Recommend a dual WAN wireless router

[Texashiker]

Our router needs to be replaced, recommend a small business grade wireless router and with dual wan ports.

Dual WAN - We have a T1, and cable modem backup. When the T1 goes down, we roll over to the cable modem. Having dual WAN ports means I do not have to manually configure the router each time we roll over to the other connection.

VPN - must have VPN support for at least 5 VPNs.

Wireless - yes

Prefer a built in gigabyte switch as compared to 10/100.

Our current router is a Linksys RV042.

We have anywhere from 25 - 30 workstations on the network.

 

[tpaine]

I have very similar needs and am having a hard time finding a decent solution. I'm leaning towards the Cisco RV042 but it doesn't have wireless or gigabit which are two features that I don't need but would really like. There is a D-Link with the right feature set but it has terrible reviews. The few other solutions come from off brands and have similar reviews to the D-Link.

So what solution did you end up going with? Did you spend under $500? Did you roll your own server?

 

[kstornado]

Don't know what your budget is, but a FortiWiFi 60c would meet your requirements.

 

[Jimmah]

I know I'm often mentioning them, but a Mikrotik RB493AH with wifi card + antennas would run about 250$ and do just about anything.

 

[heymrdj]

Don't put out the idea of separating your devices. A dual WAN router, running to a cheaper SOHO switch (like Netgear Pro Gigabit switches), and a SOHO access point can have alot better reliability and way better future proofing than an all in one unit.

 

[JackMDS]

I have very similar needs and am having a hard time finding a decent solution. I'm leaning towards the Cisco RV042 but it doesn't have wireless or gigabit which are two features that I don't need but would really like.

That is one of the Biggest fallacy of None IT pro people that look for a solution in Networking.

What? Yeah, their priority is the Number of Plastic Boxes.

Why all the serious demands as mentioned above need to be solved in One box (Do we have one unit that it is Skateboard/Byke/Car?).

You need serious solution, chose a none Wireless WAN main Router device.

As it is right now (and in the near future) the WAN Router does not have to be Giga. Thus the most decent solution is the Cisco Small Business RV042 VPN Router Dual WAN.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124160

Then add to it (according to your Wireless need) a Wireless Router in an AP mode and a good Giga Switch.

Out all of the above only the Device that has to be exposed is the Wireless. If Decorative environment is an issue there is No problem in getting nice inexpensive enclosure to keep the other boxes and cable out of the way. (Google "Ikea", and ask your Wife/GF, coworker, whatever, to help you with the right fit).

 

[robmurphy]

There are a few things to be aware on RV042.

A firmware release late last year broke SIP calls. This is on the support pages.

A fix was done that added other functionality. I was supposed to test this
but have been unable as am ill at momemt.

Some one else has probably done testing. Check support pages for details.

Cisco have also released RV042G with dual Gigabit WAN interfaces. Again this is new and may be
difficult to get initialy.

Rob.

 

[frowertr]

Cisco have also released RV042G with dual Gigabit WAN interfaces. Again this is new and may be
difficult to get initialy.

Rob.

I just purchased this router off Amazon. Should have it tomorrow. Again, it is not wireless. However, you are better off with not having wireless actually. Most wireless routers are simply "warmed over" consumer grade routers. Do yourself a favor a buy an access point and attach it to one of the switched ethernet ports on the back of the router. You will get much better performance using an AP than with any consumer grade wireless router out there.

 

[Fallen Kell]

You don't need dual gigabit on the router side if you are using a T1 and a cable modem. I don't foresee having gigabit to the office/home in the near future, as we don't even have reliable speeds above 30mbit. The only place that I would say it would be worth it to purchase is if you happen to be in one of the Kansas suburbs which Google is using as the test case for fiber to the office/home. If you are not, then do not bother with getting gigabit for your external router solution. Internal routers on the other hand you might use that speed.

 

[tpaine]

You don't need dual gigabit on the router side if you are using a T1 and a cable modem.

I'm using a 50/5 MBit connection but your point is well taken, gigabit is overboard. I also agree with everyone saying I should have separate router & WiFi boxes. That's the setup I have now and I was just hoping to simplify the setup a bit. Really I'm just being lazy though.

Thanks frowertr for the tip on the RV042G model. I had ignored it because of the lack of reviews but I see now that's just because it's so new. Found this review of the RV042G and it appears to be basically the same as the old model but with Gigabit ports so I'm going to go with that to please my boss. I'll use your amazon link so you can get the commission

 

[kevnich2]

I would recommend avoiding linksys - they suck imo. Personally i like the sonicwall tz series. The lowest 100 does dual wan without a problem and relatively cheap. Also, why is your t1 your primary when you have a 50/5 cable connection? That should be your primary unless theres some specific reason to use a slow t1? Also, if you want full 50, go with the 200 series as 100 will only put through around 35mb or so.

 

[frowertr]

I'm using a 50/5 MBit connection but your point is well taken, gigabit is overboard. I also agree with everyone saying I should have separate router & WiFi boxes. That's the setup I have now and I was just hoping to simplify the setup a bit. Really I'm just being lazy though.

Thanks frowertr for the tip on the RV042G model. I had ignored it because of the lack of reviews but I see now that's just because it's so new. Found this review and it appears to be the same as the old model with Gigabit ports so I'm going to go with that to please my boss. I'll use your amazon link so you can get the commission

Well I don't get any money for the link but thanks anyway!

I got this router in a few days ago and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It is dead simple to configure as the web interface is real nice and organized. I have it routing for two internal subnets and also using one of the WAN ports. Also my Docsis 3 speeds have increased. This replaced an old Netgear router that Speedtest.net reported my download speed of being about ~20Mbps on the average. However, I am now getting 40Mbps - 50Mbps with the Cisco router. I am guessing the Netgear router simply didn't have the hardware under the hood to keep up with the cable modem.

All and all I'm happy. I am buying this AP today for my business LAN. If you are still looking for wireless, you can't go wrong with Ubiquity AP's. You can chain multiple one together in order to cover wider areas and they are simple to configure as well. Do some research and reading on them and you will be impressed.

 

[tpaine]

I would recommend avoiding linksys - they suck imo. Personally i like the sonicwall tz series. The lowest 100 does dual wan without a problem and relatively cheap. Also, why is your t1 your primary when you have a 50/5 cable connection? That should be your primary unless theres some specific reason to use a slow t1? Also, if you want full 50, go with the 200 series as 100 will only put through around 35mb or so.

I don't have a T1, that was the original poster.

 

[tpaine]

Well I don't get any money for the link but thanks anyway!

I got this router in a few days ago and I have nothing but good things to say about it.

I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for the AP tip, i'll check it out.

 

[zDraggon]

I just wanted to take a minute and thank you guys for this thread. I found it via a Google search and it along with some of the other threads here really helped me figure out why I've always hated my wireless performance in my home.

After getting comfortable with the thought of separate devices, I bought the Cisco RV042G and two Ubiquity Unifi AP's - both recommended in this thread. I also bought two switches, a pair of ZyXEL powerline adapaters, and a bunch of 15' Cat5 cables. After some initial setup headaches, everything started working, and I can NOT believe the difference in performance. Anywhere we go in my two-story home we are getting three-bar wireless signals across all devices. I'm absolutely loving it.

Two things I had to do to get the Unifi's to work. The first I still don't understand, but I had to set them up with static IP's to get them to show up as an AP for any device. At first, I just wired them to the switch and set them to DHCP, but this didn't work. Thought they might be broken, but both of them? Nah - trial and error and frustration finally prevailed again. Secondly, they don't like SSID's of only three digits. No idea why, but they will not broadcast the SSID "OFF", but have no problem broadcasting my new SSID "ROTFLMAO".

One cool thing I did just for kicks was scan the floorplan of my house and load it into the Unifi controller software. What a cool toy! My whole house is now in the yellow (i.e. best) coverage zone!

I did have one other issue that I'm wondering if someone could provide some insight on - the issue is gone now, but it could pop back up. My personal desktop PC is hardwired to the new Cisco router, and I use it to do the basic setup and admin stuff for the router. After setting everything up, this PC's network/internet performance was just what you'd expect from a wired connection - flawless. However, something (I have no idea what) changed and it (network/internet) suddenly slowed to a crawl (some known live websites wouldn't load at all) even though all other devices - wired and wireless - still functioned normally. This includes extremely sluggish performance in logging into the router for admin purposes and switching pages within. This went on for a day and a half while I fretted over what I'd messed up. Then, it went away after several reboots of various pieces of equipment including my PC multiple times. It started to come back briefly, but seemed to quickly fix itself and hasn't occurred since. Does this sound like something obvious to any of you? i.e. is there a "first thing I should check" next time it happens?

Again - thanks for the tips. I love, love, love my new setup. Netflix streaming is flawless in HD on two TVs simultaneously now while my son games in the other room. Fantastic!

 

[frowertr]

@zDraggon

I'm glad you got everything up and running. I am virtually running the same setup you are minus your powerline adapters. I didn't have any of the issues you had with your Unifi's. I just plugged mine in, installed the Unifi software, and it found them immediately and adopted them with no issues. Left them as DHCP clients and we haven't had any trouble.

Again, I can't comment on the SSID issue as I didn't have a problem there either You may want to check the Unifi forums to see if anyone else noticed the issue. Personally I ALWAYS use a ambiguous SSID's when setting up wireless access points for personal use so it is harder for a hacker to target a specific house without some sort of direction finding. My favorite is "abcdefg".

The ability to load up a floorplan and see where your signal falls is damn cool and doesn't get enough praise. Heatmapper has a software program used specifically for site surveys that does the same thing. Really cool and allows you to fine tune AP's in different areas of your house to provide total coverage.

As far as your connection issues goes it could be tough to troubleshoot. It could be as simple as your ISP having some issues to perhaps your powerline adapters causing you some problems. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that *should* lay Cat5e cable instead of using the adapters...

Anyway, I'm glad your happy. It is amazing what WiFi can actually do when you use proper AP's instead of the all in one wireless/router equpiment that have flooded the market. They are some good ones, but there are more bad ones...

 

[jrichrds]

Well I don't get any money for the link but thanks anyway!

I got this router in a few days ago and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It is dead simple to configure as the web interface is real nice and organized. I have it routing for two internal subnets and also using one of the WAN ports. Also my Docsis 3 speeds have increased. This replaced an old Netgear router that Speedtest.net reported my download speed of being about ~20Mbps on the average. However, I am now getting 40Mbps - 50Mbps with the Cisco router. I am guessing the Netgear router simply didn't have the hardware under the hood to keep up with the cable modem.

All and all I'm happy. I am buying this AP today for my business LAN. If you are still looking for wireless, you can't go wrong with Ubiquity AP's. You can chain multiple one together in order to cover wider areas and they are simple to configure as well. Do some research and reading on them and you will be impressed.

Are you still happy with the RV042G? For some reason, it gets poor reviews. The ZyXEL ZyWall USG50 seems good, but costs more.