Shoutbox

Well, I'm finally getting broadband, and we have 3 computers that need to connect to a network, maybe more (lan with friends), and I've been looking at some routers. They should be sub-150 pounds, but still pack in:

a broadband modem
wireless (with good range)
4 ethernet ports for wired access (8 if possible)
firewall
discrimination by mac address
good encryption (64 or 128)

I know this is possible, but my dad is suggesting some companies that I have never heard of before, and the router I most desire doesn't have a broadband modem in it (belkin pre-N). Most ISP's give you a USB modem, so we want to avoid that and not pay for them to set it up, and just use our own.

What routers would you reccomend?

I have a linksys WAG54G..It's nice, easy to configure...i'm not sure if it has that Mac adress thingie, but it has wep encryption, 4 ethernet ports and it uses 802.11g(54Mbits per second) and b(11Mbits per second).. If you are buying it, notice that some times it says it cant conect, so you have to switch off the router, unplug all phone cables, plug-in only the router phone cable (RDIS/Analogic*) and then plug everything on again..it will work like that..it's a bit of a payne in the ass, but i guess it just happens to me because i dont update the firmware..i know i should but the last time i did, the router got crazy..

*The router has 2 different models for RDIS and Analogic phone lines..Please ask the salesman about it..they call it index A and B, or something like that..

discrimination by mac address? What's that supposed to be?

If you want a decent router, try Linksys.. Because Linksys is a division of Cisco, one of the worlds biggest network hardware designers (software too), but also stuff like VoIP Phones etc...

Cisco bought Linksys and since then the quality has rise (so has the sales).

All Linksys modem/routers have a SPI (Statefull Packet Inspection) firewall, which is quite good

Most of them have 4 ethernet and 1 WAN (internet) port... You can higher this (the ETH) by using a (cheap) switch....

All of the Linksysses nowadays have 128 bits encryption (64 is possible too) and some of them support WPA2 (better, WPA = better than WEP, more safer.. and WPA2 is more safer then WPA)

I personally don't like products that have got more functions, I dislike the combination of Modem and WiFI...

The reason why is that if your modem dies on you, you don't have a LAN anymore... I think that splitting services is better..

FYI i'm using a SpeedTouch MultiPort ADSL2+ modem which is:
ETH1 -> My PC
ETH2 -> My Switch (which have 4 extra pc's on it
ETH3 -> My Linksys (which have 2 wired and 3 wireless clients)

I have a WRT54GS (with SpeedBooster but I liked the WRT54GS over the WRT54G because the GS has more RAM and stuff)

I put custom firmware in mine which enhanced the functions, it tripled it

With that firmware I can increase the RX/TX (Receiving & Transmission) power The normal firmware doesn't..

If you don't want a Linksys, here are a few brands I have experience with:

* 3Com -> Decent, just like Cisco
* Belkin (Good)
* NetGear
* D-Link

Don't buy a cheap one, because you might be sorry... Keep an eye out for the future, as WIFI will be much more used by hardware and maybe even inhouse equipment

Last but not least... I don't know if there are Broadband (Cable) routers with Wlan, never looked for it as I quit using Cable because of the low line speed possibilities..

I hope this helps you out, if not feel free to ask or PM

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Originally posted by Sypher
Last but not least... I don't know if there are Broadband (Cable) routers with Wlan, never looked for it as I quit using Cable because of the low line speed possibilities..

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Belkin has Cable modems

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Originally posted by Johny

quote:

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Originally posted by Sypher
Last but not least... I don't know if there are Broadband (Cable) routers with Wlan, never looked for it as I quit using Cable because of the low line speed possibilities..

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Belkin has Cable modems

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Cable with WiFi? Hmm nice, didn't knew (didn't look for it either )

quote:

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Originally posted by Sypher
Cable with WiFi? Hmm nice, didn't knew (didn't look for it either )

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I'm 80% sure, when i bought my router i saw linksys and belkin ones..i just picked the belkin one but then i read 'cable' ..but that was 1, 2 years ago, maybe i'm messing my mind

Thanks for all of your views, but although I've had some say in what router we get, my dad's chosen a draytek router, but I'm not complaining because it has all the features we want, and fully functional voip built in. http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor2600v.html if you are interested in the details. IMO a belkin or netgear would have done the job...

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Originally posted by tomfletcherman
good encryption (64 or 128)

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If you mean WEP encryption, I'd really go for WPA instead, it's very easy to decyrpt WEP secured wireless networks, with widely available tools.

yes, it does have wpa also. I'm assuming (seeing as this is really for small business) the range will be very good, so encryption is important. The MAC address thing, means a whitelist of mac addresses, which is what I really meant, itonly lets mac addresses you have entered use the network.