywords=rt-n66u
I would def. favor this if I could get a hardwired Ethernet port in my ceiling. Am I seeing this right? Looks like it mounts like a smoke detector.
It can, but you don't have to. We run ours at the office sitting on shelf next to the cable modem and router. For office settings, its easiest just to toss them on top of the drop ceiling if you have one.
They're powered through the ethernet (PoE) and come with a power injector or if you have a PoE-capable switch, they can use that.
This is what I have at the office:
Cisco SG200 10FP: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...sco+sg200-10fp&rh=n:172282,k:cisco+sg200-10fp
That's not the correct picture; it's a little 10-port PoE-capable switch with great support for 802.1Q VLANs. I have three VLANs set up: one for my computers, one for guests, and one for WiFi AP management. When guests connect, they get my captive portal and can log in with a username and password that we hand out. They're intentionally limited to 4 Mbps down / 2 Mbps up and they're put onto a separate network from the rest of our desktops, for security reasons. The regular (trusted) WLAN that I use isn't speed-limited.