Does this router exist?

S

shade91

Guest
Looking for a router (non-Cisco) with the following features:

Enterprise-grade hardware (Fast CPU with good memory, large buffers and fast switching)
Enterprise-grade OS (dynamic routing protocols, built in dhcp/VPN/firewall/QoS, possibly spanning tree, port channeling, possibly vlans)
Minimum 4 gigabit PoE ports
Strong and stable 11n WiFi

I looked at EdgeRouter and it almost fit the bill however it lacked built in wifi, PoE, and port channeling.
 
Lower end Fortigate does all this except maybe Port channeling. I don't think the 60WiFi does port channels... Medium range and up units definitely do though
 
Mikrotik can do it all with exception of PoE. It might not be your definition of powerful, but at least they are very affordable (we're talking near $100).
 
The wifi is what will limit your choices. Fortinet's FortiWifi line is your best bet. If you're willing to seperate the wifi but keep it controlled, Fortinet and Watchguard have WAP Controllers built-in to their firewalls (if you use their WAPs of course). I'm most comfortable with Watchguard since I use them all day long for our company and my clients, but I've been playing with the Fortinets and they're wonderful units.

Or get some cheaper, but still hardy WAPs like the Ubiquiti's. You will either have to use their PoE Injectors or their ToughSwitch units for PoE (ok, the AC and Pro units do standard PoE, but they're more expensive than the UAP or UAP-LR)

EDIT: Ok, I overlooked the PoE IN the router/firewall. Watchguard doesn't do this, and I haven't seen a Fortigate unit with this (I've only been working with 50B and 80C). I suggest a seperate PoE switch if you need PoE.
 
Does Fortinet have anything non-Wifi based that might fit those requirements? I'd be willing to split out the wifi portion if that limits hardware choice.
 
Too much stuff in one device. This is not "enterprise", this is pseudo-enthusiast I-want-to-play-with-the-big-boys-but-it-must-look-good-in-my-living-room-and-only-draw-5W crap.

Buy consumer hardware and run OpenWrt, that's as far as you'll get. If you really want "enterprise", buy a router, a WLAN AP and a switch that do all these things at the appropriate place.

PoE in a router? Port channeling with 4 ports, in a router? Where's that 2Gbps Internet line you are getting?
 
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The first 3 are easy as most professional routers will support those (CPU and memory you have to do a little more digging). The wireless is the tricky part. It's usually better to not waste your time on all-in-one combo devices. Not to mention most professional routers absolutely suck with implementing WiFi. Ironic compared to some consumer devices where WiFi is the only thing they care about.
 
EdgeMax POE is as close as you are going to find for the routing portion.

Ubiquiti's equipment is not what I would call "enterprise" but from a feature set they are damn close.
The business case for Ubiquiti's products are that they are so ridiculously capable, and inexpensive for what they do and fairly reliable that a SMB or enterprise that does not require 99.99% uptime could consider them. You can implement HA with the Edgerouter purchasing (2) and still cost less than (1) Cisco router that has the same abilities and performance.

AND you'd still have money left over for a third cold spare to have on the shelf!

The lacking part is the "no paid support", "no overnight replacement", and oh by the way we implement features 1 at a time and fix stuff as we are able.

With that said, the dev team is fairly good about pumping out updates, and the team for Edgemax is separate from other products at Ubiquiti.

There are a couple of collages that have switched out there PFsense routers for Edgemax routers. I expect a couple more to jump ship once some of the larger enterprise features get the kinks out on the Pro and Carrier models.

In short, if you need enterprise uptime and will bleed cash if you go down...get something with PAID support. If you want something for the home that is enterprise level or have a SOHO or SMB need or even an enterprise need that does not require 99.99 uptime consider a Ubiquiti EdgeMax router.
 
1) Buy server hardware
2) Use pfsense, USE PFSENSE
3) Buy a PoE switch
4) Buy enterprise-grade WiFi hardware

Then put it all together and you've got the setup you're asking for. Why you'd want this all in one box is beyond me, but IMO it isn't really worth it. And did I mention that you should use pfsense? :D
 
Buy consumer hardware and run OpenWrt, that's as far as you'll get. If you really want "enterprise", buy a router, a WLAN AP and a switch that do all these things at the appropriate place.

I sold off my Cisco gear. I got sick of managing a home network/lab that consisted of separate routers, firewalls, poe switching, and wireless APs for the sake of running a clustered ESXi setup that hosted test servers. When you manage an infrastructure of 60+ sites its not fun coming home to do the same thing. Shame on me for wanting all that in a single piece of hardware, never mind todays computing power and software could easily allow for it if a vendor simply put out that product.

PoE in a router? Port channeling with 4 ports, in a router? Where's that 2Gbps Internet line you are getting?

Not sold anywhere in California unfortunately. I can hope that Google will one day follow through :(

1) Buy server hardware
2) Use pfsense, USE PFSENSE
3) Buy a PoE switch
4) Buy enterprise-grade WiFi hardware

Then put it all together and you've got the setup you're asking for. Why you'd want this all in one box is beyond me, but IMO it isn't really worth it. And did I mention that you should use pfsense? :D

That's a nice setup but like I explained above.. not interested.

The EdgeRouter PoE does look nice. I'll take a look further in to that.
 
The thing is, if you buy jack-of-all-trades devices, you buy master-of-none devices, otherwise these things would cost $$$ and noone would buy them.

Not everyone needs PoE, some need 8 ports, some need 48 ports. What if you upgrade WiFi to a slightly faster version? You want to buy the whole box again, only "slightly" better? Your requirements exceed your current port number by 1-2 ports, so you buy the whole thing again, with more ports this time?

The WiFi part in your super-duper monolith box has some subtle bug, but the upgrade breaks some other part in subtle ways. What now?

Running multiple devices that are right for the job is less painful in the long run. The less diverse the feature set, the easier it is to "set and forget" the device.
 
Does Fortinet have anything non-Wifi based that might fit those requirements? I'd be willing to split out the wifi portion if that limits hardware choice.

I've got a Fortinet 140-POE that fits the bill sans wifi. I use the built in controller for 2 fortinet 220b APs to take care of wireless.
 
The thing is, if you buy jack-of-all-trades devices, you buy master-of-none devices, otherwise these things would cost $$$ and noone would buy them.

I'm not alone when I say that many people would pay a premium for such a device.
 
I'm not alone when I say that many people would pay a premium for such a device.


They probably would indeed. Or they'd just go modular like most of the industry and just add-on the best of the best for their particular feature rather than one company trying to do it all perfectly on their own.
 
The Fortigate 140D POE model looks perfect. Thanks Nicklebon for the suggestion.
 
1) Buy server hardware
2) Use pfsense, USE PFSENSE
3) Buy a PoE switch
4) Buy enterprise-grade WiFi hardware

Then put it all together and you've got the setup you're asking for. Why you'd want this all in one box is beyond me, but IMO it isn't really worth it. And did I mention that you should use pfsense? :D

Why you want to run a 900watt multiple point of failure crazy contraption of an opensource non enterprise certified throw together mess is beyond me.
 
if your budget is $2500 you shouldn't even be looking at devices with built in wireless...
 
At my house I use one of these for the routing. level 6 license
http://routerboard.com/RB1100AHx2

and one of these for WiFi. I love the mikrotik WiFi options. Level 5 license
http://routerboard.com/RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN

The second router will actually do everything you requested. But I am not sure what kind of performance you are looking for. After going Mikrotik I can't go back. They do everything!

A little more info on what you get with the licence levels
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:License

Just in case you want to go overkill on the hardware.
http://routerboard.com/CCR1036-8G-2SplusEM for the router. This is a 36 core. You can get as low as 9 core on the Tilera based routers.
http://routerboard.com/CRS125-24G-1S-2HnD-IN for the wifi

edit: My bad I forgot the small POE detail..... I am not aware of any that include everything and multi port POE
 
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