Cisco RV vs EdgeRouter vs PepLink Balance vs ________ for Dual WAN Failover Router

[Avery]

Would like to have a simple to manage, yet solid home network and am looking for a new router (not wi-fi... I have Ruckus R510 EPs) that works well when it comes to WAN failover and failback.

How do Cisco RV and EdgeRouter compare for failover/failback? What other similar-grade options should I consider? VPN is a plus, preferably low or no cost.

Thank you!

 

[Christos]

I have been using Edgerouter for a year. A wizard helps you set it as WAN, Switch (depending on model) and Dual Wan wilth loadbalance or failover. This wizard is very simple and it sets firewall rules as well. Qos is also simple to setup.
I have not used VPN on it. It supports L2tP and Openvpn. You can also install Tailscale on it.

 

[RMerlin]

I never worked with Edgerouters, but my past experience with RV products for failover WAN was fairly positive. Management was also quite simple.

 

[Christos]

This is the setup wizard for load balancing / failover on Edgerouter.
You may add more than 2 WAN interfaces. I have not tried it to see how reliable it is, though.

 

[Avery]

Ok - thank you both! It sounds like they are both would suit the need pretty well. I just need to investigate to see which will be better for me, and understand if using a cisco POE switch if there is any advantage to going the RV route. As I understand, the RV345/340/etc come with licenses for VPN, as of 2019 - so no additional fees to use VPN.

I think I read somewhere that the RV345 would support a cellular usb dongle... though I'm not clear on that. I'm just trying to add some internet redundancy, while also knowing if the backup is 4g, I need a physically exterior antenna. Likely those USB dongles don't support that, though I think some of the Verizon routers do.

 

[coxhaus]

All the Cisco RV340. RV345 series routers support USB cellular backup.

The Cisco RV340 series routers support load balancing by bandwidth not sure you would want to do that with cell backup.

 

[Avery]

Thanks, coxhaus - that is definitely an advantage. Nice to hear the RV340 also has it. Agreed... that would be for failover only. I have to see if any of those USB cell dongles can use an external antenna.... metal roof really degrades a lot of stuff, and cell reception isn't great here, to begin with.

 

[Avery]

@coxhaus @RMerlin - looks like per this page and an October 2021 announcement from Cisco, the RV340 and RV345 routers (and other RV) are end of life. Odd it doesn't show that on this page, though I guess I found the page searching on 'RV340'.

I don't seem to be able to find any other SMB routers. Did Cisco stop making SMB on-prem routers, or am I missing another offering?

Avery

 

[Avery]

This Reddit Thread is on the topic... sounds like something is in the mix but not yet announced. It is so bad Cisco would EOL a product line with no replacement, and then only give 1 yr of security support (now less than 10 months)... is that common for Cisco?

 

[coxhaus]

I think the chip shortage is probably coming into play here with Cisco.

 

[Tech9]

@Avery, don't buy RV34x in 2022, unless it's under $100 and you use it for Dual WAN only.

 

[Christos]

I wouldn’t invest on Edgerouters either.
The ER-X is value for money and ER4 is a great performer for the money you spend, but nothing more expensive than those two.

 

[coxhaus]

@Avery, don't buy RV34x in 2022, unless it's under $100 and you use it for Dual WAN only.

You are not going to find a RV345 for that cheap. You can find a RV340 for that. Trying to find a RV345p is going to be impossible as people still want them.

 

[Tech9]

You are not going to find a RV345 for that cheap.

RV345 is not needed for Dual WAN only. RV340 is good enough with 2x WAN + 4x LAN ports.

 

[Avery]

I wouldn’t invest on Edgerouters either.
The ER-X is value for money and ER4 is a great performer for the money you spend, but nothing more expensive than those two.

I'm a bit confused.... do you mean don't spend much on Edgerouters? They all seem to be a part of the EdgeRouter series

I don't think I'd need more than 4 ports, but you all can let me know how I might approach the network topology otherwise. I would see the firewall/router/vpn with 2 WANs connected and 1-2 managed switches attached (daisy chaining any additional switches off of those). So I'd need 4 ports in total. I see:

EdgeRouter X - 5 ports (+ optional SFP)
EdgeRouter 4 - 4 ports + SFP (1 port labeled 'console')
RV340 (or it's future replacement) - 2 wan ports + 4 LAN ports

From a port perspective, it seems they would all work, assuming the ER-4 'console' port can be used for WAN or LAN?

I assume there is an SFP - RJ45 adapter that can be used.

Note: Use case here is in a good sized home with structured wiring, PoE cameras/doorbells, and a number of other smart home/IoT/automation + standard computing and theater. Right now we only have 100Mb internet, which is fine for our use. VPN usage is once a month to login and grab a file or something... really low usage. I want to keep power consumption and # of network devices low/compressed, such that when working off UPS power, etc - it will stay on as long as possible.

 

[Christos]

I assume there is an SFP - RJ45 adapter that can be used.

Yes there is and the cost is about $13.
You can get the EdgeRouter X - 5 ports (no SFP) + a cheap TP-link 4G router instead of a usb cellular.

 

[coxhaus]

I want to keep power consumption and # of network devices low/compressed, such that when working off UPS power, etc - it will stay on as long as possible.

The problem with this is so many devices drop off the network like desktops, printers, IoT devices. A UPS backup device is very limited. They are only really good for small power interruptions to keep key devices like modem and router running. Much else and you are going down a rabbit hole spending lots of money and still limited.

I had a 100-pound APC in my rack at home for my UPS. There are still things you cannot keep running. And there are still things that can happen like the phone company hose up your modem that can't be fixed except by a reboot.

 

[sfx2000]

looks like per this page and an October 2021 announcement from Cisco, the RV340 and RV345 routers (and other RV) are end of life.

With Cisco, EOL is not the same as End of Support.

EOL just means it's being dropped from the current product lineup...

 

[RMerlin]

With Cisco, EOL is not the same as End of Support.

EOL just means it's being dropped from the current product lineup...

End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco Small Business RV340 and RV345 Series

Cisco announces the end-of-sale Cisco Small Business RV340 and RV345 Series. The last day to order the affected product(s) is October 28, 2021. Customers will continue to receive phone support from the Cisco Small Business Support Center (SBSC) as shown in Table 1 of the EoL bulletin. Table 1...

www.cisco.com

End of software update support is October 2022. That's awfully close for a security device.

This pretty much shows how Cisco considers this product line:

There is no replacement available for the Cisco Small Business RV340 and RV345 Series at this time.

Meaning for them, the RV series is just a legacy Linksys product, and they don't really care anymore about that market segment.

 

[Christos]

End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco Small Business RV340 and RV345 Series

Cisco announces the end-of-sale Cisco Small Business RV340 and RV345 Series. The last day to order the affected product(s) is October 28, 2021. Customers will continue to receive phone support from the Cisco Small Business Support Center (SBSC) as shown in Table 1 of the EoL bulletin. Table 1...

www.cisco.com

End of software update support is October 2022. That's awfully close for a security device.

This pretty much shows how Cisco considers this product line:



Meaning for them, the RV series is just a legacy Linksys product, and they don't really care anymore about that market segment.

While I agree with the biggest part of your argument, I have to consider the current shortage in chips, plus the pandemic that has postponed R&D for many products. Maybe Cisco waits until the last moment (October 2022) in order to develop a better model or just deliver a new model. Sony and Microsoft released new consoles that still cannot be found in any shop. Is it any different/better?