Looking into getting a new router.

[Apocrathia]

I currently have a WRT610N and it gives me a ton of problems. I've never had as much trouble with a Linksys router in my life. I'm a big DD-WRT fan and I try to keep it updated, but I just keep having continued problems from it, and the original firmware gave me even more problems. I've been eyeballing the Airports for a while now, and I've been considering getting an extreme, but I am also considering a Time Capsule.
My current setup is a mac mini server sitting on my network with a drobo connected to it. So I'm not sure if I'd get a performance gain from getting a Time Capsule or not. I have been looking into the airport extreme though, and I saw something about an update in October to the hardware. Does anyone have any more specific details on this?
The loss of one ethernet port on the airport from the linksys will be somewhat of a pain, but I can figure something out for it.

 

[MonkeyET]

I would recommend the airport extreme or the time capsule. With the ability to add a usb drive for storage or a printer that is accessible to everything on it. Plus it has simultaneous dual band with the ability for 50 users. I haven't seen anything from netgear or linksys do that.

I am about ready to ditch out my netgear system for an extreme and an express or two.

 

[iSavant]

The latest Airport Extreme Base Station includes the simultaneous dual band wifi of the previous model (g & n radios) but has a better antenna arrangement.

I just got one recently to replace a Time Capsule (1st gen)... I like it alot.

I too have a MM Server and choose to run our printer off the AEBS. Adding a simple unmanaged Gigabit Ethernet switch will add back any ports you would need.

AEBS recommended, integrates well with Snow Leopard Server.

 

[nick1516]

Figured I'd post here: I've had it with my router as it constantly drops xbox live games and I barely get any signal in my room, what would probably be the best router for me to get? It needs to have a good range and allow a lot of connections.

 

[pukifloyd]

Figured I'd post here: I've had it with my router as it constantly drops xbox live games and I barely get any signal in my room, what would probably be the best router for me to get? It needs to have a good range and allow a lot of connections.

Same as other people suggested: Airport extreme or Airport Express...both are awesome

 

[anschnaller]

I have had my airport extreme for over a year now and i could not be happier. It is so simple and powerful. I live in germany and the house have the thickest walls i have seen. which really sucks because the germans pick the stupidest spots to run the phone and cable lines and you only get one of each. Mine is like a concert or something, i don't know i am no wall expert, but that does not stop this thing the signal is still good in the bedroom when my wife wants to get on her macbook. I wish that i could keep it on 5 Ghz mode so i could get on the internet across the street in the park. but then my iphone and touch can't connect so the dual band thing comes in handy so much. with the extra usb port i plugged in my printer. also 54 mbs network speed, connection for 50 users and the ability to bridge routers is pretty nice.

yes the firmware for my airport was yup dated in october i think that it was for performance reasons or compatibility. The wasn't really a change in performance for me

 

[nick1516]

Same as other people suggested: Airport extreme or Airport Express...both are awesome

I would be splitting the cost of this with my dad(who continues to insist our old one is fine, of course he is right beside the router), but can anybody confirm that this offers much better range, speed, and works fine with xbox live than another dual-band wireless n router(such as this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/D-Link+...uter/8996937.p?skuId=8996937&id=1218007384009?

 

[Le Big Mac]

Given what I've been reading about Time Capsule failures, I'd go with the Airport Extreme plus a USB attached hard drive, if you need the latter for Time Machine backups.

 

[Apocrathia]

I will probably buy a hub to go with the aebs, the printer I am using is a network attached printer. i can use it's web interface to hit the scanner, etc... so i'd rather not hook it into the aebs's usb port and lose that functionality. i live in a small college apartment, and everything of mine is in my bedroom. my xbox, ps3, mm server, imac, and my macbook are the main things that need ethernet connections.

There are a few things that i do need for my router to do, and I haven't had much of a chance to play with an airport box before, so i have no idea how configurable they are.

• Port forwarding
• mac address cloning
• dhcp reservation
• dual ssid (1 per band)
• dyndns client

i've talked to engineers from apple and they've told me that the airport didn't do mac address cloning, although this was last year that i spoke with them, i'm not sure if they've enabled this feature or not. I need the port forwarding as i have friends who like to pull stuff from my server via ftp. I keep a dyndns.org address up for them to hit it by, and the ports are fowarded to my mm server which has a reserved ip on my network. the mac address cloning is because i hate my ip and they hate me because they don't want to add another mac address to my account. if i have to move up the chain on that one then whatever.

so I need some feedback here, i'm getting so sick of this damned linksys router it isn't even funny, it's so sad too because i LOVED my wrt54gl and this one is a pretty nice piece of hardware, it's just a damn shame. I'll just be putting it in the closet until dd-wrt development comes to a more stable point with this model. but by that time i might be so in love with an aebs that i won't want to pull it back out unless it's a slaved router.

 

[Apocrathia]

Given what I've been reading about Time Capsule failures, I'd go with the Airport Extreme plus a USB attached hard drive, if you need the latter for Time Machine backups.

i've heard alot about that, i'll be sticking with my mm/drobo setup for all of my time machine needs. i really don't want to risk losing my backups and my router in the same day.

 

[DEE9299]

the d-links are really good as well

 

[HBOC]

hey, i JUST replaced my Linksys WRT160N V2. I wish i would've read the reviews on them before buying it. The lack of DDWRT (they are dragging their feet, and i dont think that it would very much for that router) and poor performance just killed me.

I went out and bought the brand new Airport Extreme. It is amazing. Port forwarding is VERY simple. The UI is, ofcourse great, as you would expect. I got it for $159 after my student discount. I think I paid $80 for my 160N (it was $100 not on sale, still is). I haven't had one problem. It just works

Definately worth the extra money. I will NEVER EVER buy another Linksys (Cisco) product again!!

 

[belvdr]

Definately worth the extra money. I will NEVER EVER buy another Linksys (Cisco) product again!!

I wouldn't discount an entire manufacturer due to one product. That's just silly. Linksys makes some decent equipment.

 

[Apocrathia]

the d-links are really good as well

I've never had good luck with d-link or netgear. i've had phenomenal experience with linksys up until cisco bought them out. it all sort of went downhill from there. the company i work for has setup serveral aebs units in our satellite offices and they've been absolutely spotless. so i'm just trying to do some research on them and get some more opinions before i go buy one, because i'm pretty set on getting an aebs, but there are still things i have questions about with them.

 

[Apocrathia]

I wouldn't discount an entire manufacturer due to one product. That's just silly. Linksys makes some decent equipment.

i will, linksys stuff has seriously gone to **** after cisco bought them out, even cisco is slipping imo. hp is starting to take over the enterprise market. cisco support has gotten terrible.

hey does anyone know if anyone makes a hub that fits underneath the aebs? i'm just thinking aesthetics (it sits on my desk and i do have to look at it every day).

 

[Badger^2]

Several years ago, the best router to buy was a Buffalo hands down.

Bought my WHR-G54S 5 years ago, plugged it in, set it behind my printer on the back of my desk and I have never, ever touched it since then.

1 wired mac + 3 wireless, and with my cable connection I get 25 Mbps down wired or wireless.

http://www.buffalotech.com/products...igh-power-router-and-access-point-whr-hp-g54/

 

[Apocrathia]

Several years ago, the best router to buy was a Buffalo hands down.

Bought my WHR-G54S 5 years ago, plugged it in, set it behind my printer on the back of my desk and I have never, ever touched it since then.

1 wired mac + 3 wireless, and with my cable connection I get 25 Mbps down wired or wireless.

http://www.buffalotech.com/products...igh-power-router-and-access-point-whr-hp-g54/

Buffalo really did have some awesome hardware during the 802.11g hayday, especially because they were using atheros chipsets over the broadcoms that everyone else was using. speaking of which, does anyone know what wireless chipset the airports are using now?

 

[CK197]

usb hub

i will, linksys stuff has seriously gone to **** after cisco bought them out, even cisco is slipping imo. hp is starting to take over the enterprise market. cisco support has gotten terrible.

hey does anyone know if anyone makes a hub that fits underneath the aebs? i'm just thinking aesthetics (it sits on my desk and i do have to look at it every day).

Belkin F5U264 it says it is for Mac Mini but I have read reviews that it the same size as a aebs.

 

[Apocrathia]

Belkin F5U264 it says it is for Mac Mini but I have read reviews that it the same size as a aebs.

That's USB, I should have specified that I was looking for an ethernet hub, sorry.

 

[izibo]

Before spending any money, why not just load up dd-wrt and see if that fixes your issues?

 

[Apocrathia]

Before spending any money, why not just load up dd-wrt and see if that fixes your issues?

If you had read through the first post you would see that I have already been trying to use dd-wrt and the stock firmware, both of them are just crap. the 610n is still a relatively new product and dd-wrt support on it is not the greatest right now. i'm constantly having connection issues from it, less with the stock firmware actually, but still issues. it's over wired and wireless, on all of my systems, i can only trace it back to the router. the biggest problem is it's been having major problems when assigning dhcp addresses and it's not allowing all of my traffic through. i'm at work right now and i'm going to run a few tests when i get home on my actual isp connection to make sure the port blocking isn't their doing, but i'm fairly convinced it's the router.
i've heard nothing but praise about the airport boxes from everyone who has used them, as i've mentioned, my company actually installed them in our branch offices and they have been spotless ever since.
my two biggest gripes so far is the lack of mac address spoofing and one less ethernet port. it's really the one less ethernet port that kills me. i'll probably just buy a hub or something soon though. the lack on a ddns client within the router bothers me, but i can just use ddclient on my mm server.

 

[belvdr]

i will, linksys stuff has seriously gone to **** after cisco bought them out, even cisco is slipping imo. hp is starting to take over the enterprise market. cisco support has gotten terrible.

Well, that's your loss then. By that logic, you'll dismiss every manufacturer, including Apple for their Snow Leopard bug. That Linksys product you mention is no doubt a bad one. However, my trusty WRT54G is still plugging along after 5 years or so.

As for HP taking over the enterprise market, I don't see it happening. Cisco is in more fields than HP such as voice and VPN. Also, Cisco has more community knowledge and support than HP. Cisco still has great R&D as well (their Nexus line is awesome), although I will agree their support leaves something to be desired.

Linksys made lots of errors pre-Cisco, such as converting the infamous WRT54G away from the Linux based product it was. Once they heard the outcry, they re-released the Linux-based version as the WRT54GL.

 

[Apocrathia]

Well, that's your loss then. By that logic, you'll dismiss every manufacturer, including Apple for their Snow Leopard bug. That Linksys product you mention is no doubt a bad one. However, my trusty WRT54G is still plugging along after 5 years or so.

As for HP taking over the enterprise market, I don't see it happening. Cisco is in more fields than HP such as voice and VPN. Also, Cisco has more community knowledge and support than HP. Cisco still has great R&D as well (their Nexus line is awesome), although I will agree their support leaves something to be desired.

Linksys made lots of errors pre-Cisco, such as converting the infamous WRT54G away from the Linux based product it was. Once they heard the outcry, they re-released the Linux-based version as the WRT54GL.

You make a very good point and I will admit that the wording of my logic is pretty dumb. My old 54GL is still stitting at my parents house running fine after about the same time. Those things are tanks, the new routers don't seem to have anywhere near the same reliability as the older ones. It's all across the line, their switches, gateways, routers. I work in the IT field so I am able to get my hands dirty with all of this equipment and I have seen a great decline in the quality of their equipment.

HP support is one of the most phenomenal experiences I have ever had with an enterprise hardware manufacturer. Their procurve line is on par with the catalyst line without a doubt in my mind. You are correct about cisco's endeavors into other markets being much more robust than most other companies attempts however, as you said, their support is something to be debated.

Linksys' departure from the Linux based routers to vxworks based appliances were indeed a grave mistake. You can't solely lay blame for the products success upon the community which thrived off of the open source abilities of that hardware, but you can't hep but to agree that it was a major source in the reliability of those devices.
This is the problem that I have been having in my search for a new router, I basically want my WRT54GL back, but with 5ghz 802.11n & Gigabit. I have tried using the wrt610n, wrt160n, wrt310n, and a handful of devices from d-link, belkin, and netgear (neither of those three companies I have had a good experience with), and I am failing to find the same reliability out of them which I had with my old 54gl.
The airport express is talked of so highly I'm almost skeptical of them, but I've had nothing but wonderful experiences with my Apple products so far that I am seriously considering replacing my 610n with an aebs.

 

[DEE9299]

all i can say is i had every router except apple airport and my d-link 655 has by far been the best I have owned no drops, no lag and get distance

 

[Apocrathia]

all i can say is i had every router except apple airport and my d-link 655 has by far been the best I have owned no drops, no lag and get distance

I'm probably going out tomorrow and buying the airport extreme and just taking the hit on it. i'm completely sick of my machines not getting dhcp leases until 10 minutes of constantly pestering the router for one. I'm probably going to turn my 610n into an unmanaged switch until the time comes that the software for it is worth a damn. but who knows where i will be at that point.