[SGVLUG] Recommendations for > 100 MBbs routers

[Dan Buthusiem]

1) 3 port is $100, 5 port is $50. 3 port has three router interfaces and is
built to be a pure router. 5 port has one internal router interface and 5
external switch ports, allowing it to be configured to act like the kind of
4 port Linksys/Netgear/DLink home "router" all-in-ones you're used to,
minus the wifi. Considering you intended this to be a set and forget
network appliance, I'd recommend the 5 port EdgeRouter X, as it'd give you
the closest thing to what you had in mind with minimal power cabling and
the lowest cost, though there's reason to believe the switch is a
bottleneck that could limit your WAN to LAN performance if you push it hard
enough (hard as in harder than 500Mbps). I haven't tested it, since all of
my EdgeRouter X 5 port routers have gone to friends.

2) Yes. Configure your existing APs so that DHCP is not enabled, give them
an IP other than 192.168.1.1 (use 192.168.1.2 for example), then connect
their LAN port to a LAN port on the EdgeRouter. Unifi controllers control
any Ubiquiti Unifi APs you may decide to purchase at some point in the
future. My DDWRT flashed Netgears work fine with the EdgeRouter.

3) If you want to use a switch, a dumb switch will simply "split" the port
coming out of the router. That should work with any switch, and has worked
fine with the various pieces of Netgear, TPLink, and ASUS gear I've
connected with mine. I also had my erlite3 trunked to a Netgear "smart"
switch using 802.1q and it worked fine, though the Netgear switch's config
was kind of weird (they required the VLANs to be set in two different pages
for each port).

On Aug 21, 2016 12:04 AM, "Claude Felizardo" <cafelizardo at gmail.com> wrote:

Okay I think I'm nearly sold on this.  Would have liked to have attended
the BBQ today to ask questions in person but I'm out town right now. A few
more questions:

1) what is the difference between the 3 port and the 5?  Is it just number
of ports?  Any particular models I should consider?  I like the ability of
being able to configure ports to be WAN or LAN on same or different
networks.

2) can I use my existing WiFi routers as APs or do the Wizards work only
with their equipment?  What's this about a Unifi controller?

3) you mention possibly needing smart switches. Will it work with a TP-Link
smart switch or only theirs?  I believe I need at least one more switch
assuming I can use the ports on the dedicated router else I may need yet
another.

Claude




On Aug 19, 2016, at 9:31 PM, Munjal Thakkar <m00njal at gmail.com> wrote:

Jess,

You are right as this unit is a router only, and is meant to be used with a
switch, dumb or managed. However there are wizards included to auto config
a Soho setup easily to allow eth0 to be wan and eth1 and eth2 a switch. Or
you can manually configure all three ports for three different networks,
etc.

The Er-x has the same wizard, which essentially makes it a really good
router with built in switch, because it has a total of 5 ports.  Think of
it as an off the shelf router without wireless at that point when you run
the built in wizard. Then you add any access point of your choice and off
you go.

Example I have in production:
100/50mbps FiOS connection in Santa Monica at a cafe.

Running an er-x with a regular UAP with 1 Poe injector powering both. Have
a guest Network and 2 internal networks.

Area is about 3500sqft (open space) with business critical applications
running on the internal wifi. This includes delivery tablets from Uber and
GrubHub, and a VoIp and Fax ata also for delivery orders, PoS systems, and
some wifi ip cameras. That's right, this business runs their voice services
on the wifi setup by the UAP. No call quality issues.

Now the guests, automatically firewalled off to internal network and
manages About 35 -55 guests simultaneously with heavy traffic during peak
hours. Lunch weekdays and breakfast weekends. This setup has never once had
in issue in 18 months or a power cycle. CPU on router never even breaks
10-15 % .

If I haven't convinced you how much these devices kick ass, I don't know
what will!

On Aug 19, 2016 21:21, "Jess Bermudes" <jbermudes at gmail.com> wrote:

> Claude,
>
> In case you're not familiar, the reason the EdgeRouter Lite have 3 ports
> is because the device is only a router. Each of those jacks is meant to
> represent a different network you're connecting together, but I think you
> can make them behave like a switch in the GUI if you dig around. You'll
> likely want hardware switches if you want to have more things plugged in,
> but then you might want to start doing more sophisticated things with your
> network in which case the dumb switches won't be enough and you'll want to
> start looking into things like managed switches, in which case your budget
> either has to expand or now those all-in-one router/switch combos off the
> shelf start looking tempting again.
>
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 8:54 PM, Munjal Thakkar <m00njal at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Claude,
>>
>> For your home use, the ER-X router is more than enough for your needs. It
>> has more ports, has POE Pass through, and has been tested to do well with
>> 400-500mbps WAN connections/throughput.
>>
>> The UAPs seem pricey, but honestly they are not for how they perform.
>> Their performance and reliability matches that of competitor (*cough
>> meraki*) APs that range $200 or more.
>>
>> For your setup, I suggest a ER-X router, with just 1 UAP-AC access point.
>> This way you have a router, and the UAP-AC comes with a PoE injector. That
>> Single injector will power the ER-X router and the UAP through the pass
>> through port, for minimal wiring, power supplies, and so that you can
>> remote mount the UAP-AC wherever you need to in your house for best
>> performance (it'll be fine).
>>
>> I didnt watch this full video, but I think he shows how you can connect
>> what I am describing. That is WAN MODEM>POE INJECTOR> ERX ROUTER>UAP (via
>> ethernet)
>>
>> I have this setup at home, but will take a picture later today.
>>
>> If you go to  this route, you'll have an enterprise router, that is
>> consumer friendly, and also enterprise Wifi, that is consumer friendly, and
>> all very budget friendly. The ER-X is $50-60 online and so you save there,
>> and your UAP-AC is $85 or so. Total cost is less than $150.
>>
>> Didn't even mention the awesome Unifi Software (free) that is available
>> to manage the UAP. 4 SSIDs, channel scan, and flexibility to really tweak
>> performance gains. I'll gladly setup a sample Unifi Controller for you to
>> poke around in if you'd like. Just let me know. (no I dont work for UBNT or
>> even own their stock).
>>
>> Best,
>> Munjal
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 8:22 PM, Claude Felizardo <cafelizardo at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Ok, after going over the various responses, I see what you guys were
>>> getting at.  It is annoying having to reconfigure an all-in-one every time
>>> you do an update either because of new WiFi features or in my case, I need
>>> a true gigabit router.  I did start out with individual components
>>> originally...
>>>
>>> When I moved my old wifi router which I was using as an extender for the
>>> TWC internet from the living room to the wiring closet to test with the
>>> Giggle Fiber modem, I inadvertently caused the signal to drop in the kids
>>> bedrooms and my daughter managed to go through 1.5 GB of data in about a
>>> week on our shared mobile data plan before I noticed.  But now I have the
>>> all-in-one wifi/router back in the living room with no other devices
>>> connected to the giggle fiber feed.  I used a Wifi analyzer app and I was
>>> amazed how quickly the signal drops out around the house and my house isn't
>>> big at all.  Must be the walls and stuff.  I may have to get a beefier
>>> router with stronger radios...
>>>
>>> So I'm looking at the ubiquity elite 3 but it only has 3 LAN ports and I
>>> think I may need at least 2 AP's. Wow, this stuff really looks cool but
>>> isn't this overkill for a single storey house under 2000'?  And the
>>> individual AP's aren't cheap and I'd still need to get PoE injectors.  So
>>> with at least 2 remote switches and a 3rd in the closet, I guess the 3-port
>>> router could work but I'd need to pick up 2 more gigabit switches.  Or else
>>> there's the EdgeRouter X?   Sheesh.  So you just install these AP's like
>>> wired smoke detectors in the ceiling wherever you need them?  Hmm...
>>>
>>> Claude
>>>
>>
>>
>
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