Need advice / Cisco RV180 maybe?

[R32Raines]

So I’m looking to get a small business grade wired router. Preferred cost in the $100-200 range. Wireless not needed. This will be for my home. I plan to replace the router I already have. Internet connection is a 100 down/40 up ftth connection from TDS telecom. Cat5 from the ONT to my router. TDS provides an Actiontec V1000H, but I'm not/don't want to use it.

I currently have a Zyxel USG20 router/firewall that I’m sick of because it can be complicated to configure and doesn’t offer some of the functions I want/need. This Zyxel connects to a Cisco SG200-26 26-port gigabit smart switch. The switch is about 2/3’s full of devices, then an Asus RT-N66U as the wireless AP. The switch and AP I am keeping in service.

Needs/wants for the new router are:
VPN that supports PPTP.
Multicast/IGMPv3 (for my TDS Telecom IPTV service/set top boxes).
Good firewall capabilities that are relatively easy to configure.
UPnP (for multiple Xboxes to work properly).
GUI based configuration.
Easy ipv6 configuration.
Gigabit.
Would also “like” to have UTM firewall grade features like my existing Zyxel, but not required.

I’m currently looking at a Cisco RV180. The only feature it appears to be lacking is IGMPv3. It has v2 from what I can tell, but correct me if I’m wrong. The Cisco switch I have supports v3, and the TDS service requires it to work. I like the RV180 as this is what I installed in my church for their network, and for my doctor, when he needed a VPN.

I prefer running stock firmware on the device if it is business grade. However, I am not opposed to running DD-WRT on a very “high performance” home router, but prefer the first option. I am also open to running a dedicated PC with a software firewall, such as PFSense, Sophos, M0n0wall, etc..: but with that option, I am having trouble finding details on which distro does what I need.

All comments, suggestions, and knowledge are appreciated!

 

[R32Raines]

Wow, at this point, over 100 views and no replies. Surely someone has some comment.

 

[Dreamslacker]

I'd recommend pfSense if you're comfortable with running a PC as a router.

It will do most of what you need (with packages where necessary):

VPN that supports PPTP. - Definitely supports out-of-box. Personally tested this with droids, Win7 native client & IOS mobile devices.

Multicast/IGMPv3 (for my TDS Telecom IPTV service/set top boxes). - Use IGMP proxy function.

Good firewall capabilities that are relatively easy to configure. - WebGUI with easy configuration if you understand basic network traffic flows or ACLs.

UPnP (for multiple Xboxes to work properly). - Supported out of box.
GUI based configuration. - Yup.

Easy ipv6 configuration. - Seen users' reports on having it working for them. Didn't buy an IPv6 subnet for myself form ISP to test. Supported OoB with latest pfSense 2.1.

Gigabit. - If you have support Gigabit NICs.

Would also “like” to have UTM firewall grade features like my existing Zyxel, but not required. - Has SNORT, Squid & Squidguard packages you can download and install for this.

If you have a spare PC with at least 2 supported NICs (most of the older Realtek, Broadcom & Intel NICs are), you can always install and test it out before commiting. You can also use a thumbdrive with the NanoBSD VGA image to try out (if you don't want to install onto the HDD for testing) to play safe.

 

[thiggins]

Business class and UTM type routers are more difficult to configure than consumer routers. It is just the nature of the beast. ZyXEL UTMs actually have a good combination of the features you want at a reasonable price.

You can try a Cisco RV, but they seem to have lost the formula for good firmware in recent models. But if you already have experience with it and like it, then buy it.

 

[R32Raines]

Good info about pfsense. I'm going to look into that.

And I agree that the Zyxel UTMs are very good devices, but I'm not a fan of the object based configuration, and the USG20 that I have lacks features I need. Any suggestions for a different Zyxel model?

I'm a bit torn between the Cisco RV180 and the Cisco ISA550. The 180 lacks IGMPv3, and the 550 lacks a pptp vpn server.

Any other suggestions or ideas anyone?

 

[Dreamslacker]

I am fairly certain that the ISA500 series support PPTP VPN server functions albeit limited to a single server and fairly low user limits depending on the model.

 

[R32Raines]

From what I can tell, reading its specs, reading the admin guide, and using Cisco's online emulator; the ISA550 supports pptp pass through, but it won't actually function as the pptp server. Correct me if I'm wrong though. I looked everywhere for the server setup in it's settings, and can't find anything.

 

[Dreamslacker]

My mistake, I was thinking of the RV series. Seems odd that the ISA series won't do this (PPTP). For some reason, I remember reading that the ISA570 does (could be a mistake in my supplier's documentation). Looks like I've gotta roll out an ISR router for my customer instead.

 

[R32Raines]

My mistake, I was thinking of the RV series. Seems odd that the ISA series won't do this (PPTP). For some reason, I remember reading that the ISA570 does (could be a mistake in my supplier's documentation). Looks like I've gotta roll out an ISR router for my customer instead.

I really wish the 550 would do pptp. I like the device otherwise. Decent price, pretty powerful, good features... almost exactly what I want. At this point though, I've been playing with pfsense, and I think I'm gonna go that route... running on an old dual core athlon 64 with 4 gigs of ram.

 

[matthelm]

My only gripe with my RV180, is the LONG, LONG boot time! I've booted computers from floppy drives in less time that it takes to boot/reboot.

 

[Dreamslacker]

I really wish the 550 would do pptp. I like the device otherwise. Decent price, pretty powerful, good features... almost exactly what I want. At this point though, I've been playing with pfsense, and I think I'm gonna go that route... running on an old dual core athlon 64 with 4 gigs of ram.

pfSense is nice and fairly easy to configure but requires decent knowledge of basic networking concepts like subnets, ACLs and directionality (from interface perspective).

If you're a CCNA or have enough knowledge to prep for one then it should be real easy and a joy to use (except for traffic shaping with HFSC - it's a dark art).

 

[R32Raines]

Yes, agreed. Definitely need some knowledge. Which I do, and I have a networking degree from ITT Tech.

Unfortunately I'm having problems getting IGMP functioning properly through the firewall... but apparently so do many other people from my research.