Most reliable wifi router for small business?

[Wrybread]

I'm installing a router in a small business that keeps having to reboot their Netgear router (not sure of model number). They have 8 computers hard wired and the usual assortment of wifi devices (probably 20 including cellphones). They don't mind spending a few bucks.

Does anyone have some recommendations for what routers might be a good fit? At this point the reliability is the biggest factor.

Are the Asus routers pretty good reliability wise?

Thanks for any help.

 

[hyelton]

I'm installing a router in a small business that keeps having to reboot their Netgear router (not sure of model number). They have 8 computers hard wired and the usual assortment of wifi devices (probably 20 including cellphones). They don't mind spending a few bucks.

Does anyone have some recommendations for what routers might be a good fit? At this point the reliability is the biggest factor.

Are the Asus routers pretty good reliability wise?

Thanks for any help.

I would highly recommend ASUS routers. Just get a decent priced one and set it up and never touch it.

I have an AC68U setup at a local gym. A few computers, 4 chromecasts streaming 24/7 , 10 separate WiFi cameras, and during the day an average of 30 or so at a time on the Guest Network. It handles everything very well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[System Error Message]

you could always go for non consumer, even better.
With asus as well some models arent exactly great. The problem can sometimes be firmware or PSU but the asus AC88U/3100 comes with a decent PSU. Netgear however i end up rebooting their modem every so often which is something i am angry about. In the past i never had any reliability issues from netgear's prosafe switch line but their modem and router line may not have the quality that they have in their non consumer line.

 

[thiggins]

Please post the model number of the NETGEAR router for better advice.

It's not normal to have to reboot a router frequently. It might be a good step to investigate what is causing the router to reboot, i.e. dropped internet, Wi-Fi disconnects, total lockup, etc.

Any router installed should be put on a UPS. Failing power supplies sometimes make it look like the router is failing.

 

[Klueless]

Reliability? Sadly, I've never seen reliability figures for routers like you see in Consumer Reports for cars.

I have noticed reviews for "new" routers to be significantly better than reviews for the same router on "refurbished" sites which strongly suggests buy new.

For what little it's worth I've had great luck with both Asus and Netgear. While my Linksys 54G ran forever I did not have good luck with my more recent Linksys.

Myself I always lean towards Asus. I like the User Interface and I love the built-in traffic monitor.

If you're looking for reliability you're also looking maximum up-time and the built-in traffic monitor is a useful tool for trouble shooting thus it can enhance up-times. Outside of a hard router failure when you're having trouble your first call is often to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and more likely than not they will tell you the problem is on your end or that you need more bandwidth.

Well if you're flying in the blind you might have to take their word for it but if your traffic monitor is showing little to no traffic you might start second guessing them.

Or conversely you might notice an iPhone saturating your up-link. (Yeah, that brand-new iPhone trying to "sync" everything can wreak havoc with a small network.) Traffic Monitor can help you locate a problem and then you can shut down the bad actor or mitigate the damage with QoS.

Stock Asus firmware gives you traffic monitor (not bad for a consumer grade router) and RMerlin (a free 3rd party firmware offering) ups the ante by giving you traffic by device.

Router reliability is important but I guess my point is planning for failure can also improve up-times / overall network reliability.

• I keep a duplicate router, loaded and configured like my work router running at home. (Yes, my home router looks like the car lot.)
• I have the traffic monitor up and running on an extra display at work.
• I have a copy of PingPlotter overlayed on my traffic montor display.
• I keep a WiFi analyzer and local LAN speed tests in my toolbox. (Periodically I'll even check things ... just because.)

Towards overall network reliability I, like you, hardwired what I could. Then I implemented a layered SSID approach. I connected a nearby PC (and a range extender in the building next door) to "faster" at 5GHz. I connected another PC to "further" at 2.4GHz. Work related devices (smart phones, tablets) connect to "BYOD" (Bring Your Own Device) which supports both 5 and 2.4. All others go to "guest" which also supports 5 and 2.4.

The idea was if we started having crazy problems and no time to trouble shoot we could simply disable "guest" and see if things got better, then disable "BYOD" and see if things got better ... all without knocking down "production" / "managed" devices. Again I give the nod to Asus because it accommodated my crazy scheme.

 

[pege63]

I would go for the ASUS BRT-AC828

 

[Cake]

I would not choose a consumer router. Go for a qotom box, put opnsense on it, and plug in a reliable ubiquity pico-station AP. 8 computers, guess you will need a switch, but they probably have that already if that Netgear has the typical 4 ports on the back. Like mentioned above if money is no issue, but reliability is get a small UPS for it.
I have this setup and am away from it for months at a time. 100% up time, and opnsense has a bunch of bells and whistles. I think your looking at the same price as a fancy consumer router in a fancy box compared to a qotom.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm installing a router in a small business that keeps having to reboot their Netgear router (not sure of model number). They have 8 computers hard wired and the usual assortment of wifi devices (probably 20 including cellphones). They don't mind spending a few bucks.

Stability can be a concern in a small business when dealing with consumer grade router/AP's...

Need to know/understand a bit more about the network in general - with 8 computers, rule of thumb is multiple that times three - so 24 total clients is probably a good place to start - 1/3 wired, the other 2/3's wireless.

How many square feet are you trying to cover? What's the WAN provider (access tech and bandwidth provided)? What is the business doing? General office, hospitality, medical, legal, etc?

Folks are going to hate on me for suggesting this - but consider the Cisco RV3** line - bit fiddly to set up, but once up and running, they generally take care of themselves. On the main site, there's a review up on the RV345 that was posted recently, so might be worth looking at.

For WiFi - consider standalone AP's - Engenius has a great lineup, and fairly cost efficient - I've also seen good results with Linksys' small business AP's

For switching - Netgear's ProSafe line is very good, reasonable cost efficient - and you have choices of un-managed, lightly managed, or fully L3 managed - GS108T is an 8 port managed switch that is less than $100USD, and has a good reputation.

 

[Shamtes]

Netgear is a good choice. I think you can have your faith in Netgear. ASUS routers are also good. If you are maintaining it correctly then these are perfectly safe.

 

[Despacitomiko]

I would go for tp-link~

 

[RMerlin]

The Asus RT-AC68U is generally very solid. My record uptime for one of these in one of my customer's offices was over 310 days (extended power outage caused that uptime to be reset). They have a LAN of about 10 employees, and two frequently work over OpenVPN.

Note that we do use a switch on their LAN. Personally, I recommend always using a dedicated switch, and only using one port on the router to uplink to that switch. Better performance than if you start splitting clients between the switch and the router.

I wouldn't recommend the BRT-AC828 at this time, as this model seem to be an odd ball. It doesn't get frequent updates, and is only available in very specific countries. I recommend going with a more mainstream/global model.

For Netgear, it depends on the model you have. Also Tim has a very good point - do make sure the router is on a UPS.

 

[vin]

Captive Portal and VLAN of BRT-AC828 both are useful to me... and the wireless is pretty good!!