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.

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653 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2311540 6-Sep-2019 05:04

Any recommendation for a UFB router with more than the normal 4 LAN ports. Or should I just buy a switch? My current HG659b is right next to where the ONT and where all of the LAN cables are but now I am 1 LAN short. I dont think I will need any more than 6-8 ports MAX. Was trying to avoid getting a switch to keep it tidy. What is bang for the buck lets say under $300?

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cyril7

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#2311547 6-Sep-2019 06:40

Hi, for just over $300 an RB4011 has 10 lan ports, and a pretty grunty router to boot.

Cyril

CrashAndBurn

653 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2311552 6-Sep-2019 07:35

cyril7:

Hi, for just over $300 an RB4011 has 10 lan ports, and a pretty grunty router to boot.

Cyril

Forgot to mention. It also needs to do Wi-Fi.

CrashAndBurn

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Ultimate Geek

#2311556 6-Sep-2019 07:41

Something like this any good?

cyril7

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#2311564 6-Sep-2019 08:16

Hi, personally I would avoid such routers as you linked. Whilst an 8port switch is around $40 I suspect you would be hard to justify the cost of a router with >4ports.

you say you want wireless built in, from my experience you are way better off with a dedicated wireless solution that you can place in the house in an optimal location and ideally up high to optimise coverage. Hence a better solution in my opinion is a dedicated 4port router with an 8 port switch and one or two UniFi APs.

Cyril

nitro

608 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2311638 6-Sep-2019 10:42

CrashAndBurn:

Something like this any good?

considering what you're upgrading from, the short answer is yes.

however, you're basically paying $300 for one extra Ethernet port. you'd be lucky to get $20 for your hg659 if you decide to sell it. to me, that makes it expensive.

if you have the budget, cyril7's advice on going the whole hog is sound... it would certainly perform better if you have a Gigabit fibre connection. would cost more than $300, though.

kiwio

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2313854 9-Sep-2019 22:03

Hi guys, I'm thinking about getting a couple of UniFi UAP-AC-LITE units which I'm going to place around my house. I also want to keep using Orcon's Netgear NF4V router with its wireless turned off next to the ONT in my garage. What I'm not sure about is if the router is going to be enough to power the access points with PoE (if it supports PoE at all :)) or I'll have to come up with some solution for this. I don't really want to spend more money on a dedicated PoE switch, I do have power plugs next to my RJ45 sockets so is there an option of having a dedicated power adapter for each AP? And where am I supposed to put PoE injector that comes with the APs?

Handle9

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#2313864 9-Sep-2019 22:25

kiwio:

Hi guys, I'm thinking about getting a couple of UniFi UAP-AC-LITE units which I'm going to place around my house. I also want to keep using Orcon's Netgear NF4V router with its wireless turned off next to the ONT in my garage. What I'm not sure about is if the router is going to be enough to power the access points with PoE (if it supports PoE at all :)) or I'll have to come up with some solution for this. I don't really want to spend more money on a dedicated PoE switch, I do have power plugs next to my RJ45 sockets so is there an option of having a dedicated power adapter for each AP? And where am I supposed to put PoE injector that comes with the APs?

Your router won't power the Access points. You will need to use either a POE switch or the POE injectors. You don't use both. Basically the arrangement goes

Router -----> Switch(if required) --------> POE Switch/Injector ---------> Access Point

The POE injectors can be in the same location as the Router or in the field.

kiwio

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Wannabe Geek

#2313866 9-Sep-2019 22:38

Thanks for your reply @Handle9. That sounds awesome, so I can have a couple of injectors sitting in between the router and the patch panel and keep my setup clean around the house.

Handle9

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#2313867 9-Sep-2019 22:39

kiwio:

Thanks for your reply @Handle9. That sounds awesome, so I can have a couple of injectors sitting in between the router and the patch panel and keep my setup clean around the house.

Yip, that's correct. That is exactly what my setup looks like

Tinkerisk

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Uber Geek

#2335285 11-Oct-2019 06:39

I decommissioned my 2 EdgeRouters today in favor of a ZBOX nano with AES-NI resulting in much higher VPN performance on Fiber and less power consumption. :-)

- NET: FTTH, OPNsense, 10G backbone, GWN APs, ipPBX
- SRV: HA server cluster, 0.1PB storage capacity on premise
- IoT: thread, zigbee, tasmota, BidCoS, LoRa, WX suite, IR
- 3D: two 3D printers, 3D scanner, CNC router, laser cutter

cyril7

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#2335286 11-Oct-2019 06:49

Hi Percy, so what software are you running on the ZBOX, nice looking bit of kit, could see some projects for that :)

Cyril

Tinkerisk

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#2335370 11-Oct-2019 09:07

cyril7:

Hi Percy, so what software are you running on the ZBOX, nice looking bit of kit, could see some projects for that :)

Cyril

On the ZBOX I tested pfsense and openWRT. The first has a better UI, the latter has a better (open)VPN engine and I decided to go with openWRT.

ShinyChrome

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#2335401 11-Oct-2019 10:04

Tinkerisk:

On the ZBOX I tested pfsense and openWRT. The first has a better UI, the latter has a better (open)VPN engine and I decided to go with openWRT.

Don't suppose you would kindly could break the specs down of that bad-boy a little bit more for those of interested in replicating your efforts?

Edit: Also how are you finding the GWN7630?

Tinkerisk

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Uber Geek

#2335693 11-Oct-2019 16:45

ShinyChrome:

Don't suppose you would kindly could break the specs down of that bad-boy a little bit more for those of interested in replicating your efforts?

Edit: Also how are you finding the GWN7630?

H/W spec: CI329 fanless barebone + Crucial 4GB SO-DIMM DDR4 2400 (1 module is sufficient) + 32GB Transcend 2.5" SSD370S (boot+log drive) -> @idle Pwr: 4.6W/openWRT, 5.0W/pfsense

GWN7630: just ordered a second unit after testing a first one when released (got an eMail from Grandstream) - I'm in the EU. One is ~100€/180 NZ$ (incl. GST and shipment).

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