High quality router

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Techx

Supreme [H]ardness
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I have an old wired netgear router (rp114) which worked great for years, but lately I've been getting horrible inet performance and like 800-1000 pings gaming, my isp reports no problems but suggested i remove the router and connect directly to the modem and that did eliminate the problem. I also have a netgear 802.11b router (mr814) which may work for a short time but will just stop working after a certain amount of time, if i reset the power it will work again but only for so long. This is really pissing me off, I thought netgear is good or do I just have bad luck?? Can anyone suggest a high quality wireless router so I can avoid all this bs?

thanks
 
You will probably get reccomendations for every brand, Ive used linksys, netgear, dlink, and belkin - I prefer linksys myself, Ive had better luck with them than the others, netgear would be my second choice. I ended up switching to a Cisco unit which imo blows the others away, but obviously more expensive and not quite as user-friendly.

-Matt :cool:
 
Blitzrommel said:
Check out the Hotbrick SOHO 401 -- it's nice and robust, and has some killer features.
Click to expand...

What does it do that my crappy (but much cheaper) Netgear WGR614 doesn't? I'm contemplating the value of replacing it, but I couldn't find a single thing on that page that mine doesn't do as far as the "killer features".
 
ashmedai said:
What does it do that my crappy (but much cheaper) Netgear WGR614 doesn't? I'm contemplating the value of replacing it, but I couldn't find a single thing on that page that mine doesn't do as far as the "killer features".
Click to expand...
Ah, the Netgear WGR614 is pretty feature-rich too. All in all, they're about the same in terms of functionality -- although the HotBrick has Access Control groups. What I like about these Hotbricks is they are made specifically for the business environment, and from what I've been told by Hotbrick reps, have a very rugged hardware firewall compared to the consumer-grade router-walls (New word of the day). But really, don't buy this just to replace another router of similar specs; that'd be kinda silly. The thread-starter was looking for a high-quality wireless router, and I've found Hotbrick to be a high quality brand.

I don't have this model, as I have another HotBrick product for a firewall... But I really enjoyed talking to the folks over there and was impressed by their products (Plus they're a cool red color. hehe)
 
http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=565

http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=670

those are the two from Linksys i was looking at before I bought a:

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WPN824.php

which is pretty nice IMO, and does everything i need it to do. However this Linksys router is based off linux and you can get 3rd party firmware to open alot of other options.

http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=610
 
"Ok, nobody move or this thread gets it" (I'm hijacking this thread, but only a little bit :D)

Does anybody make a router you don't have to power cycle to make the darn thing work? Here in the War Room, we have to use enterprise grade networking hardware just to keep everything going - a 2P server box with a Tyan motherboard and a Gigabit switch from Netgear's higher quality 'enterprise' line. However, our wireless access point is a consumer rebate special :( The server box does NAT with the cable modem hooked up to it, and all of the wired clients work fine all the time. However, the wireless clients suffer from bizarre losses in performance or total loss of ocnnectivity, at random, that power cycling the wireless AP consistently fixes. I'd rather not have to do this. Does the HotBrick unit linked earlier in the thread not have such problems, or any of theo ther brands described? BTW, we've already tried and ruined a Netgear WGR614, it wasn't up to the task. I don't mind spending some serious cash as long as it eliminates the problem.
 
imo, it's not the listing of features that makes a soho router worthwhile, but rather the quality of the firmware and hardware. when it comes down to it, there's going to be very little difference in features.

i've had two different consumer grade routers, including a v 2.2 wrt54g, that would crap out when i used bittorrent. i now use a m0n0wall box with no regrets.

that's what separates those $150+ routers from cisco, et al... robust hardware and solid firmware. i don't know if the hotbrick qualifies, but i'd love to have one less piece of equipment running in my home networking room.
 
that's why I recommended the HotBrick -- from my experience with my current firewall, I feel their hardware is very robust. And no god damn wizards. :)
 
DougLite said:
Does anybody make a router you don't have to power cycle to make the darn thing work?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's exactly my main problem with the thing. And it's not the first one I've had that problem with.

"wrt54g, that would crap out when i used bittorrent"

I'd heard that depending on what firmware you used for it, the WRT54G was pretty killer. The bittorrent issue for example had something to do with the log file getting messed up over too many connections, and because of the abundance of custom firmware for the thing, it's just a matter of flashing one that addresses that. I'm hoping that the fix will translate to things besides bittorrent, since the symptoms involve the router freezing up when there are a large number of requests (which seems like a plausable reason for the issues I've had with many routers including my Netgear).

The options I'm considering right now involve trying one of those, building a gateway rig from my spare parts (which would let me run whatever I want on the thing, possibly including a local DNS which might help with some issues I have with pages sometimes taking a bit to start loading), or taking one in the wallet and getting the cheapest Cisco I can find.
 
I use a WRT54G with DD-WRT firmware. For around $45, it's probably one of the nicest deals if you flash it with custom firmware.
 
I love my Gigabit d-link DGL-4300,

It real;ly doesnt get any better than this, unless you go outside the consumer side, and get a cisco or something like that.
 
If your looking for consumer grade router, I suggest a linksys. I have had great luck with linksys and I believe my great luck is because it's a sub-division of CISCO. And we all know CISCO kicks ass
 
If you want a solid router go outside the consumer market and get a used Cisco 1700 series router. You just can't go worng with Cisco. It's a Steep learning curve for the regular Joe though.
 
I really just need a solid switch that will sit there and just work. If it has any fancy pants features, cool I guess, but my DSL modem already has a pretty solid router built in.

I'm kinda leaning towards a gateway box. Got a spare Celeron system that's collecting dust. Was going to use it for a media server (and might still) but if I hook it up it'll connect everything & I can run a bunch of firewall type crap on it, local DNS, etc etc etc.
 
I recommend a cisco 800. It was made with SOHO use in mind and they can be had for around 85 to 100 dollars on ebay.
 
grethor said:
I recommend a cisco 800. It was made with SOHO use in mind and they can be had for around 85 to 100 dollars on ebay.
Click to expand...

Those are nice too. I thought he needed wireless, otherwise I woulda recommended that.

I had an 831 not too long ago.
 
I assume you have to know Cisco stuff to configure that thing? I'm in the market for a good router as well.
 
Actually with the 831, there was a web interface you can use. However, you can do it the good ol' IOS way if you wanted to. :)
 
Not yet they aren't. It'll be a major PITA if I have to progam the thing in binary or something retarded like that, but I doubt it's anything that extreme.
 
Build one from an old box with two NIC's and add any size switch. OpenBSD, Coyote Linux, Smoothwalll... lots of great opensource OS's that can make for a mighty good router.
 
Arkaine23 said:
Build one from an old box with two NIC's and add any size switch. OpenBSD, Coyote Linux, Smoothwalll... lots of great opensource OS's that can make for a mighty good router.
Click to expand...
He wants a wireless router, or so I thought... Check out the end of the first post in this thread.
 
Pff it's just a piece of electronics, how hard can it be to configure?
Click to expand...
Please visit my Quantum hard drive nightmare thread, heh.

If you want to have some fun, go Ebay a nice L3 or 2-7 switch :).
 
pentium 2 m0n0wall box with a WRT54G running DD-wrt.
best combo you can get.
 
From someone who's worked with pretty much every router out there.....in every situation....

For the home user, a router that costs under 100 dollars...my current favorite is the Linksys BEFSX41. Note that the model has an "X" in there...NOT the more basic lower end BEFSR41...but the befsX41 model. Big difference...faster CPU (for the VNP support). However...I will note that recently the firmware has been flakey...so far the most reliable (I'm still flashing units that I install to this firmware) is 1.45.7. The 1.50 and 1.51 firmware is horrible. If you have one of these routers, the firmware can be found at speedguide.net forums and the linksys forum of dslreports.com. The newer 1.52.3 firmware is second choice....a few bugs, but somewhat stable. 1.45.7 is darned good though, I have hundreds of these units out in service, no need to power cycle them. Firmware is a flavor of *nix.

If you have DSL, Netopia makes an excellent combo modem/router gateway, their 3500 series. SNET used to install these for their 6 meg DSL business packages...nice fast unit. A wee bit more difficult to setup than your home user brands marketed towards the non-tech...but not much more if you know routers a little bit.

Then we get towards full business grade SOHO products...of course I can yack about Cisco PIX 501, or Sonicwall SOHO3/TZW products...and other hardware in that category...but for the average home user...quite daunting, and expensive.

However...since the Cisco-Linksys merger..I've been very happy with some fairly recent stuff they've been coming out with in their midrange line. The SR series switches...and since we're talking about routers...their "RV0" line of routers. They have 4, 8, and 16 port models....all with dual WAN ports for load balancing/auto-failover two WAN connections. But what I love about them...is their speed...533MHz CPU, 32 megs of RAM. Compare that to most broadband routers with under 200Mhz...even under 100MHz CPUs and often 8, or 4, or less megs of RAM. And the RV0 routers are designed as "high availability" routers...rock stable firmware...also designed on a flavor of *nix. IPSec and PPTP VPN server support...these routers have a built in VPN server so you can connect to your LAN securely from anywhere on the internet. Much more robust with features, and all quite easy to admin from the usual Linksys web admin. Yeah they're a little bit more expensive...but if you shop around they're not bad..especially considering what you get.

A lot of my clients who have aging Cisco PIX and Sonicwall routers that I put in year ago...I'm replacing with these units...I'm impressed with them that much.

:cool:
 
Build a monowall on a soekris net45xx board and 64MB of flash. That will handle all of your router functions, vlanning, and everything you can throw at it as far as a router goes.

Then for your other functions get an old machine to do it all and toss in your OS of choice. Personally, I have an athlon 800 running Win2k3 running as a file sharing server, peer-peer server, streaming audio server, ftp, http, active directory, backup, and print server.

I'm sure you don't really care, but its a generally accepted fact that you should seperate your router from other types of servers for security reasons. Plus this way some other server won't potentially crash your router, thereby bringing down your whole network.

Soekris Net4511 would do you perfectly
 
I use m0n0wall (http://m0n0.ch/wall) as my firewall, VPN endpoint, WLAN monitor, etc. I've always had bad luck with all in one switch/router deals. I've got a BEFSW11 linksys sitting on top of my desk, which i'm gonna take apart. it stopped working a little over a year after I bought it. required reboots every time a wlan client connected. i also had a netgear 802.11b wireless router, which was much better-- but it burned up.

I've got 3 3C905TX/BTX 3Com NIC's in it-- one LAN, one WAN and one OPT- LAN and WAN are self-explanatory. OPT has a cable connected to a wireless AP, with NAT disabled. it effectively translates wireless clients onto my network-- requiring one of the following actions: login to the VPN or providing a valid username and pw for unsecure/throttled wireless activity (captiveportal) :)

it just boots from CD on a Katmai P2 350 + 192MB RAM and a floppy drive. works really well, and it's free if you've got the hardware already. :)
 
wow who resurrested this old thread heh, it actually DID turn out to be my modem, I had the old 3com sharkfin and once I replaced it with a new motorola I'm back in business :)
 
hacktor2 said:
If your looking for consumer grade router, I suggest a linksys. I have had great luck with linksys and I believe my great luck is because it's a sub-division of CISCO. And we all know CISCO kicks ass
Click to expand...
Cisco tech isn't in any recent Linksys SOHO products, so go ahead and wipe that from your head.

DougLite, check out Symbol WAPs. Got a whole mess of them here for our RF barcode scanners and we've never had a hiccup.

Whoa, old thread. Disregard if solutions have been found.
 
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