Quality router without wifi?

[lightsout]

It seems that most routers I see emphasize their wifi capabilities. My house is wired with cat5e with a 400mbps connection. I had an old netgear that even though it was gigabit was only hitting 300. I have another cheap router right now and it handles 400 just fine.

I have a ubiquiti AP, looking at routers but not sure I want to get one of theirs. (router x) Just looking for something quality and don't want to waste money on wifi I won't use.

I've been having some drops recently and it seems it may be the router.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

I've been happy with my Ubiquiti Edgerouter Lite for years. many others here have had similar experiences with that, the Edgerouter-X, and others in the line. Ubiquiti also has the Unifi Security Gateways, which integrate to the same management interface as your Unifi AP, but are not quite a flexible as the Edgerouter series (but still probably more so than any consumer-level router).

MikroTik is also popular around here, though I have no experience with and can't speak to them.

If you have a spare system around with a couple NICs there's also pfSense or OPNsense.

 

[FNtastic]

Edgerouter X. Unless you have old hardware lying around for pfsense or opnsense. Just like BlueLineSwinger said above.

 

[lightsout]

I mentioned in the OP not wanting a Ubiquiti router. Just seems like a headache from what I have read. Doesn't work like a traditional router. Having been using things like netgear for so many years not sure I want the added learning curve.

 

[FNtastic]

I mentioned in the OP not wanting a Ubiquiti router. Just seems like a headache from what I have read. Doesn't work like a traditional router. Having been using things like netgear for so many years not sure I want the added learning curve.

You won't regret it. A lot of us have configured them, and they are not a headache... https://hardforum.com/threads/guide-what-router-should-i-get.1965547/


Read through the comments here for more opinions along with the video. You will have the perfect pair with your AP.

Dead simple to configure. Use the wizard with a couple clicks and you're done.



Two 10 minute videos. Let's call it 30 minute setup time. And, you'll be very satisfied with plenty of features to spare.

We wouldn't steer you wrong

 

[lightsout]

You won't regret it. A lot of us have configured them, and they are not a headache... https://hardforum.com/threads/guide-what-router-should-i-get.1965547/


Read through the comments here for more opinions along with the video. You will have the perfect pair with your AP.

Dead simple to configure. Use the wizard with a couple clicks and you're done.



Two 10 minute videos. Let's call it 30 minute setup time. And, you'll be very satisfied with plenty of features to spare.

I read that each port is independent? So it's not like a normal router that has 4 ports, they have to be setup individually? I have had some issues with the Unifi software. It stopped detecting my AP, just did a phone setup and ditched the software as I was tired of messing with it.

I have also heard that the edge routers actually struggle to do full gigabit? That would be a bummer for network transfers but more so for gigabit internet that is supposed to be in the plans for my area.

 

[FNtastic]

I read that each port is independent? So it's not like a normal router that has 4 ports, they have to be setup individually? I have had some issues with the Unifi software. It stopped detecting my AP, just did a phone setup and ditched the software as I was tired of messing with it.

I have also heard that the edge routers actually struggle to do full gigabit? That would be a bummer for network transfers but more so for gigabit internet that is supposed to be in the plans for my area.

LAN is LAN on the Edgerouter X. So as long as the ports are assigned to LAN (default wizard config that you see in the second video), all ports except WAN are on LAN.

First video covers your concern of gigabit. Turn off hardware offloading...

We're talking a $50 piece of equipment. If you need more features, there is more available at higher price ranges. My next stop would be pfsense. It's possible to get appropriate hardware for $100-150. It's as simple as running a wizard too...

 

[ZeqOBpf6]

I'm still not sure what makes one router better than another but it seems that cooling is a big cause of failures, across the board. Whatever you get consider putting some kind of desk fan in front of it.

I'm happy with my tightly sealed Meraki MX64.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

I mentioned in the OP not wanting a Ubiquiti router. Just seems like a headache from what I have read. Doesn't work like a traditional router. Having been using things like netgear for so many years not sure I want the added learning curve.

I read that each port is independent? So it's not like a normal router that has 4 ports, they have to be setup individually?

Actually, the Edgerouters and Unifi SGs work more like traditional routers. For better or worse, you're just accustomed to integrated (router + switch + AP) consumer-level units. However, the ER-X can be configured to switch instead of route between some/all of its ports (e.g., port 0 could be your WAN uplink, 1-4 could be set to switch for the LAN).

The software can be a bit overwhelming I suppose, but there are setup wizards that should mitigate most any issue getting it up and going.

I have had some issues with the Unifi software. It stopped detecting my AP, just did a phone setup and ditched the software as I was tired of messing with it.

I'll give that the software seems a bit odd when running from a PC or Mac. I had similar issues at first, but resolved that simply by running the controller software from within an Ubuntu LTS-based LXC container. A lightweight virtual machine, a Raspberry Pi, or Ubiquiti's own Cloudkey should also work fine.

I have also heard that the edge routers actually struggle to do full gigabit? That would be a bummer for network transfers but more so for gigabit internet that is supposed to be in the plans for my area.

Not sure where this is coming from. I've not heard such, and the units have been tested to do line-speed gigabit. So long as you're not overloading it with firewall rules and such or trying to push a gigabit's worth of tiny packets there shouldn't be an issue. Not sure about the above recommendation to turn off hardware offload. I've always had it on and not run any options that might disable it.

Also, the router has absolutely no involvement is transfers between LAN nodes (e.g, a PC to/from a NAS). That's all on them (and the switch).

 

[lightsout]

Actually, the Edgerouters and Unifi SGs work more like traditional routers. For better or worse, you're just accustomed to integrated (router + switch + AP) consumer-level units. However, the ER-X can be configured to switch instead of route between some/all of its ports (e.g., port 0 could be your WAN uplink, 1-4 could be set to switch for the LAN).

The software can be a bit overwhelming I suppose, but there are setup wizards that should mitigate most any issue getting it up and going.





I'll give that the software seems a bit odd when running from a PC or Mac. I had similar issues at first, but resolved that simply by running the controller software from within an Ubuntu LTS-based LXC container. A lightweight virtual machine, a Raspberry Pi, or Ubiquiti's own Cloudkey should also work fine.





Not sure where this is coming from. I've not heard such, and the units have been tested to do line-speed gigabit. So long as you're not overloading it with firewall rules and such or trying to push a gigabit's worth of tiny packets there shouldn't be an issue. Not sure about the above recommendation to turn off hardware offload. I've always had it on and not run any options that might disable it.

Also, the router has absolutely no involvement is transfers between LAN nodes (e.g, a PC to/from a NAS). That's all on them (and the switch).

Ok thank you for schooling me. I was all set six months ago or so to jump in but the Netgear was doing fine so I left it alone and just got the unifi AP.

The software we good at first. But I had an issue with the wifi disappearing one day. And for the life of me could never get the controller to see the ap again. I finally just quick set it up with my phone and left it alone.