Basic Router with Link Aggregation?

[VoodooFarm]

Hi Guys,

I'm really glad I found this forum because I've already read a lot of great info. I was hoping to get some suggestions though.

I'm in the market for a basic router with Link Aggregation as a feature. My main problem is that on Amazon or Newegg all the highest rated routers tend to have common problems (wifi radios dying, bad chipsets, etc.) or they seem solid but don't have an option for link aggregation. My ideal budget is around $150 max, but if it's worth it to spend a bit more I would. My main requirements are just having a 5ghz band (tri band would be a plus though, but I know those run pricier) and link aggregation. I'm not really looking to run anything custom like DD-WRT and I don't care about USB ports since I have more than one dedicated NAS. My house is about 1700sq ft so it isn't exactly huge and most standard antennas will cover it.

Honestly the Phicom K3C in the review section (I think it's listed at #3 overall?) was what I was considering after I read the review, but it doesn't look like it has link aggregation and the amazon reviews have a consistent trend of it dying after a short time of use.

 

[RMerlin]

My advice is to rely on a switch to handle LAG. you won't find LAG support into entry-level routers, and they might also be more prone to compatibility issues than a managed switch.

 

[VoodooFarm]

My advice is to rely on a switch to handle LAG. you won't find LAG support into entry-level routers, and they might also be more prone to compatibility issues than a managed switch.

I do have a managed switch for link aggreggation, the router link aggreggation is what I wanted so my switch would have more bandwidth to the router and then wireless devices around the house.

 

[L&LD]

I do have a managed switch for link aggreggation, the router link aggreggation is what I wanted so my switch would have more bandwidth to the router and then wireless devices around the house.

What are your ISP speeds? What additional bandwidth and for which devices are needed?

 

[RMerlin]

I do have a managed switch for link aggreggation, the router link aggreggation is what I wanted so my switch would have more bandwidth to the router and then wireless devices around the house.

There's a good chance that the bottleneck for your wireless client will be the wifi itself, not the 1 Gbps link between the router and the switch.

To take advantage of LAG between the router and the switch you would need Ethernet clients connected to the router itself, in addition to the wifi clients.

 

[Trip]

Have you considered simply upgrading to 10GB uplink ports? This would probably require a new router and switch, but that would give you a native 10X speed bump without the L3 of overhead doing LAG across routed interfaces. Just a thought to chew on.

 

[kc6108]

I have a Netgear R8500. It is a beast of a router and supports LACP LAG. Also, in addition to it's main dual-core CPU, it has three additional co-processors, as well as, a top notch QoS implementation... even better than the R7800's StreamBoost QoS IME. It can also handle gigabit Internet with ease... even with QoS enabled.