DG834G or WAG354G or...

exs · 18 Jan 2006 at 16:07

DG834G or WAG354G or WAG354G or WRV54G or DG834PN

Yes, 5 routers. I am not sure which to choose, but here's my requirements.

Firstly, it needs to be ADSL
Secondly, it needs to be extremly reliable.

Bonuses i'd like;

I want it to share the internet. for example; If i am using the internet (1mb broadband) and downloading at 115kb and another computer tries to use, say 50kbps. i want it to evenly share its total bandwidth.

I'd also like it to be expandable because i don't want to buy another router for a long time, so im presuming the support for ADSL2 (or whatever it is) would be key here. (i'm not sure, you'll have to inform me on this, thanks)

To be able to put any file i wish onto its memory (e.g. 3mb) so i could always have a small webpage online regardless of my computer status.

Anyway, thanks a lot.

Additional notes;

Had two of these both couldn't connect to Pipex. Many hours later and numerous calls to ISP and linksys did'nt help. On advice of linksys i returned them and bought it's bigger brother WAG54GS. Worked with no problems. So if your ISP is pipex save yourself a lot of grief and don't buy this one.

That comment was posted by a guy on *shopping website* on the WAG354G

tolien · 18 Jan 2006 at 17:19

exs said:
I want it to share the internet. for example; If i am using the internet (1mb broadband) and downloading at 115kb and another computer tries to use, say 50kbps. i want it to evenly share its total bandwidth.

AFAIK, none of them will do that.

To be able to put any file i wish onto its memory (e.g. 3mb) so i could always have a small webpage online regardless of my computer status.

Very little chance of that.

james.miller · 18 Jan 2006 at 17:22

you need a 2nd thread on this?

exs · 18 Jan 2006 at 18:18

Well i know for a fact that some of them are able to do that ( not the ones i've listed above )

And "AFAIK, none of them will do that." No way?.. its mainly the whole reason why im buying a new one, i am always getting my flat mate telling me that his itnernet is slow, are you serious?.. i thought a router was suposed to share out the internet.

God, i wish i knew this.. i wouldn't of even bothered with a new router in the first place, i probably could have build a computer and put net limiter on it to distribute the bandwidth evenly so no one at one time can hog the bandwidth even if the other computers are requesting to use some of it.

How do big networks, work then?.. for example the college i used to attend would have a few network machines, what software would they use, or what hardware?

tolien · 18 Jan 2006 at 19:14

exs said:
Well i know for a fact that some of them are able to do that ( not the ones i've listed above )

Er yeah. Few and far between though...

And "AFAIK, none of them will do that." No way?.. its mainly the whole reason why im buying a new one, i am always getting my flat mate telling me that his itnernet is slow, are you serious?..

There's a difference between "fairly" sharing out the connection, and just having a free for all.

i thought a router was suposed to share out the internet.

That's what it does...

How do big networks, work then?.. for example the college i used to attend would have a few network machines, what software would they use, or what hardware?

How long's a bit of string?
Ciscos will do QoS in various shapes and forms, as will umpteen *nix-based router distros.

exs · 18 Jan 2006 at 20:26

tolien said:
Er yeah. Few and far between though...

There's a difference between "fairly" sharing out the connection, and just having a free for all.

That's what it does...

How long's a bit of string?
Ciscos will do QoS in various shapes and forms, as will umpteen *nix-based router distros.

Ok, so how much are we talking when it shares out the internet?.. 5kbps?

Cisco seems to be heavily associated and intergreated with the linksys' routers, but the only router with a modem they have is the "WAG354G" and it doesn't appear to boast cisco, nor Qos.

Thanks.

tolien · 18 Jan 2006 at 21:43

exs said:
Ok, so how much are we talking when it shares out the internet?.. 5kbps?

More, less, it'll vary.

Cisco seems to be heavily associated and intergreated with the linksys' routers, but the only router with a modem they have is the "WAG354G" and it doesn't appear to boast cisco, nor Qos.

Cisco own Linksys. That's as far as it goes.

wesley · 19 Jan 2006 at 11:28

u'll need a cisco router, dunno which model thou

now go and make a 3rd thread

edit: there was a software i tried ages ago for a laugh, cant remember the name thou, small and simple app on win2000, choose what bandwidth u want for each IP in LAN, for example, 200kbps for 10.0.0.2 and 40kbps for 10.0.0.4 etc
think it was shareware

sl33pyhead · 19 Jan 2006 at 13:05

If you want reliability, and Qos (bandwidth management) none on your list are up to the job IMO (on the reliability part alone).
You can forget the bit about the web hosting - never seen a hardware router that can do that.

I'd choose between:

Zyxel Prestige 662HW - a very powerful router. Good firewall and very good bandwith management and Qos features. Had one of these myself. ADSL2/+ compliant too. Rock stable in the nine months I had it.

Linksys WAG54GX2 - new MIMO ADSL router from Linksys. Supports Qos. Currently got one of these although it is in the process of being RMA'd due to having some "overheating" issues. Can't comment on reliability so far.

Draytek Vigor 2800G - upgrade to the good old 2600 and will probably be very good. Lots of useful features like VPN and QoS.

A couple from the Speedtouch range may suit your needs too although I know little about them.

If you are really serious and want to spend more money then you can't go wrong with some of the Cisco 800 series routers, although they aren't the most straightforward to configure.

Whilst all of these are a little more expensive than the choices you listed I certainly think you get what you pay for with routers and for the features and stability it is worth paying a little more IMO.

I'd also ignore the posted comment from that review on some shopping website - absolutly no reason why the WAG354G wouldn't work on Pipex or any other ADSL line. Not that I'd recommend the WAG354G however anyway.

I would however really question your need for QoS - unless you specifically need it for VOIP/Skype/Messenger or gaming you can comfortably do without it, although its probably a nice to have for the future.

sl33pyhead · 19 Jan 2006 at 13:09

exs said:
Cisco seems to be heavily associated and intergreated with the linksys' routers, but the only router with a modem they have is the "WAG354G" and it doesn't appear to boast cisco, nor Qos.

Actually there is the WAG354G, the WAG54G, the WAG54GS and now the WAG54GX2 all with built in ADSL modem.
Linksys is simply now a brand of Cisco, and the only thing they have in common with Cisco kit is a small logo on the box itself.

exs · 19 Jan 2006 at 13:23

wesley said:
u'll need a cisco router, dunno which model thou

now go and make a 3rd thread

edit: there was a software i tried ages ago for a laugh, cant remember the name thou, small and simple app on win2000, choose what bandwidth u want for each IP in LAN, for example, 200kbps for 10.0.0.2 and 40kbps for 10.0.0.4 etc
think it was shareware

Yes, laugh at me for making two threads.. But I simply made another thread to help people in my position find a good router.

There was more hassle at my end than at yours anyway, so perhaps be a little sympathetic and stop being so petty that I made one more.

Also, I am not talking about allocating a specific amount of bandwidth to ports, I’m aiming to reach the fact of balancing out the bandiwdth, so if both computers are downloading (trying to download at full speed) then the result will end up having both computers downloading at say, 60kbps, if the bandwidth total was 120.

sl33pyhead · 19 Jan 2006 at 13:27

exs said:
Also, I am not talking about allocating a specific amount of bandwidth to ports, I’m aiming to reach the fact of balancing out the bandiwdth, so if both computers are downloading (trying to download at full speed) then the result will end up having both computers downloading at say, 60kbps, if the bandwidth total was 120.

This would generally happen without any QoS or Bandwidth management features.

exs · 19 Jan 2006 at 13:36

sl33pyhead said:
If you want reliability, and Qos (bandwidth management) none on your list are up to the job IMO (on the reliability part alone).
You can forget the bit about the web hosting - never seen a hardware router that can do that.

I'd choose between:

Zyxel Prestige 662HW - a very powerful router. Good firewall and very good bandwith management and Qos features. Had one of these myself. ADSL2/+ compliant too. Rock stable in the nine months I had it.

Linksys WAG54GX2 - new MIMO ADSL router from Linksys. Supports Qos. Currently got one of these although it is in the process of being RMA'd due to having some "overheating" issues. Can't comment on reliability so far.

Draytek Vigor 2800G - upgrade to the good old 2600 and will probably be very good. Lots of useful features like VPN and QoS.

A couple from the Speedtouch range may suit your needs too although I know little about them.

If you are really serious and want to spend more money then you can't go wrong with some of the Cisco 800 series routers, although they aren't the most straightforward to configure.

Whilst all of these are a little more expensive than the choices you listed I certainly think you get what you pay for with routers and for the features and stability it is worth paying a little more IMO.

I'd also ignore the posted comment from that review on some shopping website - absolutly no reason why the WAG354G wouldn't work on Pipex or any other ADSL line. Not that I'd recommend the WAG354G however anyway.

I would however really question your need for QoS - unless you specifically need it for VOIP/Skype/Messenger or gaming you can comfortably do without it, although its probably a nice to have for the future.

Thanks a lot, I'm looking into them now.

Zyxel Prestige 662HW
This one looks over-kill for me, i personally don't need all that security gubbins. I know it would be nice to have, but its just a little bit too much for me at the moment.

Linksys WAG54GX2
Since you was saying about it over-heating it's put me off a little.

Draytek Vigor 2800G
This one i like the sound of. The look is terrible, but i don't care about that.

Cisco 800
seems way over-kill for me.. cheapest one i've found comes in at £150.

And about the Qos, well the thing is i download a lot of large files off of the internet, either ftp/http/ etc, and the other computers in the network get heavily affected by this and many times the router we have (not featuring Qos) does not share out the bandwidth.

I usually leave my computer on all day and night downloading, and a lot of the time my flat mate can't get a decent speed when he downloads music albums etc.

I just want a router which will share out bandwidth, has wireless for extended compatibility for the future, one that is robust, and also has support for ADSL2 for the future also.

thanks again.

WAG54GX2 seems extremly good, where as the other older version Seems very bad! (WAG54GS)

sl33pyhead · 19 Jan 2006 at 15:35

There are cheaper options on the Zyxel range - the 660HW for example has most features apart from the fancy antivirus stuff, but is a lot cheaper. Also has Media bandwidth mangement too. Very stable by all accounts. Well worth condiseration.

Drayteks always seem to be well recevied and pretty stable, but I agree the looks are pretty awful - part of the reason I have never tried one personally - I just care too little about the looks if its sat out on my desk.

I wouldn't necessarily be put off by the WAG54GX2 just because I had a duffer. Could have been a one off and all the comments I have seen on it seem pretty positive. Will know more when the replacement turns up.

It seems Linksys just like Netgear seem to be very hit and miss: eg. the DG834GT (Broadcom chipset) is appallingly bad, but the older DG834 (TI AR7 chipset) is very good. Likewise the WAG54GS (and earlier versions of the WAG54G) seems to be pretty bad but the WAG354G although pretty basic seems to be well rated.

PS. Might be inclined to remove the link in your above post.

Dr House · 25 Jan 2006 at 01:13

exs can you contact me by email please

[email protected]

exs · 31 Jan 2006 at 06:49

sl33pyhead said:
There are cheaper options on the Zyxel range - the 660HW for example has most features apart from the fancy antivirus stuff, but is a lot cheaper. Also has Media bandwidth mangement too. Very stable by all accounts. Well worth condiseration.

Drayteks always seem to be well recevied and pretty stable, but I agree the looks are pretty awful - part of the reason I have never tried one personally - I just care too little about the looks if its sat out on my desk.

I wouldn't necessarily be put off by the WAG54GX2 just because I had a duffer. Could have been a one off and all the comments I have seen on it seem pretty positive. Will know more when the replacement turns up.

It seems Linksys just like Netgear seem to be very hit and miss: eg. the DG834GT (Broadcom chipset) is appallingly bad, but the older DG834 (TI AR7 chipset) is very good. Likewise the WAG54GS (and earlier versions of the WAG54G) seems to be pretty bad but the WAG354G although pretty basic seems to be well rated.

PS. Might be inclined to remove the link in your above post.

How is the replacement of the WAG54GX2?.. and have you heard any new stuff about the WAG54G?.. thanks!

kidloco · 31 Jan 2006 at 13:48

really interested in that Linksys WAG54GX2 myself. looks a great piece of kit. just need something to replace my Belkin. allthough its 100% stable, the range is just pants. My PC room is on the same floor as my XBOX360 and only seperated by about 10 - 15 metres yet I still get problems, sometimes the thing goes down to 2 bars. time to upgrade.

kidloco · 31 Jan 2006 at 15:03

Oh, 1 other thing, can anyone reccomned a MIMO adaptor that will work with the above mentioned router and my Xbox360. im currently using a belkin router and the microsoft XBOX360 wireless network adaptor. works OK but struggles with HD content.

sl33pyhead · 31 Jan 2006 at 18:11

exs said:
How is the replacement of the WAG54GX2?

Well the good news is the replacement router has been up and running now for about a week and its been very stable indeed. No ADSL or Wireless dropouts at all and it seems to run a little cooler. I did note that the replacement was made in 11/2005 whereas the original was a really early one from 09/2005 don't know if this makes any difference. Wireless range is exceptionally good as before.
According to the Linksysinfo forum there are a couple of issues with the VPN endpoint functionality although its not something I have used yet or are likely too short term.
Overall very impressed indeed.

sl33pyhead · 31 Jan 2006 at 18:22

kidloco said:
Oh, 1 other thing, can anyone reccomned a MIMO adaptor that will work with the above mentioned router and my Xbox360. im currently using a belkin router and the microsoft XBOX360 wireless network adaptor. works OK but struggles with HD content.

The WAG54GX2 is supposed to improve throughput and range from "standard" non MIMO adapters too. The only Airgo based MIMO adapters I know of are either PCMCIA or PCI card based - no USB at the moment. Its worth noting that both Linksys and Belkin MIMO/Pre-N adapters are both made by Airgo themselves so should be interchangeable.