Need recommendation on router and two access points

[BigDog]

Need Recommendation for primary router and two access points. Current routers are four years old so time to upgrade. I have a large home wired with gigabit network. About 50 devices network with about 25 of those on wireless. I have 150Mbps up and down internet, and backup internet from another provider at 100Mbps--so need dual WAN capability for fail over. Current access points are wired into primary router.

Range and performance are primary concerns. Dont do gaming, mostly 4k streaming. Want primary router to have at least one 3.0 USB for a NaS server. Ideally want seamless roaming between the primary router and access points. I am an advanced tech pro, so UI is not much of a concern. Primary and access points need to have at least four GIGE ports for attaching devices locally. Want to ideally stay under $1000 for all three devices.

 

[pege63]

If your budget is 1000USD look at Netgear Orbi system thats for you the best solution.

 

[BigDog]

Does not have dual WAN feature. Also, the concern is this unit wants to use a wireless back haul vs a wired back haul to the main router. There is a lot of walls and interference from where I want to put the access points to where the main router needs to sit and fear that this hub spoke system would be impacted just as a mesh system would.

 

[BigDog]

I wrote to Asus and they recommend ROG Rapture GT-AC5300.
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/ROG-Rapture-GT-AC5300/

And for the access points:
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RP-AC68U/specifications/

Anyone with experience with the combination? The 5300 seems a bit overkill for my needs.

 

[avtella]

AC5300 class routers won't extend your range by any means over an equivalent dual band router. GT-AC5300 is great but it's overkill, just like the R9000. Also not cost effective, but that's just my personal opinion. They are just trying to upsell you the most expensive product as any company would. Orbi is a good buy. But if you want a router then the Netgear R7800, Synology RT-AC2600 have probably the best 5Ghz performance, the AC88U is also pretty decent and has excellent 2.4Ghz performance/range but with a much weaker CPU which only matters if you use VPN, USB transfers or any other processor intensive function. The AC68U is also among the best for 2.4 Ghz range/performance so it would be a pretty decent router/access point as well.

 

[Razor512]

In that case, wouldn't it be better for the OP to just get a Synology RT-AC2600? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5MPTG1/?tag=snbforums-20

After that, get 2 AC1200 or better access points

 

[avtella]

The R7800 is $50 cheaper with slightly better 5Ghz performance. But if you need Link Aggregation the extra cost of the Synology wouldn't be so bad. If he can't getaway with a single unit, Orbi might actually end up being more effective.

 

[pege63]

But still he need and wants dual WAN port on the router.
He also could have 2 routers for the fail over or just put a mobile modem in to the router if it support that.
Or buy a Edgerouter X use 2 WAN ports on it and connect 2 WIFI routers in AP mode to the EdgeRouter X, or 2-3 Ubiquiti Unifi AC AP connected to it.

 

[thiggins]

What are you currently using for router and AP. What are you hoping to improve with an "upgrade"?

If the house is wired with Gigabit Ethernet, range should not be important. Just add more APs.

 

[BigDog]

I am looking to get better throughput. Get about 30 to 40 Mbps up and down on wireless--and with 150 service just not using it. But want a set of router/access points that work with seamless roaming as I move around the house. I mostly use wireless in three key rooms and each would have a access point or the primary router. My issue is that the device attaches to one router and does not jump to other one nearby--all use same SSID. All use 2.4Ghz, so want new tech with 5ghz, but should work so I have same SSID for either band of 2.4 or 5 and it gives device best connection.

 

[thiggins]

"Seamless roaming" depends very much on client behavior. APs can do things like withold or delay association acks or just plain block association. But in the end if a client wants to stick to the first BSSID it sees, it will.

What are you currently using and does it satisfy your roaming requirements? So all you are looking for is to keep the behavior you have and increase throughput?

 

[BigDog]

I have a verizon fios router wifi MI424WR-GEN3I and linksys router configured as access point
Linksys AC1900 Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Router (EA6900).

The wifi devices that move range from iphone 6 to 7, ipad pro 10.5, ipad mini gen 4, 3 year old windows 10 fuji laptop, mac pros 2015. Other wifi devices are typically fixed. So I get some devices may not roam the right way, but as those devices refresh over time then want them to be able to take advantage of network features.

 

[BigDog]

Also looking at using linksys 9300 or 8300 models. Maybe 9300 primary and 8300 as access points?

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for the info.

If my research is correct, the Verizon (Actiontec) router is BGN only. So I'm assuming you have disabled that radio.

Device roaming improvements generally mean supporting 802.11k, v or r. This thread has good information on that, including for iOS devices.

Support for these on the router / AP side is slow in coming and manufacturers don't put the information in specs. Vendors tend to shy away from implementing 11r, because if a device doesn't also support it, it won't be able to connect.

These features tend to help roaming speed. But the device driver still has to decide to initiate the roaming process. That is usually based on RSSI and sometimes retries.

ASUS routers can be configured to support dual-WAN. I haven't used it, so you should check the ASUS forums for complaints / kudos on this feature. I know of no Linksys routers supporting dual-WAN. As pege63 noted, the Ubiquiti Edgerouters can be configured for dual-WAN and will support your routing throughput, even if you use QoS.

When you move to a multi-AP setup, high transmit power can actually work against you. If AP coverage overlaps too much, devices will have a hard time figuring out whether to switch. So you want products that you can adjust transmit power DOWN on.

With that many devices, you should have at least two dual-band APs and maybe three if you have many devices simultaneously constantly active (streaming, torrenting). This spreads the load around and helps optimize throughput use.

I would stick with AC1900 class, or maybe even AC1200. MU-MIMO won't help you and neither will 160 MHz bandwidth or "Tri-band". You'll be getting more radios with more APs anyway.

Most folks here will point you toward the Ubiquiti ACs [reviewed], mainly because they are cheap. That's probably as good a place to start as any if you want to experiment.

 

[BigDog]

Thanks for the feedback. Want the APs to have at least three available gige ports for local devices. On the linksys 9300 the dual wan capability is part of a firmware upgrade coming. Right now looking at linksys 9300, asus gt-5300 or nighthawk x10 or a6 routers. I feel the asus and x10 is overkill for my needs. But want the latest chipset and looks like these are the three routers with fastest processors. Wish the 9500 had the 9300 chipset due to more gige ports. When reading reviews, it seems like a mixed bag out there. Asus seems to have had a lot of firmware issues, and sonos issues--which I have as well. Given I will use access points, range is not as big of a deal for me. Latency/Throughput is key and seemless roaming between main router and access points.

 

[thiggins]

Access points have at most two gigabit Ethernet ports. If you want more, either add a local switch or you'll be stuck converting routers to APs.

 

[BigDog]

Probably will just configure routers as APs. But key is what routerAPs will best compliment the main router? Same brand? Which models?

 

[pege63]

A Netgear EX7000 have 5 GB ports and works as a AP.
Its a AC1900 unit, can be set as wireless (fastlane on both band) or wired backhaul as well.

 

[jbodine74]

Thanks for the info.

If my research is correct, the Verizon (Actiontec) router is BGN only. So I'm assuming you have disabled that radio.

Device roaming improvements generally mean supporting 802.11k, v or r. This thread has good information on that, including for iOS devices.

Support for these on the router / AP side is slow in coming and manufacturers don't put the information in specs. Vendors tend to shy away from implementing 11r, because if a device doesn't also support it, it won't be able to connect.

These features tend to help roaming speed. But the device driver still has to decide to initiate the roaming process. That is usually based on RSSI and sometimes retries.

ASUS routers can be configured to support dual-WAN. I haven't used it, so you should check the ASUS forums for complaints / kudos on this feature. I know of no Linksys routers supporting dual-WAN. As pege63 noted, the Ubiquiti Edgerouters can be configured for dual-WAN and will support your routing throughput, even if you use QoS.

When you move to a multi-AP setup, high transmit power can actually work against you. If AP coverage overlaps too much, devices will have a hard time figuring out whether to switch. So you want products that you can adjust transmit power DOWN on.

With that many devices, you should have at least two dual-band APs and maybe three if you have many devices simultaneously constantly active (streaming, torrenting). This spreads the load around and helps optimize throughput use.

I would stick with AC1900 class, or maybe even AC1200. MU-MIMO won't help you and neither will 160 MHz bandwidth or "Tri-band". You'll be getting more radios with more APs anyway.

Most folks here will point you toward the Ubiquiti ACs [reviewed], mainly because they are cheap. That's probably as good a place to start as any if you want to experiment.

I have 3 Ubiquiti UAP AC Pros scattered around my 2200 sq ft home and they are awesome. Seamless roaming without any settings to worry about. Devices that need to roam are an iPod touch, iPhone 6, 6s and 7. If you get their USG firewall, you can watch the events log and it shows you what device roams to what AP, channel, etc. Very seamless and fast. They are working on integrating 802.11r. They have it in there beta firmware for the newer APs. https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi...ort/td-p/1971683/jump-to/first-unread-message. You will have to join the beta community to read this. Also, this is a good read, https://help.ubnt.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004662107-UniFi-Fast-Roaming.

 

[pege63]

Or a ASUS BRT-AC828 also have 2 WAN ports