ADSL Modem/Wireless router recommendations

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dclegg

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#67514 3-Sep-2010 08:30

I need to replace my aging D-Link DSL-G604T ADSL modem/wireless router, and am looking for recommendations. I don't want to spend a kings ransom, but I'm prepared to pay a little more if it will get better quality and performance. It needs at least 2 ethernet connections (4 would be better though), and must play nicely with Telecom ADSL, and with an iMac (wired), Macbook Pro (wired and wifi), HP laptop (wifi), PS3 (wifi), iPod Touch 2nd Gen and iPhone 4.

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#376103 3-Sep-2010 08:34

I replaced my G604T with a Linksys WAG320N a few months ago and have had no regrets whatsoever.

For every Router named here on this blog, there will be some who will say it is no good and that their choice is better.

Just watch this space...............

josephhinvest

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#376212 3-Sep-2010 12:10

I've recently bought a 3com 802.11n router, it's excellent. Not sure of the model, sorry. Macs, TiVo, iPhone, iPad all work well. Took less than 10 mins to configure, connect and secure it. Good web interface for admin.
I don't recommend Belkin, mine was replaced after it became faulty, replacement also failed, and am still after several months chasing them to get my money back!

Cheers,
Joseph

dclegg

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#376217 3-Sep-2010 12:22

I don't recommend Belkin, mine was replaced after it became faulty, replacement also failed, and am still after several months chasing them to get my money back!

<blush> Well I hope I have better luck. On the advice of the very helpful sales rep at JB Hi Fi, I purchased a Belkin Share (not sure of model No.). It seems to be working OK, although I need to figure out how to get name resolution for DHCP clients working. I can ping clients via ip address, but not via name.

Ragnor

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#376412 4-Sep-2010 02:38

Two questions:

1: What's the max you want to spend?
2: Do you need 1Gbit wired and N wireless OR are fine with 100Mbit wired and G wireless?

dclegg

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#376449 4-Sep-2010 08:02

Ragnor: Two questions:

1: What's the max you want to spend?
2: Do you need 1Gbit wired and N wireless OR are fine with 100Mbit wired and G wireless?

I actually took Zippity's advice to heed, and went down to JB HiFi yesterday to check out the options. The very helpful salesperson recommended a Belkin Share ADSL modem/router. It has 4 1Gbit ethanet ports and supports up to 802.11n. Time will tell if it has given me the desired stability, but it has certainly given me a huge increase in performance.

I was having issues with file transfers between my iMac and Macbook Pro, with an 86MB file taking 7 minutes to transfer. In contrast, this same file was taking 60 seconds to transfer from my iMac to a HP laptop running Windows 7. This same file now takes approx 5 seconds to transfer between my Macs. My wifi signal strength also looks to be improved, and I'm now getting much better signal strength down in the lounge (very important for my PS3 BFBC2 sessions :-)).

As long as its reliability is as impressive as its performance, I think I'll be onto a winner.

dclegg

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#377434 7-Sep-2010 10:52

dclegg:
As long as its reliability is as impressive as its performance, I think I'll be onto a winner.

It looks like this router doesn't support the Bonjour protocol, making a LAN filled with Mac devices more painful than it should be. I've put a support request into Belkin about this, but if I have no joy there, I think I'll be taking it back for a refund.

Is there anyone here with a combination of OSX and Windows based machines on their LAN that can recommend a good alternative around the same price ($250) that does play nicely?

froob

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#377503 7-Sep-2010 13:21

You could just shell out $50 more and get an Apple Airport Extreme [http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MC340X/A/AirPort-Extreme?fnode=MTY1NDA0Mg&mco=MTMzNzU2NDk] which is bound to work well with bonjour. But I've used an older generation of these, and unfortunately can't recommend them as their reliability seems to be a bit hit and miss depending on the firmware version you use.

I'm currently using a Linksys WRT54GL with Tomato firmware which is rock solid, and also works well with bonjour (and NAT-PMP if you're interested). Doesn't really meet your requirements as it's a wireless G only router. If I were shopping for a wireless N router (and I'm not), I'd be inclined to get one which is compatible with Tomato firmware, incase the default firmware was no good (e.g. Netgear WNR3500L).

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

PANiCnz

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#377506 7-Sep-2010 13:29

ASUS RT-N16, runs tomato, has gigabit and 802.11n, and USB ports for file and printing. Pretty hard to find anything better without getting separate router, switch, and modem etc.

froob

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#377521 7-Sep-2010 13:59

That is a good point- with my suggestions above you would need a standalone modem as well (I use a Linksys AM300 in half-bridge mode). My personal experience is that the separate modem and router tends to be the better setup as it lets you swap out either part individually, but others have no doubt had different experiences.

dclegg

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#377754 8-Sep-2010 08:45

Well, I doubt I'll get much joy from Belkin. I got a reply from their support department overnight:-

"We understand that you want to know if the Belkin router supports Bonjour protocol.

We would appreciate if you please get back to us with the following information to isolate the issue:

1. Please let us know if Bonjour, is a software application, that is present on the MAC computer. If is the software application. We suggest that you please contact your computer vendor and check if any ports need to be open on the router for the software application.
2. Is the connection stable on all the computers through the router?
3. They type of protocol the Bonjour uses. Is it TCP or UDP."

graemeh

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#377871 8-Sep-2010 13:52

I guess Belkin don't give their staff access to google. It took me seconds to find out what it is :)

dclegg

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#377875 8-Sep-2010 14:00

graemeh: I guess Belkin don't give their staff access to google. It took me seconds to find out what it is :)

Indeed :-)

But the bottom line is this: If it doesn't support Bonjour, it doesn't support Macs. Because of this lack of support, I no longer have IP resolution for local computers, access to my shared printer, access to my shared iTunes library... and I bet thats just the start. Belkin have until tomorrow morning to respond, otherwise I'm taking it back for a refund and will purchase another make/model. I'll also inform the salesperson who sold it to me to not recommend this model to anyone who has Macs on their network.

PANiCnz

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#377911 8-Sep-2010 15:41

I'll also inform the salesperson who sold it to me to not recommend this model to anyone who has Macs on their network.

Lolz, I highly doubt that will stop the salesperson from selling it to other Mac users, their primary focus is a sale. In all seriousness why did you buy from JB Hifi in the first place? If you jump online with a reputable vendor you'll save heaps.

dclegg

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#377917 8-Sep-2010 15:53

PANiCnz:

Lolz, I highly doubt that will stop the salesperson from selling it to other Mac users, their primary focus is a sale.

Thats a little cynical (and on the Internet too! Who'd have thunk it?).

A GOOD salesperson's primary focus is to assist the customer to the best of their ability. Doing a mediocre job is not going to win repeat business. FWIW, this person was helpful in all other respects, and did seem pretty knowledgeable. So if I can help her fill gaps in her knowledge so she can be more helpful in future, what's the harm?

In all seriousness why did you buy from JB Hifi in the first place? If you jump online with a reputable vendor you'll save heaps.

Because I needed a router that day, and I figured if it didn't work out, I could always take it back easily enough for a refund. If I had purchased one online, I wouldn't have received it until the next week probably (I purchased it on a Friday).

Ragnor

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#378014 8-Sep-2010 21:08

Bonjour is just Apple-speak for NAT-PMP, look for an option in your Belkin related to that. Often UPNP and NAT-PMP come disabled by default in many routers.

Sometimes enabling UPNP in some routers will actually enable UPNP and NAT-PMP (aka Bonjour).

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