Bifocal me a router. Please. :)

Le_Petit_Lapin · 22 Feb 2006 at 11:14

Right, currently using a Belkin router and it is a complete POS. Constantly drops connection, starts up slowly and just generally iritates me no end.

So, any suggestions of GOOD routers/switches?

It need to have 4 LAN ports, a WAN port, Wireless would be handy (but not at all necessary), should include a decent firewall, a print server (again, not really necessary, just nice), and needs to be RELIABLE!! I cant stress "reliable" enough, as if it acts like a **** constantly it will be getting a swift introduction to Mr Slegdehammer.

I just want something that works, and doesnt fool about, and need re-flashing every week. A company that has good support would be good to. That probably rules out Netgear by the way, as their support is simply atrocious (in my own experience), although their products are generally good.

Cost isnt really a problem, as I couldnt place a price on a router that just does what it is supposed to do, without me constantly having to **** about with it. As you can tell I'm ever so slightly irritated, because for the 4th time today, I've had to reset this Belkin crap, as its decided to go senile and "forget" that it is a DCHP server.

Anyway, thanks for reading! any recommendations would be appreciated.

Burbleflop · 22 Feb 2006 at 11:43

Cisco 877W if you've got ADSL, or Cisco 871W if you've got cable. They don't have print servers in them, but they're rock solid bits of kit.

They're a pig to configure if you're not used to Cisco, but once they're setup you can pretty much forget about them.

Le_Petit_Lapin · 22 Feb 2006 at 11:58

Hmm.....those ones might exceed my requirements a little, as I've never setup a Cisco before. It is also only for home use.

On the other hand, being Cisco, I assume they are rock solid bits of kit, so they are tempting.

Burbleflop · 22 Feb 2006 at 12:04

Oh yes, rock solid.

They are a sod to setup unless you know Cisco but there are loads of resources on the internet that should help you out. These routers also come with a web based config utility (called SDM (Security Device Manager) I think) which in the past was pretty nasty but I believe that the 85x and 87x series routers have a much better version of SDM on them.

tolien · 22 Feb 2006 at 14:01

It's worth pointing out that the 877 has some pretty major issues with some/all DSLAMs (in that you find that it stays in sync for about 10 minutes, tops! :eek:

), but Cisco's fixed it with a new DSL firmware.

Same applies to 857, 877 et al.

If the folks I got the information from have no objections, I'll happily share it.

Not tried SDM on the 877 (and don't really intend to).

Berserker · 22 Feb 2006 at 16:39

Draytek Vigor may be worth a look if you don't want to go all the way to a Cisco. Get the right model and you'll have WAN, LAN, wireless, print server, et al.

Their support isn't spectacular, but they got me going when my router suddenly decided it didn't want to play ball any more. Draytek also have a habit of doing odd things with their firmware, so be careful when upgrading.

Having said all that, I've had mine two years and only had reason to call support once. I can easily get DSL uptime of 2+ weeks and router uptime of a month or more. I guess that's rock solid.