At home I have a WNDR3700, which has worked fine for the year or more that I've used it although it needs an occasional reboot if it's left up more than a month or two. Prior to that I used a Buffalo WBR-G54 for many years that was quite reliable.
I have a summer vacation weekly rental unit using another Buffalo WBR-G54. This is located many hours away from me- I can't go out there to fix something. Recently I've had a few problems with it, needing rebooting, which makes me want to (reluctantly) replace it. Whatever I do, I don't want phone calls about my guests having problems with internet access.
This is a high rise concrete/steel condo building, with a concrete steel reinforced wall between the router and a bedroom that I would like to provide access as best I can. The main access will be the same room as the router or the adjacent bedroom (20 feet max, one wall with standard drywall but with steel instead of wood 2x4's).
Internet access is Verizon DSL although some day I may end up with Comcast cable. The primary requirement here is reliable internet browsing from my guest's laptops and of course that includes any laptop maybe ever made
.
I currently use WEP because that is the lowest common denominator and anything, even my 10 year old laptops, support it. WPA2 would be better, and I would need to use that for n speed. I don't see any benefit to n, though, with the DSL bandwidth.
The only issue I've had with the Buffalo WBR-G54 (before the recent need to reboot) is that my Netflix Roku box does not do well, even though it is hard wired. I've thought about providing Netflix as a benefit to my renters but I suspect the DSL just isn't up to it- too many annoying restarts when watching a movie. I'd rather not provide it at all rather than provide a substandard experience. But, maybe my ancient WRT-G54 just isn't up to the task?
Cost: I don't like to put things like this out to the lowest bidder. I'm not looking for a $20 solution. Nor do I want to spend over $100 for features that will not be used, like USB NAS support. In the $50 range, I would probably buy 2 units, test them both and leave one there (fully configured, burned in and tested) as a backup. Then over the phone I can tell someone to just swap units.
That's the background, here are my questions:
1. Opinions on the most reliable possible router, requiring the least amount of rebooting to restore connections or resolve very poor web browsing throughput. Reliability is top priority here, this being a distant rental unit.
2. Second is performance, just to get past that concrete/steel wall to the back bedroom. This is secondary. Reliable access from the living room is better than none at all or a temperamental router.
3. I considered the LinkSys WRT-54GL, mainly based on the fact that over at NewEgg it has the most reviews and the least complaints (see #1). Probably the most tried and proven router on the market. What say ye?
4. Regarding the WRT-54GL, I see a lot of reviews suggesting open source is more reliable than the stock formware. Any opinions on that? Given the basic requirements - simple internet access - the only attractive feature of open source for me would be better reliability if that were the case. I don't need fancy routing features.
I have a summer vacation weekly rental unit using another Buffalo WBR-G54. This is located many hours away from me- I can't go out there to fix something. Recently I've had a few problems with it, needing rebooting, which makes me want to (reluctantly) replace it. Whatever I do, I don't want phone calls about my guests having problems with internet access.
This is a high rise concrete/steel condo building, with a concrete steel reinforced wall between the router and a bedroom that I would like to provide access as best I can. The main access will be the same room as the router or the adjacent bedroom (20 feet max, one wall with standard drywall but with steel instead of wood 2x4's).
Internet access is Verizon DSL although some day I may end up with Comcast cable. The primary requirement here is reliable internet browsing from my guest's laptops and of course that includes any laptop maybe ever made
.I currently use WEP because that is the lowest common denominator and anything, even my 10 year old laptops, support it. WPA2 would be better, and I would need to use that for n speed. I don't see any benefit to n, though, with the DSL bandwidth.
The only issue I've had with the Buffalo WBR-G54 (before the recent need to reboot) is that my Netflix Roku box does not do well, even though it is hard wired. I've thought about providing Netflix as a benefit to my renters but I suspect the DSL just isn't up to it- too many annoying restarts when watching a movie. I'd rather not provide it at all rather than provide a substandard experience. But, maybe my ancient WRT-G54 just isn't up to the task?
Cost: I don't like to put things like this out to the lowest bidder
. I'm not looking for a $20 solution. Nor do I want to spend over $100 for features that will not be used, like USB NAS support. In the $50 range, I would probably buy 2 units, test them both and leave one there (fully configured, burned in and tested) as a backup. Then over the phone I can tell someone to just swap units.That's the background, here are my questions:
1. Opinions on the most reliable possible router, requiring the least amount of rebooting to restore connections or resolve very poor web browsing throughput. Reliability is top priority here, this being a distant rental unit.
2. Second is performance, just to get past that concrete/steel wall to the back bedroom. This is secondary. Reliable access from the living room is better than none at all or a temperamental router.
3. I considered the LinkSys WRT-54GL, mainly based on the fact that over at NewEgg it has the most reviews and the least complaints (see #1). Probably the most tried and proven router on the market. What say ye?
4. Regarding the WRT-54GL, I see a lot of reviews suggesting open source is more reliable than the stock formware. Any opinions on that? Given the basic requirements - simple internet access - the only attractive feature of open source for me would be better reliability if that were the case. I don't need fancy routing features.
