ASUS or Ubiquiti

[osuapoc]

Just the matter of free time ))
And still Orbi or AmpliFi can give you the desired result with easier setup process. If you are willing to pay the price

Oh yes, that "free" time has a pretty substantial hourly rate these days. Thanks for the tips on Orbi and AmpliFi, I'll take a look and see what that leads me.

 

[samb]

The best choice would be running business grade gear.
Pay attention that USG WAN is limited to 40Mbps only. Thus my recommendation for router would be some second hand UTM (there are a lot of options for FortiGate 60G/60E for example), so VLANs can be handled there.
Access Point - There are two advantages of AC-Pro that are must IMHO - 3 antennas instead of 2 and support for PoE+, which means that you can use some 1420 series HP switch with it.
Rule of the thumb - in media streaming environments you should deploy 1 AP for every 5-10 users.
And remember that in case you deploy single access point, there is no need for active controller (can be installed for first configuration and uninstalled afterwards).

Are you sure about that USG WAN is limited to 40Mbps only? I am pretty sure the current USG WAN is Gigabit.

 

[Rain Kleyman]

Are you sure about that USG WAN is limited to 40Mbps only? I am pretty sure the current USG WAN is Gigabit.

I meant the USG is limited to 40Mbps WAN due to hardware offload feature. It is not reflected in the datasheet since it's software limitation. But I see users reporting lately that the issue is gone in newer controller versions.

 

[marekop]

I meant the USG is limited to 40Mbps WAN due to hardware offload feature. It is not reflected in the datasheet since it's software limitation. But I see users reporting lately that the issue is gone in newer controller versions.

With new USG/Controller firmware (5.9.29) I can reach 100-110MBits WAN speed with offloads off on my 1GBit FIOS. With offload on, speed is 950-980MBits.

 

[Trentors]

With new USG/Controller firmware (5.9.29) I can reach 100-110MBits WAN speed with offloads off on my 1GBit FIOS. With offload on, speed is 950-980MBits.

Still extremely slow. Why is USG so absurdly underpowered? And they are also weirdly behind in so many ways. Like IPS - Even Synology has implemented it without almost any impact on performance and it is still a rather new segment for them.

 

[marekop]

Still extremely slow. Why is USG so absurdly under powered? And they are also weirdly behind in so many ways. Like IPS - Even Synology has implemented it without almost any impact on performance and it is still a rather new segment for them.

Yes and No. I was thinking a same way until i checked my daily/monthly internet traffic throughput for download and upload. I have 68 clients (clients wifi, servers, iptv etc...) and my throughput very rare is above 20-50MBits (usually 5-10MBits). So the question is: do you really need 1GBit speed all the time? I my case I can easily answer - NO! and USG3P is more than enough stuff for my needs even with IPS/QOS on. I'm feeling more comfortable with Ubiquiti stuff and with their update policy than with my fresh newest and very expensive Samsung Galaxy S9+ which will be old after February presentation of the new Galaxy S10.

 

[Trentors]

Yes and No. I was thinking a same way until i checked my daily/monthly internet traffic throughput for download and upload. I have 68 clients (clients wifi, servers, iptv etc...) and my throughput very rare is above 20-50MBits (usually 5-10MBits). So the question is: do you really need 1GBit speed all the time? I my case I can easily answer - NO! and USG3P is more than enough stuff for my needs even with IPS/QOS on. I'm feeling more comfortable with Ubiquiti stuff and with their update policy than with my fresh newest and very expensive Samsung Galaxy S9+ which will be old after February presentation of the new Galaxy S10.

I am sorry but that is just an excuse. The matter of fact is almost any half decent Asus router can do 1 gbit/s with all bells and whistles activated. These days it is not difficult to saturate 100 mbit/s in a common family household. And Synology and Asus will keep updating their old devices.

 

[marekop]

I am sorry but that is just an excuse. The matter of fact is almost any half decent Asus router can do 1 gbit/s with all bells and whistles activated. These days it is not difficult to saturate 100 mbit/s in a common family household. And Synology and Asus will keep updating their old devices.

I had Asus and Netgear (R9000) and I'm not thinking to back to this type consumer equipment. The consumer hardware philosophy is different then Ubiquiti. The best part of Ubiquiti is firmware quality and frequent updates. Do you really think that all bells and whistles activated in Asus and Netgear doesn't decreasing their speed? Speaking about Synology: https://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic.php?t=124175&start=15 also privacy is problematic with Asus AiProtection feature: https://www.computerworld.com/artic...-router-warnings-on-privacy-and-security.html
I have nothing against upgrade USG3P especially with same price level but in meantime I'm quite happy with my existing USG.

 

[Trentors]

I had Asus and Netgear (R9000) and I'm not thinking to back to this type consumer equipment. The consumer hardware philosophy is different then Ubiquiti. The best part of Ubiquiti is firmware quality and frequent updates. Do you really think that all bells and whistles activated in Asus and Netgear doesn't decreasing their speed? Speaking about Synology: https://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic.php?t=124175&start=15 also privacy is problematic with Asus AiProtection feature: https://www.computerworld.com/artic...-router-warnings-on-privacy-and-security.html
I have nothing against upgrade USG3P especially with same price level but in meantime I'm quite happy with my existing USG.

Well Netgear sucks in firmware department. But Asus products (and I have deployed MANY) are very stable and the updates are frequent.
Yes there is not performance impact since all of it is hardware accelerated. That is a fact. You can look at Tims CTF scores in his review of a router like RT-AC86U.

And here Synology explains how the made a IPS engine that handles gigabit speeds:
https://blog.synology.com/building-an-intrusion-prevention-system-for-small-businesses-and-homes/

So yes almost no performance impact. I have 1 gbp/s WAN and a GT-AC5300 with all bells and whistles active (adaptive Qos, IPS, etc). It handles 1 gbit fine. So what you are saying is simply not true and it does not help your cause that you don't know this or question it.

Yes privacy is problematic with the AiProtection feature. But I live in a part of the world where we have governments that actually care about privacy so they have to adhere to GDPR. Besides it is the same thing as running any antivirus program on your PC...or even just Windows it seems lately. So it is a none-issue in that context.

PS: I have had the USG, cloud key (1st gen), Ubnt PoE Swith and three AP Pros. I do have first hand experience with their products.

 

[marekop]

Well Netgear sucks in firmware department. But Asus products (and I have deployed MANY) are very stable and the updates are frequent.
Yes there is not performance impact since all of it is hardware accelerated. That is a fact. You can look at Tims CTF scores in his review of a router like RT-AC86U.

And here Synology explains how the made a IPS engine that handles gigabit speeds:
https://blog.synology.com/building-an-intrusion-prevention-system-for-small-businesses-and-homes/

So yes almost no performance impact. I have 1 gbp/s WAN and a GT-AC5300 with all bells and whistles active (adaptive Qos, IPS, etc). It handles 1 gbit fine. So what you are saying is simply not true and it does not help your cause that you don't know this or question it.

Yes privacy is problematic with the AiProtection feature. But I live in a part of the world where we have governments that actually care about privacy so they have to adhere to GDPR. Besides it is the same thing as running any antivirus program on your PC...or even just Windows it seems lately. So it is a none-issue in that context.

PS: I have had the USG, cloud key (1st gen), Ubnt PoE Swith and three AP Pros. I do have first hand experience with their products.

Don't get me wrong. I love Asus GUI and I was almost ready to buy the RT-AX88 but I started to read reviews and saw some tests. Having 2 consumer routers (Linksys/Netgear/Asus) in my 2 locations it was a nightmare to keep the VPN connection with VLANS between them. Often when I did small settings changes it were causing router crash (I have had experience with DD-WRT/Asus/Merlin/Netgear). Many times only one option to reestablish the connection was to go there (20 miles in NYC traffic) and do restart. Now with the Ubiquiti I never had this problems. Sometimes I'm doing some more dip programming and never lose connection between Ubiquiti routers. If you planning use router for the business and not spending a lot of many for the licenses the Ubiquiti is a best choice. I would not to continue this topic. It'll be your choice and I wish you good choice for you.

 

[gA2ZZCnZz]

Pay attention that USG WAN is limited to 40Mbps only.

I have to disagree. I'm researching before purchasing a USG, I already have a UAP-AC-PRO and US-8-60W, and this almost scared me off. But, I see plenty of reports of near gigabit throughput. See https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Routing-Switching/USG-throughput/td-p/1828135

 

[gA2ZZCnZz]

I see my point was already made, I didn't realize I hadn't read the whole thread. Just to contribute to other thoughts here, I always hated Netgear for their firmware and UI and was a for hard Asus fan with Merlin installed. But, unlike those who talk about their router lasting forever, mine only seemed stable for the first year. I wanted features like vlans, but I sold my wife on business class because I wanted it to last. Hopefully it keeps going now...

 

[coxhaus]

I believe the wireless, router and switching are all separate functions and should remain in separate physical boxes. Why have them all together in the same box? If I want to up grade or move my wireless device when they are separate it is easy. What if I want to add more wireless devices? I think it is easier when they are separate physical devices not all in one box. What if you want to run a layer 3 switch? It is kind of tuff with the wireless in the router. Also what if you need to reboot the wireless why take down the router? If they are separate you don't have to take down the router down at the same time as the wireless. I think there are lots reason for separation of functions and physical boxes. Overall I think it makes for a easier network to maintain and upgrade.

 

[L&LD]

I believe the wireless, router and switching are all separate functions and should remain in separate physical boxes. Why have them all together in the same box? If I want to up grade or move my wireless device when they are separate it is easy. What if I want to add more wireless devices? I think it is easier when they are separate physical devices not all in one box. What if you want to run a layer 3 switch? It is kind of tuff with the wireless in the router. Also what if you need to reboot the wireless why take down the router? If they are separate you don't have to take down the router down at the same time as the wireless. I think there are lots reason for separation of functions and physical boxes. Overall I think it makes for a easier network to maintain and upgrade.

I agree that as functions they are separate, but to a user, if any part of the network isn't working it is effectively the same thing to them.

The complexity of a network which you seem to favor is not what most users require, let alone need.

Myself, I may go towards the route you are on. Mostly for my own curiosity and experience. But as a 'need'? I am far from that by a mile.

 

[coxhaus]

My house is too big for 1 wireless device. This dictates going separate in my mind. Plus I have been running a Cisco layer 3 switch for a few years now. I had to upgrade my wireless system. I replaced all 3 Cisco APs with three newer Cisco wireless APs. My router and switch stayed the same with no changes. They never even went down to change out the wireless.