Fibre 200/200 Router Recommendation Please

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Crowdie

228 posts

Master Geek

#1529149 9-Apr-2016 18:47

Those 50+ 802.11n wireless networks can still transmit 802.11b/g frames (although they may have the 802.11b data rates disabled) that your router can't decode.

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Aredwood

3885 posts

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#1529157 9-Apr-2016 19:05

NonprayingMantis: Netcomm NF8AC. Well below your budget but honestly is a very decent router for ufb and also VDSL.

Some of the Netcomm routers can't handle MAC Addresses moving between interfaces or ports. Which means you can't run a multi ap network. Which is what the OP is doing.

Myself. Got the Edge router lite with a spark HG659B as an AP. It works really well but I have a couple of Xclaim AP's on order because overkill.

Jase2985

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#1529182 9-Apr-2016 19:50

Aredwood:
NonprayingMantis: Netcomm NF8AC. Well below your budget but honestly is a very decent router for ufb and also VDSL.

Some of the Netcomm routers can't handle MAC Addresses moving between interfaces or ports. Which means you can't run a multi ap network. Which is what the OP is doing.

Correct

THe NF4V is due to be fixed soon with the NF8AC after

richms

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#1529183 9-Apr-2016 19:52

Jase2985:

Aredwood:
NonprayingMantis: Netcomm NF8AC. Well below your budget but honestly is a very decent router for ufb and also VDSL.

Some of the Netcomm routers can't handle MAC Addresses moving between interfaces or ports. Which means you can't run a multi ap network. Which is what the OP is doing.

Correct

THe NF4V is due to be fixed soon with the NF8AC after

Wow. So over 2 years to fix a fundamentally broken basic feature that works in $15 ethernet switches.

Hate to think how long they would take to fix something minor like a security patch. This absurd cockup on netcomms part has had me not recommend them to many people.

Richard rich.ms

Jase2985

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#1529187 9-Apr-2016 19:55

i think the problem with them is, even though they have admitted there is a problem, they care more about getting new products out the door than supporting the ones they currently have. idont imagine the fix will be too hard to implement, they just dont prioritise it highly

Crowdie

228 posts

Master Geek

#1529205 9-Apr-2016 20:08

I remember working in the PC market in the late 90s and consumers started to become more focused on price than quality. You could lose $3,000 deal over a $50 component, which made the PC much better, but people just didn't care. Companies reacted by reducing the quality of their products to lower the price point and maintain market share. With this reduced price point pressure came on engineer's wages and skilled people left the industry. Consumer electronics is even worse and margins are so low that you can't expect quick resolutions to issues.

Linuxluver

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#1531141 12-Apr-2016 21:56

dmartora:

At the risk of offending the previously posted topic police, I've tried searching on the forum, I really have, and I must be missing something because I can never get results simple enough for my head to understand. It's not laziness on my part, I clearly missed the tutorial on how to get the best out of geekzone. Feel free to berate me, but if you wouldn't mind helping me out first it would be appreciated. The requirement is at the very end of the post, I just thought I'd spend a few lines sharing current state with anyone that likes context.

So, I'm hopefully shortly(ish) moving to a 200/200 Fibre connection. I've been avoiding replacing my existing router on VDSL for a while and it's just got the point where I'm going to have a tantrum. I have the Spark provided Huawei HG630b. It does a great job wired connectivity; regular speeds of around 48Mbps Downstream / 12Mbps Upstream. I'm fortunate to have ethernet around the house s much of my streaming devices are connected that way. Wireless however... well. No matter how hard I try, I don't get beyond 22Mbps Downstream / 5Mbps Upstream.

I've now tried everything, changed bandwidth, channels etc. Whilst I certainly have a range issue due to the house layout, I've occasionally added access points to address that and speed has certainly improved when connecting to them but then I have the on-going challenges of channel management etc. Irrespective of all of theta, I'm waiting for the fibre to be installed before I invest in a new router or even make anymore changes.

At any point I'm happy to add Access Points at other points of the house to extend the Wireless Network. The experience of my house layout is that I need two access points as well as the wireless router in order to provide full coverage and get through the dead spots and all the usual house dramas of nooks and crannies.

So, what am I asking... I want someone to give me a simple recommendation. I won't come back and give anyone grief, simply because I am accepting I'm starting from zero knowledge now, which means any advice I receive will place me an infinitely better position.

This is what I'm after:

1. 200/200 Capable Fibre Router with Gigabit switch and acWifi (Target cost approx: $450-$500) - If it's something that can work on current VDSL connection then I'm happy to buy it now but it isn't a necessity as I've already consigned myself to the pit of wifi despair until fibre lands.

2. Additional acWifi access points (I'm happy to repurpose a router if necessary, subject to my capability limitations, but I just find some of them unreliable when I am trying to configure them as a LAN connected access point alone). (Target cost approx: $250-$300 each) This isn't mandatory yet, I'll see how good the range is of the new device first.

All help appreciated.

I have a Huawei HG659b (Spark supplied for fibre) in bridge mode connected to a D-Link 890L "Taipan" AC3200 router. ($399 / PB Tech) The Huawei router seems to be utterly flawless in bridge mode. When I had it functioning as the main router / wifi AP it required a reboot every 24-36 hours to provide good service. Otherwise people dropped off the wifi and / or just went slower and slower.

The D-Link 890L is rock solid so far. It has 6 antennae and supports 1 x 2.4GHz and 2 x 5GHz bands and has a 'smart" mode to move clients onto the best frequency for their signal strength and usage type.

My desktop PC (with PCI-E AC3200 WiFi card and tri-antenna) is through two walls and about 12 metres away. I'm seeing 700mbps connection.

There is also a version of the Taipan that talks fibre directly, but it's $659...and to save the extra $260 I'll use the Huawei in bridge mode, thanks.

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Aredwood

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#1531219 12-Apr-2016 23:15

Interesting, As my HG659B doesn't need restarting at all. But I use it as just an AP, And I deleted the 3 access profiles from it. (Sine it is not acting as a router anymore).

But soon it will be going to a friends house for use as a standalone router. Guess Ill soon see if it will stay reliable or not. Some Xclaim Ap's will replace the HG659B.

Linuxluver

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#1531265 13-Apr-2016 06:51

Aredwood:
Interesting, As my HG659B doesn't need restarting at all. But I use it as just an AP, And I deleted the 3 access profiles from it. (Sine it is not acting as a router anymore).

But soon it will be going to a friends house for use as a standalone router. Guess Ill soon see if it will stay reliable or not. Some Xclaim Ap's will replace the HG659B.

Cheap gear can be variable. I've seen that often enough before. One item will be flawless and the next less so. But all "working".

TP-Link is another such brand. Some people swear by it whereas I have never had a TP-Link modem router (had 3) that didn't get 'tired' after 48 hours and need a re-boot.

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Kiwifruta

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#1531272 13-Apr-2016 07:14

Crowdie:
I remember working in the PC market in the late 90s and consumers started to become more focused on price than quality. You could lose $3,000 deal over a $50 component, which made the PC much better, but people just didn't care. Companies reacted by reducing the quality of their products to lower the price point and maintain market share. With this reduced price point pressure came on engineer's wages and skilled people left the industry. Consumer electronics is even worse and margins are so low that you can't expect quick resolutions to issues.

Being that the nomenclature of computers and their accessories is quite technical I doubt many comprehended what they were losing without that $50 component.

I remember being taught in sales
Product feature -> Product Benefit -> Customer Benefit

Here on GZ I expect most readers would understand directly how a product feature would be to their benefit without the sales person explaining it to them and hence don't mind paying a little (or a lot) more.

trig42

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#1531355 13-Apr-2016 08:59

I have a Netgear D7000 - does ADSL, VDSL and UFB.

I have it on UFB now, and it hasn't given me any issues. I get full line speed on a speedtest to my iphone (100/20). WiFi coverage is excellent (though I only have a small house).

Should come in well under your budget too.

Crowdie

228 posts

Master Geek

#1532676 13-Apr-2016 18:09

Linuxluver: Cheap gear can be variable. I've seen that often enough before. One item will be flawless and the next less so.

So very true.

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