Home network config - do I need a router or is my Draytek Vigor 120 enough?

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SumnerBoy

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#86076 30-Jun-2011 17:10

Hi,

I am designing my home network for a new build. I have run all the CAT6 from the rooms back to a central hall cupboard where I will install a 48 port patch panel, and a 16 port gigabit switch. I am thinking of getting some sort of wall mounted cabinet - anyone got any suggestions for a cheapish option for this?

Sorry, back on topic...

I currently have a Draytek Vigor 120 configured in bridging mode with a Linksys WRT54GL running the Tomato firmware. But I want to upgrade the wireless AP to something like the TP-Link TD-W8960N - to take advantage of wireless N.

My question is whether I should configure the new TP-Link router in the same way the Linksys was - and then patch the gigabit switch to the new router. Or if I should use the Draytek in non-bridged mode and let it do all the NAT'ing - then just use the TP-Link as a simple wireless AP.

Will the Draytek be up to this sort of work load? I just had a play with the Draytek config and whilst it has a DHCP server there is no where to configure 'fixed' IP addresses like I could on my Linksys. I found this useful for my home server boxes - to ensure they were always on the same IP address.

I bought the Draytek as I was told it was an excellent ADSL modem and I would like to continue using it for this reason. Unless someone can convince me the ADSL modem in the TP-Link will be as good as or better?

If that was the case I guess it would simplify things a bit - get rid of the Draytek and use the TP-Link for ADSL, routing and wireless AP. But I know a few of you prefer separate boxes for these things and I tend to agree.

So assuming I keep the Draytek, should I use the TP-Link as the router + AP, or just the AP, and leaving the routing to the Draytek?

Sorry for the rambling - hopefully I have got my questions across!
Ben

Ragnor

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#487985 30-Jun-2011 17:16

I would go for Draytek Vigor 120 in PPPoA to PPPoE bridge to a nice new Linksys E3000

Linksys E3000:
- Simultaneous dual band 2.4ghz and 5ghz
- Wireless N
- 6 antennas
- gigabit
- usb port
- 8MB flash
- 64MB ram
- Can be flashed with TomatoUSB, DD-WRT etc

shrub

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#487986 30-Jun-2011 17:19

the TPLINK will be fine with a small home network but if you have more than 8-10 devices it will struggle. Make it do DHCP/router and put the draytek in pppoa-pppoe mode.
I had the same setup for a while but as we have a few gaming devices here i have gone with a pfsense box going and its much better. and just set the TPLINK as AP.

SumnerBoy

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#487989 30-Jun-2011 17:24

Yeah so far I think I will have about 12 devices connected to my gigabit switch - with another 1-2 ports used for connecting to the WIFI AP and ADSL modem - depending on how I configure things.

So based on that are you saying the TP-LINK will struggle with that many devices?

theEd

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#487990 30-Jun-2011 17:24

The Vigor120 isn't designed to handle a large number of NAT connections, so if you're doing P2P at all I'd suggest using it in PPPoE bridge and letting something else handle that.

Ragnor

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#487992 30-Jun-2011 17:27

SumnerBoy: Yeah so far I think I will have about 12 devices connected to my gigabit switch - with another 1-2 ports used for connecting to the WIFI AP and ADSL modem - depending on how I configure things.

So based on that are you saying the TP-LINK will struggle with that many devices?

The TP Link is a budget all in one, you already have the Vigor so you don't need a modem.

The Linksys E3000 I mention earlier has gigabit switch and simultaneous dual band wireless N. It's a higher end device and has plenty of ram and flash compared to other devices.

It's what I would get right now if upgrading.

SumnerBoy

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#487994 30-Jun-2011 17:33

Excellent - thanks guys - so the Linksys E3000 looks like the way to go - using the Draytek in bridge mode as the ADSL modem.

Appreciate the prompt feedback on this!

Ragnor

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#487998 30-Jun-2011 17:43

There are a bunch of other options that can replace the WRT54GL with gigabit and wireless N and still be flashed with Tomato or DD-WRT eg: Asus RT-N16, Netgear WNR3500 etc

The reason I've pimped the Linksys E3000 despite it's higher price is the support for simultaenous dual band (2.4ghz and 5ghz). This means you can have G/B clients on 2.4ghz and N clients on 5ghz... this avoids a common problem where mixing G and N on the same wireless access point results in ~20% worse wireless throughput/performance for all clients.

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SumnerBoy

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#487999 30-Jun-2011 17:45

Yeah I have read about the issues with B/G devices connecting at the same time as N devices. I am happy to pay the extra for this as it is a new house and I want to get things right. I am just reading some reviews on the E3000 and it is looking pretty good.

Thanks again.

SumnerBoy

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#488151 1-Jul-2011 08:57

Came across the Netgear WNDR3700 which looks to be a competitor to the E3000. Anyone got a view on these? Which is better in their humble opinion? Tough question to answer I know...

Ragnor

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#488274 1-Jul-2011 14:43

Tough choice, with stock firmware reviews say the Netgear is faster but if you want to replace the stock firmware with TomatoUSB the Netgear is not supported (Tomato only supports Broadcom chipsets and the Netgear uses Atheros).

However the Netgear can be flashed with DD-WRT or OpenWRT/Gargoyle.

I haven't actually seen anyone review stock vs tomato vs dd-wrt on a device like these recently so hard to comment on performance differences there.

Either would be great imo.

SumnerBoy

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#488285 1-Jul-2011 15:11

Yep - based on my reading I think a fair summary is the Netgear has better wireless speeds, but the Linksys has a slightly better range.

I have been using Tomato for years on my WRT54GL and I do like it. DD-WRT is supposedly just as good, if not better, but if I can avoid learning a new of functions I would prefer to stay with Tomato.

I think I prefer the Netgear form factor, but that is a very minor consideration.

But I think you are probably right - either will be a vast improvement on my current setup...

SumnerBoy

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#499240 29-Jul-2011 09:16

Well I ended up going for the Netgear WNDR3700 and so far it seems pretty sharp. Nice and easy config, and everything is connecting up nice and quickly on the N radio.

My Vigor is setup in bridge mode on 192.168.2.1 and my new wireless router is on the standard 192.168.1.1. Previously with my WRT54GL I was able to 'see' the Vigor but I was using the Tomato firmware with some funny scripts to setup the necessary routes etc.

Can anyone tell me how to do this on the stock Netgear firmware? I am guessing it is some sort of static route, but nothing I have tried has worked so far.

Hoping someone on here has the networking nous for this...