Cisco 837

loltim · 3 Dec 2006 at 00:21

How hard are these to configure? I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about networking because I don't, I simply want a really stable wired router that doesn't fall over under heavy load. I was looking at this and the Draytek 2800, both for under £100 from ebay, second hand obviously.

I know the Draytek 2800 will be simple(r) to setup but I'm willing to read up on the Cisco if it's worth it?

Any tips? I don't need any specifics, just the basics ie. actually getting it connected

I'll want to forward a few ports, i'll not being doing anything more technical than that. A waste of features I know but my main issue is stability.

tolien · 3 Dec 2006 at 00:27

You should be able to do the basics through SDM, but the 837's obsolescent now really. I'd probably go for the 2800 (or a newer Cisco).

loltim · 3 Dec 2006 at 00:33

Interesting, might just go for a 2800 then, I was looking at the 837 as I saw one go for £67 last night.

877 is a bit pricey.

tolien · 3 Dec 2006 at 00:37

There's the 857 (which is cheaper then the 877 with a reduced feature set - though still more than the 837, including ADSL2+ support - and should be equally stable), though if you aren't going to go beyond the web interface I'd probably stick with the Draytek.

loltim · 3 Dec 2006 at 00:45

Draytek 2800 is as good as it gets for £100-150?

Edit- or a second hand 857 for £130... hmm

growse · 3 Dec 2006 at 00:48

I really like the 837 - it does the job perfectly for what I need, and is really stable. The only reason I'd upgrade to a 2800 is to play with any extra features if I'm feeling spend-happy

It's a learning curve to configure, but SDM is fairly simple to figure out. It's also fairly compact.

m_cozzy · 3 Dec 2006 at 11:48

yes an 877 is the current version of the 837, however the 837 is still available with 64mb of memory which enables it to run the 12.4 ios.
Draytek - no thanks, I used to think these were a good router until I started a job where we use them, hundreds of them & they truely are dire.
I'm quite happy with my older 837, 48mb ram, includes ips(which the 857 doesn't) and is 100% rock steady stable. If these are available for under £100 then that is a bargin indeed.
The sdm web interface is very poor, plus also takes up space in flash that can be used for a better ios! Command line is the way to go, loads of basic caonfigs on the net for an 837.