Spec me a router for the office

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
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Location
Bristol
Looking for a new router for the office. Our current Asus RT-AC88U router seems to have developed a fairly 'common' problem in that LAN ports 4-8 stop working every ~3 weeks or so until a hard reboot. Don't want to rely on it in case it dies completely and it's a pain as it is. Was bought July 2017 anyway so it's done its time!

I need a reliable router that will cope with a 1Gbps connection with a lot of throughput, ~11 desktop devices and ~15 mobile/smart devices. 8 LAN ports is fine, and a decent enough WiFI signal for an open-plan 1400sq/ft room. So nothing crazy, really. The current router is absolutely fine if it wasn't for this issue.

TIA!
 
Russinating said:
8 LAN ports is fine
Click to expand...

I'd start by separating out that requirement to a separate network switch/switches, as most "business" grade routers only come with 4 ports (your AC88U being more of a home enthusiast router).

For Wireless Ubiquiti Unifi access points are great, and give you the option to easily expand in the future.
 
We've got a TP-Link TL-SG3216 JetStream 16 Port switch in a server cabinet already, just haven't had the need to use it due to the current router having enough LAN ports. Perhaps it's better I switch to that (no pun intended) for the hub switch? There's then 3x 8-port switches dotted around the office at each desk point which currently feed 2-4 desktops.

If so any recommendations on the router? Or stick with what we've got but not use the router's LAN ports?
 
Have a few concerns here, firstly ASUS router... in a business environment.... where you have business class switches in a server cabinet and aren’t using them... that sets alarm bells off for me. Did you have someone who was dealing with the IT/Networking side at some point and they left and it’s now descended to whatever the local seller of consumer grade stuff has on the shelf? Before dismissing the question, please understand it’s directly related to what I would suggest hardware wise as pitching something like an ER-X/AC-Lite or UDM carries a certain expectation that someone is willing/able to actually manage it periodically and the learning curve is slightly steeper than the consumer grade stuff that you have been using.

If you give us an idea of budget/any special requirements and technical ability, you’ll get better advice.
 
@Avalon. No, I manage everything. We're only a small business of 9 so IT requirements are fairly minimal, and (I'd like to think!) fairly well managed across the board. But yes, not a networking pro, but also what we need at the moment doesn't require that level of hardware/expertise (bar the broken 4 ports!).

The reason for the router is it was bought coming up to 3 years ago, and back then we were 5 people in a much smaller office (circa 350sq/ft) so it was perfectly fine. It replaced a TalkTalk router so it was a massive upgrade. When it was purchased it was highly rated - even for small offices believe it or not - and was one of the few that could handle a 1Gbps throughput without spending a lot more just because it had business in the name. Believe it or not even £300 (at the time) was a reasonable cost for a micro business on top of having the new line etc put in!

The 16-port switch was in use at that time because the gigabit line entered the building 3 floors down in a basement store room so was needed to route the incoming gigabit line and other LAN devices down there. We needed a cabinet for the ISP's device anyway so it made sense to spend not much more (if at all) and get a cabinet switch rather than a desktop one. We've since moved office where the router and switch sit in exactly the same place so there was simply no requirement to use the switch. Conversely WiFi signal is absolutely fine so no need to split them up.

Does that clear things up/give some reasoning?
 
Get a separate switch and access point (you can do the Meraki webinar if you want a free one), and use a Netgate pfSense appliance like an SG-5100. I'm not aware of any actually good routing platform that has integrated Wi-Fi that is worth using - maybe the Cisco RV340W would fit the bill but it's got a pretty basic set of options.
 
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