Wired Router Recommendation

[MattWeiler]

I'm looking for suggestions for a decent wired router that will actually give me much closer to my paid for 1 Gbps connection speed.

 

---

Current Network Gear

 

Wired Router

TP-Link TL-R600VPN Gigabit Broadband VPN Router

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007B60SCG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Wireless Access Point

Ubiquiti Unifi Ap-AC Long Range - Wireless Access Point - 802.11 B/A/G/n/AC (UAP-AC-LR-US)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B015PRCBBI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Gigabit Switch

TP-Link TL-SG1024 10/100/1000Mbps 24-Port Gigabit 19-inch Rackmountable Switch, 48Gbps Capacity

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003BU0EKW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Patch Panel

Monoprice Entegrade Series SpaceSaver 19-inch Half-U Shielded Cat6A Patch Panel, 24 Ports Dual IDC

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=105&cp_id=10514&cs_id=1051405&p_id=10039&seq=1&format=2

 

Network Cable

1000ft 4 Pair Cat6a 10gig Solid UTP FT4/CMR Bulk Cable - Black

https://www.infinitecables.com/bulk-cable/cat6a-bulk-cable/bulk-cat6a-solid-ft4-cable/1000ft-4-pair-cat6a-10gig-solid-utp-ft4-cmr-bulk-cable--black/

 

Monoprice Cat6A 24AWG STP Ethernet Network Patch Cable, 10G, 5ft, Blue (10 pack)

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10260&cs_id=1026002&p_id=29528&seq=1&format=2

 

---

Long Story

 

My wife and I recently bought a new house and I'm getting around to setting-up the network the way I want it.

I have my Plex server in the basement, and all of my ethernet cables end in one place.

I have a 22U rack that I want to use for my networking gear as well as my server.

 

Until recently, I was using an Asus AC-3200 wireless router but it died shortly after we moved in.

I wanted to get a wired router and separate wireless access point to limit responsibilities of each device.

I then bought a new wired router and dedicated AP; they've been working pretty well so far, but I'm not getting close (200-250 Mbps) to my 1 Gbps speeds that I pay for.

If I connect directly to my modem, I get much closer (500-700 Mbps).

 

I recently bought a gigabit network switch and a patch panel (mostly for the hell of it) but I haven't gotten around to installing them yet (probably in a few weeks).

 

I've run CAT 6A network cable throughout my house with the plan of one day using 10 Gbps network gear.

[scottyseng]

Just making sure, you want gigabit speeds for the ethernet right? Because expecting 1gigabit over WiFi is quite a hard ask.

 

The UniFi USG is a pretty solid router, does gigabit unless you turn on IPS / IDS. There's also the Edgerouter 4 if you want more overkill (Not quite as easy to set up, but still not bad)

 

And if you're really willing to DIY, there's always pfSense.

[BakugoHero]

41 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Just making sure, you want gigabit speeds for the ethernet right? Because expecting 1gigabit over WiFi is quite a hard ask.

 

The UniFi USG is a pretty solid router, does gigabit unless you turn on IPS / IDS. There's also the Edgerouter 4 if you want more overkill (Not quite as easy to set up, but still not bad)

 

And if you're really willing to DIY, there's always pfSense.

I second the pfsense, especially if you wish to use QoS tools. The Ubiquity gear requires you to use hardware offloading to achieve the 1Gbps which will shut off those features.

[mynameisjuan]

Well you router can only really route ~600mbps and looking at reviews, it seems thats the case. Also for wireless you should be shooting around ~600mbps also. Expecting a gig is just going to let you down as 99% of devices can pull that much with their wireless chips.

 

51 minutes ago, BakugoHero said:

especially if you wish to use QoS tools.

Unless your ISP says they support QoS for your connection, it doesnt really matter. Its still better to go Ubiquiti in this case.

 

 

[MattWeiler]

2 hours ago, scottyseng said:

Just making sure, you want gigabit speeds for the ethernet right? Because expecting 1gigabit over WiFi is quite a hard ask.

 

The UniFi USG is a pretty solid router, does gigabit unless you turn on IPS / IDS. There's also the Edgerouter 4 if you want more overkill (Not quite as easy to set up, but still not bad)

 

And if you're really willing to DIY, there's always pfSense.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear.

 

I'm not expecting 1 Gbps over Wi-Fi, but rather over my ethernet connections.

When I plug my PC directly into my modem, I'm getting between 500 - 700 Mbps down.

But when I plug my router in between, I max out at 200 - 250 Mbps down.

 

I'm not saying that I'm 100% going to upgrade my router right now, just that I would like so know of some options and I might consider it.

 

To be honest, I didn't really consider pfSense... I'm not sure why, I just thought about getting a decent pre-built.

I guess I could put together a low-power 1U machine with pfSense... that might be a good idea in the future.

 

Thanks

[mtz_federico]

42 minutes ago, MattWeiler said:

 

To be honest, I didn't really consider pfSense... I'm not sure why, I just thought about getting a decent pre-built.

I guess I could put together a low-power 1U machine with pfSense... that might be a good idea in the future.

I highly recomend doing this since it alaws you to upgrade in the future

[MattWeiler]

On 1/18/2019 at 2:19 PM, mtz_federico said:

I highly recomend doing this since it alaws you to upgrade in the future

Would you recommend a custom built PC or just salvage an old rackmount server from eBay?

If I want to go 10Gbps in the future, what kind of specs would I need?

[Razor Blade]

18 minutes ago, MattWeiler said:

Would you recommend a custom built PC or just salvage an old rackmount server from eBay?

If I want to go 10Gbps in the future, what kind of specs would I need?

If you're just making a PFsense box, I would go for a SFF sandy bridge i3 or i5 Dell. It would do great, be cheaper, and consume a lot less power than a rack mount server. Pick up a PCIe NIC 1-4 port and have fun. It will still be way overkill for typical home needs.

[jlficken]

On 1/18/2019 at 11:39 AM, mynameisjuan said:

Well you router can only really route ~600mbps and looking at reviews, it seems thats the case. Also for wireless you should be shooting around ~600mbps also. Expecting a gig is just going to let you down as 99% of devices can pull that much with their wireless chips.

 

Unless your ISP says they support QoS for your connection, it doesnt really matter. Its still better to go Ubiquiti in this case.

 

 

QoS will still help though for upload.  You are correct though that download won't help all that much.