The router guide - what to look for and what is best.

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › The router guide - what to look for and what is best.

1 | ... | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | ... | 34

9050 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2085692 7-Sep-2018 14:52

Hi, all the ones I have seen appear to support most of the common GPON providers (equipment wise, ie ALU, Huawei, Erricson, Adtran etc) but to get the LFC to support it would be a major issue for them, so I very very much doubt it, the LFC is providing a closed shop service, they own the equipment, they own the setup of that platform, to introduce random bits of hardware is just not going to happen.

Cyril

Wise

Send money globally for less with Wise - one free transfer up to NZ$900 (affiliate link).

theUtmost

50 posts

Geek

#2085709 7-Sep-2018 15:13

cyril7:

Hi, all the ones I have seen appear to support most of the common GPON providers (equipment wise, ie ALU, Huawei, Erricson, Adtran etc) but to get the LFC to support it would be a major issue for them, so I very very much doubt it, the LFC is providing a closed shop service, they own the equipment, they own the setup of that platform, to introduce random bits of hardware is just not going to happen.

Cyril

Thanks appreciate that. I can well understand the LFCs needing to stop random / potentially incompatible stuff, will drop that as a line of enquiry then!

I'll have to check when I get back home, but for all I know my model of ONT might need an upgrade for Gigabit UFB as well! (Might have only 100Mbps WAN or LAN ports) Afterall, I WAS the first actual UFB customer in my suburb who was NOT either an Enable or 2Degrees employee, so my UFB gear is OLD! ;-)

cyril7

9050 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2085711 7-Sep-2018 15:14

Hi, I have never seen a FE only Huawei ONT, not to say they don't exist

Cyril

MSwitch

40 posts

Geek

#2102514 6-Oct-2018 14:49

Can anyone recommend a good router to be used purely for a VPN secondary router? Ive got a basic Huawei659b but I want to set up a second router that will be setup with
a VPN so I can just connect devices to it and not have to bother with the client.

I've heard of routers that already support common VPN provifees which, are these worth going for? Pretty much just want a quick and easy to setup secondary router for this, one that will last and isn't going to give me any issues.

Lizard1977

2049 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2109296 17-Oct-2018 09:29

Thanks for this guide, it's been very useful.

I need to replace my router, and I think the Edgerouter Lite is probably going to be the best option for me. However, I just need to check one thing. From the Setup videos I've seen on Youtube, there are three ethernet ports on the ER-L - one can be configured as the WAN for connecting to the ONT, and the other two can be configured as LANs. If you don't select bridging (which I understand creates a performance hit), then these are separate LANs (i.e. 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1). Am I right in thinking that this won't be a problem for devices communicating across the different LANs? i.e. a device with the IP 192.168.2.20 can still talk to a device on IP 192.168.1.210 for example?

The reason I ask is that I have an 8-port switch that I will be connecting to the ER-L (which renders 7 usable ports), but I have 9 devices that need connecting. So I figured I could buy a second switch and connect each to the 2 LAN ports on the ER-L, effectively creating 2 networks (192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1), and spread my 9 devices across these two switches, and everything should be hunky-dory? Or have I missed something?

michaelmurfy

meow
13215 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2109493 17-Oct-2018 10:38

@Lizard1977 Have a look at the Edgerouter X too - it is actually a great router and has an integrated switch. With Offloading enabled, it can push Gigabit. Else just upgrade your switch to a cheap 16pt jobbie.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Lizard1977

2049 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2109599 17-Oct-2018 11:47

Thanks for that @michaelmurfy

I just looked at a video on youtube, and as you point out it looks like the four remaining ports can be configured as a switch for a single LAN. I think that's what I need. Coupled with my other switch, that should provide me with enough ports to connect all my devices. I don't have gigabit fibre (yet), but it's good to know it can handle it in the future if need be, and at a $100 it's a pretty easy choice to make.

Out of curiousity, I see that there are different ways to configure the router, with multiple LANs. What benefit does that offer over a single LAN? Is it just about increasing the total number of available IP addresses?

michaelmurfy

meow
13215 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2109604 17-Oct-2018 11:52

@Lizard1977 Yes you can configure it with multiple LAN's - for example, I've got a guest network with firewall rules on another VLAN to my main network. By default you'd just have a single LAN assigned to the "switch0" interface of the Edgerouter X and use it like a general router.

Also, the X is small, like seriously small.

aspett

121 posts

Master Geek

#2113192 24-Oct-2018 13:05

I'm moving back to New Zealand in a couple of weeks, and will have to start a new network set up. I've been wanting to jump on the Ubiquiti bandwagon for quite some time, so that's definitely where I'm headed.

My question is.. am I better off getting an EdgeRouter X / EdgeRouter Lite/4 / or an USG?

I'm intending to be on gigabit fibre.

I have seen a fair bit of commentary saying that the USG is pretty feature limited, but most of those comments are a couple of years old. I don't need to do any super advanced networking - the most complicated things I'm looking at are:

- Port forwarding
- UPnP
- OpenVPN

Network-wise I'll be looking to connect up (to start with):

- A Synology NAS (ethernet straight into the router)
- Raspberry Pi (wifi)
- 2 laptops (wifi)
- 2 phones (wifi)
- Apple TV or Chromecast (wifi)

I'm thinking I can probably get away with the USG and an Unifi NanoHD? And possibly add in a switch later if I run out of RJ45 slots?

Not particularly sure on the AP, but we'll be in a fairly small place, so I think the nanoHD should suffice range-wise - and appears to be the best offering cost wise for MU-MIMO?

michaelmurfy

meow
13215 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2113196 24-Oct-2018 13:16

@aspett The USG or the Grandstream GWN7000 + GWN7610 will be good options for you. The NanoHD looks like an incredible access point too.

Bare in mind, configuration of the USG with OpenVPN is not impossible, but quite difficult.

The Edgerouter X, Lite, 4, USG3 and the Grandstream are all more than capable to support Gigabit connections.

aspett

121 posts

Master Geek

#2113198 24-Oct-2018 13:24

michaelmurfy:

@aspett The USG or the Grandstream GWN7000 + GWN7610 will be good options for you. The NanoHD looks like an incredible access point too.

Bare in mind, configuration of the USG with OpenVPN is not impossible, but quite difficult.

The Edgerouter X, Lite, 4, USG3 and the Grandstream are all more than capable to support Gigabit connections.

Yeah, I think the USG3 is probably the way to go for me. I flicked through about 10 pages on your ERL thread and decided I wasn't keen to tinker that deep :D

As for the VPN, I guess I can run that on the NAS, so that's okay.

Is it hard to set up a USG with an AP without a controller initially? I'm hoping to run it in docker on the NAS, but order of operations wise, the NAS will probably be my last thing to set up.

michaelmurfy

meow
13215 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2113209 24-Oct-2018 13:44

@aspett I have a cloud controller you're welcome to use - details in my signature.

It is more or less required for managing UniFi stuff. So either spawn it in Docker (there is a provided container for it) or use the cloud controller. If your connection is on a VLAN it does however make things a little difficult to set up with the cloud controller as the USG needs internet access to adopt and doesn't have VLAN configuration in the initial setup wizard.

If you went with Voyager Internet (https://voyager.nz) they can set up a UFB connection without VLAN 10 so it is a simple 5min setup to get online and adopt to the controller. They also have a one off cost for a static IP address and also IPv6 support too - also, they're an incredibly good ISP.

For purchasing the gear I recommend going straight to the source - https://gowifi.co.nz

aspett

121 posts

Master Geek

#2113410 24-Oct-2018 18:42

michaelmurfy:

@aspett I have a cloud controller you're welcome to use - details in my signature.

It is more or less required for managing UniFi stuff. So either spawn it in Docker (there is a provided container for it) or use the cloud controller. If your connection is on a VLAN it does however make things a little difficult to set up with the cloud controller as the USG needs internet access to adopt and doesn't have VLAN configuration in the initial setup wizard.

If you went with Voyager Internet (https://voyager.nz) they can set up a UFB connection without VLAN 10 so it is a simple 5min setup to get online and adopt to the controller. They also have a one off cost for a static IP address and also IPv6 support too - also, they're an incredibly good ISP.

For purchasing the gear I recommend going straight to the source - https://gowifi.co.nz

Aha. That's a kind offer. I think I'll have a go at setting it up with a docker container. I'll probably be with BigPipe too, and if I recall correctly, that's VLAN 10.

Surprisingly, PBTech works out cheaper for me compared to gowifi. Might be from a work membership, though.

Appreciate the advice!

michaelmurfy

meow
13215 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2113434 24-Oct-2018 19:32

@aspett IMO Voyager are better than BigPipe. BigPipe now is just Spark and you don't get any of the fancy stuff such as IPv6 for example. Also with Voyager you get phone support all for the same price with no contract. I don't actually recommend BigPipe now as they've gone way downhill in terms of support and the fact they've removed IPv6 etc.

Lizard1977

2049 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2118948 3-Nov-2018 13:04

michaelmurfy:

@Lizard1977 Yes you can configure it with multiple LAN's - for example, I've got a guest network with firewall rules on another VLAN to my main network. By default you'd just have a single LAN assigned to the "switch0" interface of the Edgerouter X and use it like a general router.

Also, the X is small, like seriously small.

I finally got round to setting up the ERX today, but I've managed to get myself lost on a few things. Basic internet access seems to be fine (though I may need to do some more research to make sure I've got things done properly), but for the life of me I can't work out where to put the DNS settings for DNS4Me. Can anyone give me some quick and easy instructions on how to set this up?

1 | ... | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | ... | 34