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Consumer router or Custom Build?

J

jnick

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
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I've been haunted in my Linksys wired 4 port router dying out on my at least once a year. I believe I have about 4 of them lying dead in a bin. To continue this tradition, my latest just crapped out on me. No I've heard that wireless routers are more reliable in quiality as thay''re the "bigger" thing in the networking world. People say that a router such as the WRT54G will outlast the good ol' wired router as far as life span go.

However, is it worth getting the WRT54G, or should I set up my spare Dell 8200 as a router runing monowall or ipcop? There's only two computers using my Cable connection, both mainly for normal surfing, and gaming. Which would be better, buying the linksys wireless or building my own? The dell is at least a 1.7 P4, 512mb ram. I'd have to go through my spares for the rest of the components.

Thanks in advance,

Jnick
 
If you're cooking routers that often...I suggest looking into the environment you have them in. Perhaps some dirty electrical power, or are you placing them on top of something that's giving off huge EMI, like placing them on a subwoofer or something (don't laugh, I've seen someone do this and have many router issues).

Now I've installed perhaps 300 plus Linksys routers....and I don't think I've seen more than 6 or so croak on all of them.

Are wireless higher quality than non-wireless? No. Simply depends on which models you get. My favorite "home market" model of the Linksys routers is the BEFSX41...not the cheaper more basic BEFSR series..but BEFSX. Faster CPU, more RAM, better *nix based firmware, costs a few dollars more. Long as you use 1.45.7 firmware, do not user 1.50 or 1.51 firmware...1.52.X is halfway decent...still a couple of issues.

The Linksys RV0 series routers from them are AWESOME...rock solid high availalility routers, very fast, but too cost prohibitive for the average home user, their more business grade. No wireless routers come even close to those bad boys.

For wireless, their SRX model, MIMO/Pre-N..are very good, I've been deploying many of them lately. Firmware is still maturing, a wee bit bland on features, but very stable and fast....and incredible range. IMO if you are looking to purchase wireless now..no reason to get old B or G, go with Pre-N...because the range, and ability to get that signal down hallways, to the other end of the house/office...is really that much better.

But anyways, I'd look into your environment....cooking 4x routers, there's something wrong there. Perhaps get an APC battery backup unit to condition the ac power, or something.
 
StoneCat: It may or may not be environment. I've been wondering for years why the base model Linksys stuff keeps getting reccomended over and over. Like the poster, I've had an almost insane number of them die WAY too early. And BTW their warranty procedures SUCK. Yes, I've installed more than a few also. Maybe not quite 300 of the bastards, but I'll bet at least 100 (in business environments, damn salesmen :rolleyes: )and probably 20 of them have kicked the bucket within their warranty period of shortly their after. The only exceptions have been the 20 more BEFVP41's I have connecting my WAN together. They have been close to bulletproof. I had to re-flash 1 to get it stable again, but that's it. Ditto on the RV Series and SX Series routers too, MUCH more stable products.

I know you didn't make this implication either, but for the record and any subsequent posters in this thread, Linksys <> Cisco. They buyout happend for $ reasons only, VERY little, if any, technology filtered down from Cisco to the home market products.
 
Based on my experience I disagree regarding their warranty, perhaps because I'm a VAR/Partner with them, but I've also signed up for that service with most other brands. I've dealt with warranties from other brands, and been left stranded as far as my clients are concerned. Linksys has been fantastic for me with their VAR/Partner support. Absolutely fantastic...quick phone calls to a live body within minutes. Quick RMA process, etc.

As for the life of the product...perhaps because I'm a bit more picky and anal about my setups for clients, I always have the broadband modem/router/switches on smaller APC battery backup units...I do that for all equipment on a network anyways, it's proven to increase lifespan of products over and over and over for me. Quality groomed/conditioned power source = longer troublefree life.

My experience with other brands of routers has shown any brand to have equal chance of failure on a poor setup. (IE cheap surge strip or no battery backup unit). It's been my experience there are some environments which tend to cook hardware on a frequent basis if proper measures aren't taken. I don't care what the brand is, Belkin, DLink, Assante, SMC, Compex, Netgear, Netopia, Cisco, 2Wire (yuck), Watchguard, Efficient, Nexland (bought up by Symantec), Symantec, Sonicwall, Siemens, 3COM, etc etc etc...been there, done that.

You had good luck with those FV routers eh? I didn't, ended up using the SX which I became very fond of, best sub-$100.00 router out there IMO. I haven't pushed the SR models in the business environment...not the proper place for them IMO, they're more home grade routers...and possibly the heavier use has been causing issues for you...they're trying to do a job that's over their head. It's like putting in a Compaq/HP Presario with a Celeron processor for the companies accounting trying to run Great Plains or something...intead of a full business grade workstation like a Dell Optiplex or HP dx5100/7100 series. The lowest Linksys router I would recommend in the business environment is the BEFSX41. Nowadays any "over 12 node" business network I deploy gets an RV0 anyways. Business networks demand business grade products, not home grade products.
 
Stonecat,

Thanks for the reply. As far as the nevironment goes, I feel it's pretty darn "clean". It's away from my subwoofer, however it is near my monitor (monitor sits about 6 inches above it). I own 2 Belkin surge protector (1 for each setup), however I don't have a industrial UPS . . . however I personally don't feel that's needed in my home setup, unless you say otherwise. We may have 1 or two blackouts a year where I am, and we rarely blow the circuit the PCs are on. So far no other components have died on me (knock on wood), only the router. I'm not located in a dry/humid place, and during the summer our house is set to 65°F, so I don't feel the environment is to hot for the components either.

The past three I had were BEFSR routers, this one is the BEFSRX router with a 1.52 firmware. It's not that the router doesn't work any more (that only happened to one), but there will be a lot of connection drops, or "lag".

For example, I run a ventrilo server. There's only, AT MOST, 5 people on. Normally there's 3 people, and two of the three is from my network at home. Everything was fine, then all of a sudden it kept kicking clients off the server, however to them, they were still connected.

If my two home computers on the network are gaming BF2 over the net, my computer is normally fine. However the other computer's connection gets fubared. (Ex) We're together in a vehicle, I'm driving and my dad's gunning. His sights are COMPLETELY off, even though on his PC it shows he's directly on target. However, on my screen, he's shooting at a bunch of trees miles down the road.

Then I run into connection problems when actually trying to connect to servers. I'll go to connect, next thing you know my connection dies completely. To fix it I have to go to the router's configuration page, just click save settings, and then it'll work.

With that being said, I may have used the wrong word saying it "died". Though if I was to upgrade firmware, or re-install firmware, the problems fixed for about a week - then it happens again. (which is also why I feel the environment isn't the issue, as firmware fixes, but only for a short time)

If you have any ideas that could fix this issue, please let me know. Otherwise I'm either gonna get a new model router (hopefully more current) or just slap my Dell together as a custom router.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks again for the reply.
 
Stonecat,

Thanks for the link.

I just installed the firmware and shall see how it acts.

Thanks again
 
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