Recommendations for new UFB router

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dakie

80 posts

Master Geek

# 205467 14-Nov-2016 15:59

High guys,

Any recommendations for a router, moving from Spark to possibly Bigpipe. the Huawei HG659b is a piece of crap so not wanting to use it when I move.

Wanting to spend no more than $300. Laptops are Macbooks using wifi, Wired PC, TV and PS4 using Cat6
2 story house

Wanting to go to 200/200 an maybe down the track 1000/500.

Cheers Guys

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5595 posts

Uber Geek

# 1670849 14-Nov-2016 16:03

One person supports this post

HG659 with Bigpipe firmware instead?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0IASZrRfGTibDdzYUVlTWZYSW8/view?usp=sharing

http://pages.bigpipe.co.nz/bigpipe-modem-setup/

sidefx

3339 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1670850 14-Nov-2016 16:04

One person supports this post

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=66&topicid=197871

Calling @michaelmurfy :)

mentalinc

1759 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1670875 14-Nov-2016 17:39

Can you flash a vodafone HG659 with the linked above for VDSL?

And what version is the firmware? does it have all the commands in the telnet/ssh still working?

CPU: Intel 3770k| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X |MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB | GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 | Monitor: Qnix 27" 2560x1440

RunningMan

5595 posts

Uber Geek

# 1670898 14-Nov-2016 18:36

@mentalinc Yep. Have a look here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=158&topicid=201985

michaelmurfy

Mr Snotty
8909 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1670917 14-Nov-2016 18:48

2 people support this post

There isn't any reason to move away from the HG659 - just install the Bigpipe firmware like @RunningMan mentioned.

I would however recommend grabbing a better access point if you primarily use WiFi. The HG659 is ok for this but you'll get better WiFi performance via a dedicated AP like a Ubiquiti UniFi or a Xclaim.

sultanoswing

740 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1671008 14-Nov-2016 21:24

pfSense.

(I have to plug pfSense anytime someone asks "what router should I get")

dt

535 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1671184 15-Nov-2016 10:35

sultanoswing:

pfSense.

(I have to plug pfSense anytime someone asks "what router should I get")

pfSense is a good option but you should really cost up price / performance.

If you go down the "use an old PC" route, that chews up a lot of power unnecessarily

Going down the custom built route(no pun intended) with a low TDP cpu & pico power supply (for noise) will set you back a bit in money and time for hardware setup, software setup and configuration.

I use pfSense and love it, my build set me back roughly $600 and about an 2-3 hours of time, 2-3 hours of research and about an hour of troubleshooting.. so a lot to invest really.

The performance is fantastic and the features are of enterprise level, the packages you can install really make it a cool piece of kit.

I wouldn't recommend it as the go to router/firewall for all though, its more of a hobbyist, network geek firewall..

When it comes time to replace, I dont think i'll upgrade.. i'll probably just go with something off the shelf.. can't go wrong with the HG659b for the plug and play approach.. or edge router with a bit more setup involved but double check if you'll use the features that it comes with as its more of a soho router.

vulcannz

436 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

# 1671280 15-Nov-2016 13:13

dt:

I use pfSense and love it, my build set me back roughly $600 and about an 2-3 hours of time, 2-3 hours of research and about an hour of troubleshooting.. so a lot to invest really.

You know for that price you could buy a decent 2nd hand Juniper/Sonicwall/Fortigate router of trademe that would run rings around pfsense (all have hardware acceleration for various features). Heck you could even buy some brand new units for that price.

dt

535 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1671368 15-Nov-2016 14:19

vulcannz:

dt:

I use pfSense and love it, my build set me back roughly $600 and about an 2-3 hours of time, 2-3 hours of research and about an hour of troubleshooting.. so a lot to invest really.

You know for that price you could buy a decent 2nd hand Juniper/Sonicwall/Fortigate router of trademe that would run rings around pfsense (all have hardware acceleration for various features). Heck you could even buy some brand new units for that price.

Didn't realize they would out perform.. guess I was caught up on having higher spec, low power, quiet and as small as possible.. $120 of that was for 2x second hand intel server nics as well.. quad port for the firewall and dual port for my PC.

Decent pico power supplies and mini itx cases aren't cheap either.

I've used forti's in the past and currently using watchguards at work and in terms of features pfsense is right up there with the both of them.

The hardware barely blinks an eye with my gigabit fibre connection.. highest i've seen it spike to under load is 20% CPU running Snort, ClamAV and Squid packages.

I'm a geeky hobbyist, so this was also a fun little project for me to take on :)

heres a speedtest I did back when I first set it up..

https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5702187899

sultanoswing

740 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1671643 16-Nov-2016 01:14

dt:

I wouldn't recommend it as the go to router/firewall for all though, its more of a hobbyist, network geek firewall..

Well, this *is* Geekzone, not "my-nana-could-run-that.com" ;)

In terms of the Fortigate/Juniper, that and the HG629 and pfSense can be measured against the tech/business aphorism of "Fast. Good. Cheap. Pick 2".

IMHO, pfSense on some reasonable spec hardware is the best of the options discussed so far, assuming "Good" is a firewall with loads of options (many of which I need, but which aren't provided on consumer gear). It's plenty fast enough on modest hardware, and free to download i.e. very cheap (labour costs offset by the free education you get yourself).

The fourth aspect of tech sometimes quoted is "simple". I guess what's regarded as "simple" is pretty subjective, but I find the Cisco/Juniper command line stuff anything but simple. Even for Geekzone :)

darylblake

979 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 1671674 16-Nov-2016 08:23

Use the HG659. The CPU in it is great and will put through 900Mbps+ if you on a gig plan.

You don't have to use the WiFi on it, it is a bit cr@ppy. Buy an access point or two to counter this issue.

But as a UFB router, its good. And you already got one.

In general the Huawei wifi is not really that flash hot. We had a customer pop in a whole heap of it, and ended up pulling it all out and replacing it with Aerohives. Now their Wifi is great.

chevrolux

4235 posts

Uber Geek

# 1671720 16-Nov-2016 09:20

One person supports this post

pfSense is cool. But really unless you were wanting to use it as a web proxy or something else clever I just don't see the point. I ran it as a VM for a while, but then got enlightened to Mikrotik and haven't looked back.

Mikrotik RouterOS is just as flexible, if not more flexible, as pfSense and with the new RB750Gr3 it kills the competition for hardware.

dakie

80 posts

Master Geek

# 1672049 16-Nov-2016 13:57

Thanks for the tips guys.

Sounds like I should keep the HG659b, update the firmware and turn off the wifi, and recommendations on a decent access point to use with both 5ghz and 2.4ghz and reasonable range?

Doing some comparison between Bigpipe and Stuff Fibre but can't really see anyone with Stuff Fibre to see real user reviews.

I also see that Bigpipe do a deal where you can get others to join and get a $20 credit, does anyone have a link and will it work if I do the 2 months free with changing providers?

dt

535 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1672118 16-Nov-2016 14:49

These two APs are a bit on the pricey side but they wont disappoint

Unifi UAP-AC-PRO (I use this at home)

Xclaim XI-3 (cousin uses this)

sultanoswing

740 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1672168 16-Nov-2016 15:35

Agree on the Unifi AP's. Good value for money for the performance you get. Sure, it's not Cisco or Rukus performance / service, but the cost is much less too.

@chevrolux: I seriously looked at Mikrotik a while back, but bypassed it due to RouterOS's lack of UDP in their openVPN implementation. Of course if this isn't important in one's setup, then have at it.

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