New Router

[brucecampbell]

Hi all, I'm after some advice on a new router for my home.

I currently have an ASUS RT-AC66U which I've had for about 15 years.
I'm experiencing a lot of internet drop off, so I think a replacement is worth a shot.

I'm not very experienced or knowledgeable with routers, so any advice would be appreciated.

My current set up is:

Fibre Internet comes into a Modem/Router the ISP provided me.
ASUS is plugged directly into the Modem via WAN port
ASUS is plugged into a switch via LAN port
All hardwired devices are patched back to the switch via a home hub/patch panel.

Cheers.

 

[Andrew luecke]

Doesn't surprise me with Asus..

Firstly, you want everything to be

<Router> -> Switch -> Wifi + everthing else

Even if the router has wifi, turn it off..

 

If you have other unifi equipment, I recommend unifi UDM (or similar) because its relatively simple and powerful. But works a lot better with unifi switches / AP's

If you want something more technical which is affordable, Mikrotik. I wouldn't recommend this though unless you're technical. And, whilst its stable, and has some interesting features, its more designed for WISP's (but good if you're a tinkerer). It's not really optimised for this kind of environment imho (more enterprise). Fortinet / Access Networks would be better though

If you want something which is better supported by control4 which is cheaper, Araknis. Or if you have other araknis equipment

IF you want something which is better supported by Control4, which is more premium, Access Networks

If you want something higher end, which is an alternative, Fortinet.

If you want something stupidly secure but inconvenient, Watchguard with subscription

 

Stuff to avoid:

- Mesh routers in particular: (Google Routers, and Netgear Orbi primarily).  

- "Gaming" routers

- Wifi 7 routers at the moment.. Unless they're specifically Business / enterprise grade (by a credible company)

 

If you have Sonos, try unplugging all sonos equipment except for 1 device first, and see if internet is more stable. But in general, Asus isn't known for their stability

[brucecampbell]

Thanks for the advice,

Asus seemed a good option for the price for me back then and I've had almost no issues with it.
Now something is failing and not being sure if it is the router or switch, I figured I'd replace the oldest hardware first.

I'm not sure I understand your diagram correctly, are you saying the router connected to the fibre box should be acting as the home router? and use a second router to solely provide wifi?

2 hours ago, Andrew luecke said:

Firstly, you want everything to be

<Router> -> Switch -> Wifi + everthing else

Even if the router has wifi, turn it off..

 

My current set up was in place when I was using DSL
I had a dedicated modem plugged in to the external phone line.
Modem -> ASUS Router (with wifi) -> Level One Switch

When I got upgraded to Fibre, the ISP provided a 'NetComm Wireless' router.
This router is plugged into the fibre ONT and has wifi turned off.
It was suggested to keep all my network the same it was best to have the NetComm manage the internet and the ASUS act as the home router.

NetComm IP = 192.168.1.1
Asus IP = 192.168.2.1
All home devices are on 192.168.2.x  (All devices are dynamic assigned IP)

My fibre is connected using IPoE - does this mean any router will work? - no specific modem needed?
Should I consider getting rid of both the NetComm and Asus and replace with a single new router?

Cheers
 

[Andrew luecke]

Your network is possibly set up wrong.. The netcomm should generally be in bridge mode if its available (ie, it should be sending raw packets from the internet to the router).. If PPPOE or anything is required, it should be managed by your router, not your modem. If both are acting like routers, you're really just doubling the issues

What I meant is that the Router should only connect the Internet (or dedicated modem), and a single switch (ie 1 inbound, and 1 outbound cable on the router, with wifi off). Every device should be connected through the switch.. Don't connect some devices to the router ethernet ports, and others to the switch (it simply makes things less stable), unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing (ie, you might do it so you have NVR for security cameras and router only on a UPS during power blackout to reduce power load, but in general, you almost always want to avoid it)

[brucecampbell]

Thanks for the advice,

The Netcomm does not appear to have a bridge mode.
it has DHCP enabled for LAN (Which was required to allow the ASUS to work with it)
The set up is also not using PPPoE, it is on IPoE.

The ASUS has a WAN connection type of Automatic IP (as opposed to PPPoE)
It also has DHCP enabled for LAN

To be fair, my internet has been a bit flaky since I got Fibre 3 years ago, just not enough of a hinderance to do anything about it... until now...

Could you please perhaps provide an example of how you would set up a modest house on a budget (bearing in mind we seem to pay excess $ here in NZ for hardware)
ie: What device to receive internet packet, what device to use as router and how to configure with a dumb switch.

household of four people, internet is used for work, steaming music and video.
C4 Core 5, IO extender, 30-40 zigbee devices.

Cheers.

 

[Andrew luecke]

Ipoe is basically Ethernet passthrough. If wan is Ethernet, the NetComm isn't even needed

 

Otherwise, you should be able to turn off NAT or something similar probably

 

You probably need to speak to an installer tbh. Because if you swap equipment around, you'll need to ensure the new network is consistent anyway or c4 might break

[brucecampbell]

Thanks for the advice, 

I'll have a bit of a play and see what works, and then will likely get someone in to fix it all when I break it

cheers.

 

[enzeder]

If it's a standard fibre install you should be able to plug your new router straight into the ONT and you will be good to go, shouldn't need the netcom unit. Just have to make sure you tag the WAN traffic as VLan 10. Most routers in NZ have this option in the firmware so it works with the fibre network. Same for all the providers, ie chorus and the other UFCs, in my case UFF.

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