Buying some new Networking gear.

[Traxata]

Hallo Hallo...

Right. It's come to a point where I'm tempted, quite literally, to throw this stupid belkin router out of the window and jump on it afterwards.
Why, you ask?
Because the belkin routers are astonishingly terrible. We're currently on router 3 because the first one was killed off by a lightning storm, the second was killed off due to it being utterly rubbish and this one gives me more speed/reliability issues than I can complain about.

Its always a case in this situation that you get what you pay for, and to be honest these were £100 each, So I felt we were getting a slightly above average router.

I'm asking you all here for opinions as you are all pretty knowledgeable in what to do


Heres my requirements.

Router needs to be ADSL2+, needs to be compatible with a switch, But dosn't need to have wireless.

I need a 16 port switch to go with this (not built in, but the router will probably have like 4 or 5 ports on it) And ofcourse some reliable Cat5 Cable. The last box I bought was astonishingly terrible for making lengths of cable, because even the slightest twist in the cable the copper went *snap*


So ... There's my Plea !

/trax

 

[thatbloke]

I would say do not get Belkin but you already learnt that the hard way...

I also do not like those crappy white Netgear routers that are very popular atm - I have one which I get as part of my Sky and although it maintains a good connection the wireless is quite temperamental at times and my brother's ps3 doesn't seem to get on with it at all...

One router I do own (but cannot use) is one by Cable And Wireless which (believe it or not) I got from Argos... That router got about 5 months use while I was in a situation where I could actually use it and it did not disconnect anyone once. And it had 2 wired and 3 wireless computers chatting to it almost constantly. It also has adsl2+. the model number is HSADSLR15CW3 - thing is, i've just googled it and haven't found a sinlge good review for it anywhere. consider me the exception to the rule

 

[elDiablo]

Linksys with DD-WRT all the way, baby! Talk to Vibs.

 

[Traxata]

Yeah I've got to rewire the entire house, I need to run a cable downstairs to the TV with a couple of ports for the media PC and PS3, one to every room in the house, A switch and (I'll probably make a patch bay in the garage too) So I'll have the router connected to the switch, Thus trying to eliminate any bandwidth issues the stupid hubs keep giving me

 

[Haven]

I strongly reccomend you look at Zyxel for networking gear, I've used one of their ADSL 1 modems for many years (7 now) and never had a single issue with it ... might even upgrade it one day.

The equivalent I would buy today would be the 662H or the 660H

For the switch if you're wanting a 16 port 10/100/1000 then you can't get cheaper than Netgear, they are succeptable to breaking under stress (we kill them all the time at work with multicast traffic) but for normal usage they should do fine. Just google "16x netgear unmanaged" for pricing.

If you are interested in 10/100 managed then check out this. Failing that I'd go for 3com managed switches.

 

[VibroAxe]

The Linksys WRT54xG series router are awsome, however not strictly ADSL2+ complient, so you have several options to go from here.

1) the first is to buy both a WRT54GS (or similar) and a ADSL2MUE from linksys, this handy box is a simple ethernet to adsl converter which is usefully the same profile as the wrt54g so stacks beautifully. Having done this, you then head on over to DD-WRT and install their firmware onto your wrt, it's beautifull and we love it.
2) Another possibility, given that your set on buying a switch as well, is to do what i've just done and make yaself a router, I have a PC downstairs, running some linuxy iptables stuff with a PCI ADSL2 card in it routing internet in my house. Not terribly usefull when it's more expensive than the stand alone kit, but (in my case) this box also does webhosting, gamehosting, music hosting, PVR and domain controller all in one. I find this damn'd usefull and really funky, but it depends on your personal experience!

Also, if your going the managed switch, 3com ftw

 

[Iron_fist]

i have a similar setup to Vibs with my machine running iptables and tc (doing outbound packet scheduling allowing for low pings while also running high bandwidth stuff in the background) along with custom DNS, a DHCP server and a Gentoo Portage server from Ram with the benefit of adding 4 cores to distCC, though we do have everything going through the default speedtouch box as a "pass through" and havn't yet had any problems so you may find shoving a single machine on the current router and have that do what a router should with the switch coming off that alleviates your problems with minimal effort (plus it's a good way to recycle those old machines that happen to accumulate in the bottom of cupboards ) plus for just a router all you need is an old PII or PIII and your sorted

 

[Cpt.Spazmo]

I would second the Zyxel recommendation or linksys although I have heard that they are declining in quality.

 

[thatbloke]

I would second the Zyxel recommendation or linksys although I have heard that they are declining in quality.

I had a linksys router also but the router had to be reset at least once a day and then one day we had a quick power blip and it fried the power supply for it - effectively bricking it because the DC power adapter supplied 5V and i didn't have a single other DC power supply in the house that could supply 5V DC I had one that could do 4.5V or 6V but it didn't like either...

 

[Gombol]

i dont have a choice on what router i use....my dads net...my dads comp...he chooses and dont care what i have to say...cant wait till i move out...

 

[Traxata]

Gombol, A little off topic dude

Thanks everyone for feedback, Vibs may or maynot be coming over sometime during the next week to go over what he feels would be the best option by actually looking at what I'm trying to do So I'll see about how this pans out in a little bit more time

 

[Gombol]

Topic started off insulting belkin .....so technically im on topic!

 

[Noddy]

I've seen and used Vibs network and its more stable than larger networks that i've used. However I feel that this may be a bit overkill for your needs seeing that you don't do all the hosting etc...

I've got a shed load of patch cable (pretty sure its not installation Cat5) so i'll sort out those patch leads out for you at some stage...

If you're interested, i can give ya a hand cabling your house up etc...)

 

[Inorion]

I agree, Belkin routers SUCK bigtime, I've had Belkin and NEVER again I tell ya!
My solution was D-Link, I dont know how you feel about it, but my D-Link: DGL-4300 gaming router with 4 giga-ports + Wireless 108Mbps connection. Works flawless. And the GameFuel Technology makes everything perfect.
I know that a new model has been released, but if you need a stable router and dont want to pay a fortune, this is the one.

For more info about this router just visit:
http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=370&#DGL-4300

Cheers, And good luck with the router issues!

Yours: Ínòríón {In Orion}

 

[Ronin Storm]

Digging this up because I'm looking at the same sort of problems.

What did you go for in the end, Trax?

Given I don't want to spend much money, I'm very tempted by Haven's suggestion of the ZyXEL Prestige 660H-D1, retailing at £42.57 inclusive from DSL Warehouse.

 

[Traxata]

Havn't yet, Noddy and I are still going over what needs to be done

Though I need to get a new router ASAP

 

[Ronin Storm]

B..b..but that was 6 weeks ago!

Fair 'nuff. Guess I'll check what monies I can free up and give it a whirl, though it may need to wait 'til March.

 

[Noddy]

Right Trax, I'm going to get some prices on gear. So we're looking at the ADSL2+ Modem and then the router - namely the Linksys WRT54g. As for the switch, i'm still looking around the Netgear switches and the differences between some of them.

I really need to get to yours at some stage mate to measure up for rable runs etc.....

 

[Ronin Storm]

I have a Linksys WRT-54GS and I'm not terribly impressed with it. That said, I think I might have had a faulty unit since day one. Currently just using it as a 4-port switch. When it was in as the router it was intermittently giving me lag-spike issues.

 

[Noddy]

the gs models have the inbuilt speed boosters which I find to be as much use as a choky tea-pot. You could also have a dodgy unit, but Linksys hardware is generally pretty reliable....

I'm off to Trax's on tues for a measure up and photo noting

Then I'll be able to cost up the re-build. ....