Advice on LAN / WLAN

[LiamFM]

Hi all,
Here's my current setup:

Moto SB6141 running Comcast Blast Plus at (now!) 150/20
Into a Ubiquiti Airrouter which provides great coverage in a 3500 sq ft house and all the way to the neighbors (rural, little to no interference)

I also run a 100T line to a gigabit switch which is hardline to my Macbook Pro and Obihai phone device.

We have about 15 devices on the router, though 75+% runs through my laptop and my home office, hence the ethernet connection.

With the new increased speed for the Comcrap, my ubiquity router just doesn't cut it due to the lack of Gig ports. I'm considering upgrading to an AC router with gig ports.

AC devices in the house: Maybe a 2 phones? Maybe a chromecast (not sure if they are AC). Neither my MBP nor my wife's are new enough to have AC wireless.

Most of the rest of the devices are used for netflix and the like. 2 Chromecasts, a DVD player, phones and tablets, and a wireless printer. We also have 2 thermostats on the network. Again, not bandwidth heavy.

Everything else is N at best and we rarely/never notice any issues with the connection or wifi. Stability is key for me given the fact that I'm on video calls most of the day.

So:
1) do I upgrade the wifi router to an AC router like the RT-AC68U (or open to other suggestions)
2) do I use my current ubiquiti as an AP and purchase something like an edgerouter to handle the gig line going into my office?

Thanks in advance! Look forward to the advice.

 

[System Error Message]

upgrading to the AC68U or similar will improve wifi performance from the newer chips however ubiquiti already has similar APs that provide AC wifi.

IF you want true gigabit speeds for an office, you can either rely on the edgerouter's hardware acceleration or use Mikrotik's non hardware based solution. Mikrotik RB1100AHx2 and CCR1009 will do gigabit but i would be leaning to the CCR1009 as the price performance is way better than the RB1100AHx2 and ubiquiti edgerouter pro. If you want to go with ubiquiti either go with the ER-8 or Er-PRO as they do use embedded flash storage and should have the horsepower needed to use hardware acceleration with firewall configs. The CCR1009 can handle multiple gigabit ISPs at the same time and if you are getting fibre optics, the ERP-PRO and CCRs have SFP which means you could do away with the modem.

For wifi stability using a consumer router as an AP only is stable but just avoid dlink. The UAPs from ubiquiti will do fine if you have been using them already and upgrading to the UAP-AC will give you better wifi but still using ubiquiti's brand.

 

[Trip]

For a 150-200 Mb of NAT with the typical load of rules, etc. you should be able get away with a bit lesser box than an ER-Pro or CCR. I'd think a higher-clock MIPS or mid-clock PPC aughta do it... EdgeRouter X, RB850Gx2, etc.

There's also Peplink to consider if ease-of-use is a factor. Pricey but solid and some of the best end-user support. If extra security desirable, you could also do a gigabit-capable firewall, ala Sophos SG, etc.

 

[LiamFM]

upgrading to the AC68U or similar will improve wifi performance from the newer chips however ubiquiti already has similar APs that provide AC wifi.

IF you want true gigabit speeds for an office, you can either rely on the edgerouter's hardware acceleration or use Mikrotik's non hardware based solution. Mikrotik RB1100AHx2 and CCR1009 will do gigabit but i would be leaning to the CCR1009 as the price performance is way better than the RB1100AHx2 and ubiquiti edgerouter pro. If you want to go with ubiquiti either go with the ER-8 or Er-PRO as they do use embedded flash storage and should have the horsepower needed to use hardware acceleration with firewall configs. The CCR1009 can handle multiple gigabit ISPs at the same time and if you are getting fibre optics, the ERP-PRO and CCRs have SFP which means you could do away with the modem.

For wifi stability using a consumer router as an AP only is stable but just avoid dlink. The UAPs from ubiquiti will do fine if you have been using them already and upgrading to the UAP-AC will give you better wifi but still using ubiquiti's brand.

Thanks SYS Error - lots here to research. I don't think that adding a UAP is going to help me as the bottleneck in the pipe is between the cable modem and the current Ubiquiti AirRouter HP and the 100T connection. I'd have to replace the AR with an Edgerouter or something, then add an AP. The cost of which would be (I think) higher than the AC68U. So I guess my question is, am I better to buy the AC68U and be done with AC and Gig at the same time, or buy it in parts like a gig router and then a UAP to then be able to upgrade just the AP down the road if I wanted to.

 

[LiamFM]

For a 150-200 Mb of NAT with the typical load of rules, etc. you should be able get away with a bit lesser box than an ER-Pro or CCR. I'd think a higher-clock MIPS or mid-clock PPC aughta do it... EdgeRouter X, RB850Gx2, etc.

There's also Peplink to consider if ease-of-use is a factor. Pricey but solid and some of the best end-user support. If extra security desirable, you could also do a gigabit-capable firewall, ala Sophos SG, etc.

Trip - The ERX looks like a possible win. For $50 I can upgrade the system to gigabit technology, have the option to add a POE UAP (AC) in the future should I want to increase my wifi speeds. I don't imagine I'll be seeing another bump from Comcast for a year or two.

One thing to consider - We're a family of 4 (2 small kids)... I work from home and do a lot of video calls and downloads, but I'm by no means a super heavy user. Our average in a month with Comcast is about 300-400 GB. I'm trying to take full advantage of the 150MB speed they are offering via my ethernet connection, but once I'm away from my desk, I've never said "I wish the internet were faster". If I have a huge download, I go plug in, but for anything under 500mb, our 802.11N works just fine for me.

Based on that, am I on track with an ERX? Would you expect I'd max that unit out anytime soon?

 

[System Error Message]

Ah i see you want to have gigabit LAN in which case you have any choice of routers with gigabit ethernet.