Network selections for a photography home business

[ladon]

Hi all,

I'm moving my home office and in doing so, I'm setting up with a new internet provider (LightSpeed)

They provide 'naked DSL' and have quoted ma $100 for the modem they provide. I'm sure I can find better than that.

My question related to looking for advice on selecting a Modem/Router combo for the network.

Parameters for my network.

• All computers are windows or Android based.
• The office will likely be run from a combination of wireless and wired, while the house will be wireless.
• The office will include 2-3 computers, 2 printers and an NAS (DS1513+)
• The office is on a different level to the house.
• The NAS should be accessible from offsite, so we must be able to configure the ports (which I cannot currently do with my providers modem)
• I would like to stream to our television (netflix and other movies)

My priorities are:

• Reliability
• Ability to maintain connection when I deliver files to clients (often up to 4GBs)
• Ease of use for me to maintain
• Wireless speed should be good.

The guy who will set the network up has suggested a router with the following specs:

• Linksys E2500
• D-link Wireless AC750 or AC1200

The modem the company has spec'd (for $100) is an Ovislink OV604V.
I'm told any other modem I select should be VDSL compatible.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
Also please ask questions if I haven't noted anything.

Thanks in advance.

 

[System Error Message]

i would not use that wireless model because dlinks have buggy firmware usually. For wireless go with something a lot more stable, at times 3rd party firmware is a lot more stable.

For your modem $100 is too much when you can get 1 yourself and than router or you can get a combo like the zyxel p-2812fnu which sports an interesting CPU (read the MIPS datasheet for it) 128MB of ram, 4 gigabit LAN ports, 1 gigabit WAN port, 2 rj11 ports for DSL and with support for VDSL. If you want a modem router combo make sure its not a consumer grade device/model/line and that it supports the DSL protocol you use.

There are other choices but this is what i have used before and seems to work fine although for a seperate router i would recommend something that isnt in the consumer line if you have the skill for configuring it such as pfsense (can get dedicated device or reuse a PC), ubiquiti edgeroute lite, or even mikrotik routerboards (make sure to check it has sufficient cpu and ram for your internet).


For reliability non consumer is a lot better and both mikrotik and ubiquiti sell wireless AC APs but they only do 2x2 whereas if you want to transfer gigabyte sized files quickly you could get a 3x3 wireless AC client and have laptops use 3x3 cards or 3x3 usb cards. Phones and tablets only use 433Mb/s while 2x2 clients use 866Mb/s and 3x3 clients use 1300Mb/s though the practical speed is usually half the theoratical. For a 4GB file it can take a minute or more using wireless AC.

I dont get why businesses that ask for reliability use consumer hardware when industrial is usually a lot more reliable not to mention you will definitely need firewall and QoS. If a networking consultant suggests consumer hardware most of the time in a business environment it means they arent really skilled in networking because consumer routers are meant to be easy to set up. I know some manufacturers rate their hardware as consumer/SOHO but in truth they really do poorly in SOHO environments because they lack the reliability and security you can get with industrial stuff made for offices There are a lot more devices that would fit your requirements too that arent in the consumer line but i am not a sales expert. The non consumer stuff can sometimes be cheaper too unless you get mid end consumer ones.

Edit: i just noticed you said home Office as i thought it was a dedicated office. In this case consumer hardware is totally fine, just make sure to connect things using wire where possible. Consider using 3rd party firmware to help with stability which also makes dlink a choice if you plan to use it. The only problem with some 3rd party firmware is that it sacrifices wifi and internet performance (if the device uses hardware acceleration). For modem router combo the zylink i mentioned is good if you are going to use a seperate AP since it has 2 usb ports for 2 printers. Since that model is older it may have a newer much better variant. Try to avoid dlink, linksys and such for router modem combos. Using one does save you money both in device cost and electricity but it is not easy to find a reliable one.

 

[AdvHomeServer]

This might seem a little complicated, but consider it.

I have a relative with DSL. Besides it being slow relative to cable, he complains about the limited selection of routers available for DSL. (I concur as a former DSL user.)

I gave him an old router for use as a wireless access point. It allows him to use a limited DSL capability router with a faster and more modern wireless signal. The DSL router is used for DSL connections, DHCP, and basic routing functions. A more modern wireless router handles advanced wireless and can support additional devices via the LAN ports..

 

[System Error Message]

the thread OP already did that. Router/modem combo with a seperate router as wireless.

Try looking at zyxel, they seem quite reliable so far in the router/modem combo. My p-2812hnu didnt have issues except that because it came with my internet it was locked with a different root user from the tier 2 ISP. It has 2 USB ports so you can plug both printers in, wireless N at 5 Ghz, 5 gigabit ports and 2 DSL ports that support VDSL.

VDSL is a lot better than just DSL alone. VDSL can sync at speeds above 120Mb/s depending on line quality and distance to cabinet. I think it lets existing ISPs just upgrade their connections from cabinet to core while keeping all the existing phone cables in place much cheaper than having fibre optics all the way to the house.

 

[AdvHomeServer]

the thread OP already did that. Router/modem combo with a seperate router as wireless.

.

Sorry. Back in my day we had DSL routers or cable modems. You just got what the phone company gave you. I never saw one of those new fangled dsl modems. I just assumed there might be some terminology issues in the original post. Looks like I got some readin' to do.

Regardless both routers mentioned are, in my opinion, neither modern nor especially fast. the E2500 is 10/100 and ancient. The slower AC models are just that, slower original issue AC models that came out long ago. If someone is considering 120Mb VDSL, as you theorize, a top rated AC class router might be in order to hitch up to that new fangled dsl modem. Even with slower DSL, a modern router would make it future proof for a few years.

update: I did my readin' and saw the phone company suggested a non-wireless 10/100 dsl router. The WAP is required on top of it. Still think a new, not necessarily bleeding edge, AC class router is a good choice. I have no opinion on any other DSL router except 10/100 might be a little slow if the poster's incoming speeds might eventually equal or exceed 100Mbps. I have noticed in the past that wireless DSL routers are expensive and there are few selections available. Hence my suggestion on splitting up the functions.

 

[ladon]

Hi all,
Thanks for the detailed replies. Lots to read and look up.
I may have sent people the wrong direction with the term modem/router combo.

I'm looking for a separate modem and a separate router.

I have a Cisco 8 port switch which will handle most of the office connections.

Thanks

Andrew

 

[ladon]

Well, I've done a bit of research and teh $100 quoted by the company for their modem seems pretty reasonable now.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...TMATCH&Description=vdsl+modem&N=-1&isNodeId=1

http://search.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=vdsl+modem

VDSL modems...there doesn't seem to be too many out there and the zyxel one is rather pricey!

Any other thoughts?

Cheers

Andrew

 

[stevech]

Well, I've done a bit of research and teh $100 quoted by the company for their modem seems pretty reasonable now.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...TMATCH&Description=vdsl+modem&N=-1&isNodeId=1

http://search.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=vdsl+modem

VDSL modems...there doesn't seem to be too many out there and the zyxel one is rather pricey!

Any other thoughts?

Cheers

Andrew

these used to be used to get Internet wired connection within a hotel or office building that lacked cat5. Not a good choice for residential use.

 

[AdvHomeServer]

Well, I've done a bit of research and teh $100 quoted by the company for their modem seems pretty reasonable now.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...TMATCH&Description=vdsl+modem&N=-1&isNodeId=1

http://search.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=vdsl+modem

VDSL modems...there doesn't seem to be too many out there and the zyxel one is rather pricey!

Any other thoughts?

Cheers

Andrew

I'm a little confused. The Ovislink OV604V is a non-wireless dsl 10/100 router. I has 4 ports. All you need is a wireless access point.

 

[System Error Message]

The zyxel p-2812hnu-fx cant be too expansive. I got mine free from my previous ISP.

 

[Samir]

these used to be used to get Internet wired connection within a hotel or office building that lacked cat5. Not a good choice for residential use.

These are excellent for ANY use that needs to span distances where there is no cat5.

However, I see no need to use it in a house unless you want to use phone jacks to get these speeds. Powerline could probably do the same for less money and work though.

 

[Samir]

Hi all,

I'm moving my home office and in doing so, I'm setting up with a new internet provider (LightSpeed)

They provide 'naked DSL' and have quoted ma $100 for the modem they provide. I'm sure I can find better than that.

My question related to looking for advice on selecting a Modem/Router combo for the network.

Parameters for my network.

• All computers are windows or Android based.
• The office will likely be run from a combination of wireless and wired, while the house will be wireless.
• The office will include 2-3 computers, 2 printers and an NAS (DS1513+)
• The office is on a different level to the house.
• The NAS should be accessible from offsite, so we must be able to configure the ports (which I cannot currently do with my providers modem)
• I would like to stream to our television (netflix and other movies)

My priorities are:

• Reliability
• Ability to maintain connection when I deliver files to clients (often up to 4GBs)
• Ease of use for me to maintain
• Wireless speed should be good.

The guy who will set the network up has suggested a router with the following specs:

• Linksys E2500
• D-link Wireless AC750 or AC1200

The modem the company has spec'd (for $100) is an Ovislink OV604V.
I'm told any other modem I select should be VDSL compatible.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
Also please ask questions if I haven't noted anything.

Thanks in advance.

As working as a photographer out of my house, I have some advice.

First, don't worry about the modem and router. If you're going to be doing work via wireless, you're wasting time. Better to hard-wire your work systems and get full speed and zero latency.

Second, get the fastest UPLOAD speed possible with your Internet. This will be critical for any file transfers to anyone outside.

Third, try to separate the work network from the home one, especially if there is no need for one to talk to the other.