Router on a Stick setup for Ubiquiti Edgerouter 4 ER-4

[william13]

found this on web:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubiquiti/comments/l5yx1v

 

[Tech9]

What are my pluses and cons?

If WAN bonding is supported by ER-4, cons - little more complicated setup; pros - perhaps little to none with few TVs and 1-2 PCs wired. You won't see a real difference between what you currently have and LAG, perhaps only in simultaneous speed tests to wired PCs. That's why I wouldn't bother.

 

[william13]

So it appears to be academic as opposed to practical.
Before your answer I googled this: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/204975844-EdgeRouter-Interface-Bonding
I am probably not going to do it but out of curiosity would one have to change setting on the "switch itself" I did not know that was possible?

 

[Tech9]

So it appears to be academic as opposed to practical.

Well, if you had significantly higher than Gigabit ISP I would say go for it. In your case it doesn't matter much. You're paying fair price, your ISP offers up to 1.2Gbps, your equipment supports up to Gigabit - now you have hardware bandwidth limiter, no need of QoS and no bufferbloat is expected. All good.

 

[william13]

Agreed. Perhaps when I put in a NAS which is my next project as I have too many decades of files.
Thank you.

 

[Tech9]

It's up to you. As you noticed, I like practical solutions. My NAS has Gigabit LAN connection, that's >100MB/sec wired. I can see about 50MB/sec on wireless. It's been like this for years and I never had the need to touch it or upgrade. 6x Windows PCs do scheduled backups there, works perfectly.

 

[william13]

I successfully fought the urge to aggregate based on your experience. Just curious what type of NAS device connection does your set up have?

 

[Tech9]

At home I use a DIY solution described here:

RT-AX86U -- can I use a USB 3.0 hub to connect multiple external HDDs?

Hello. The title says it all. The router comes with two USB 3.0 ports, but I have 3 Seagate Expansion drives and I'm wondering if I can use a USB 3.0 hub to connect them all. I've read that on some Asus routers, if you use a hub, the spec drops to USB 2.0 which wouldn't be good. Can anyone...

www.snbforums.com

 

[william13]

I was looking at this: https://www.synology.com/en-global/products/DS1520+ now I will look at your set up.

 

[L&LD]

@william13, you're jumping all over the place without learning or solving anything so far.

You can still check if you have over 1Gbps aggregate ISP speeds. You should still be able to downgrade (at cost-savings) to the speed your equipment supports (if that is what you'll need to do, see below). You should test not only your ISP but your ER-4 to see it works as designed (by trying the link you found in post #23 above.

If the ISP gave you new equipment (they should have) to get the speeds they're promising you, you may be able to put it into Bridge mode and have the best of all worlds. I'm not sure if it's possible, but we were on that road until you got sidetracked.

Lastly, I suggest you act slowly on opinions from users that (pretend) to only read one side of the threads here with a grain of salt or two (by 'ignoring' who they don't agree with).

Your call to do the above (or not), but if you're here to learn your equipment and about networking in general, roll up your sleeves and find out conclusively for yourself if something is worth it to you or not. You may want to start from post #17 if you're still curious.

 

[Tech9]

It depends on what do you need as storage solution. Many options to choose from for every budget. I wanted fast x86 hardware, standard hardware allowing other uses, standard file systems readable on every PC, readily available and easily replaceable drives, small physical size, fast enough for my needs and relatively power efficient. About $400 hardware is covering all my requirements, including the drives.

 

[william13]

It depends on what do you need as storage solution. Many options to choose from for every budget. I wanted fast x86 hardware, standard hardware allowing other uses, standard file systems readable on every PC, readily available and easily replaceable drives, small physical size, fast enough for my needs and relatively power efficient. About $400 hardware is covering all my requirements, including the drives.

That sounds pretty good. Mostly pictures, word documents, some videos when we were all young.

BTW right now my backup is a Dell Power Edge T310 that I have had for over 5 years I think. 2 TB drives. I have maxed out. Makes a lot of noise also

 

[william13]

@william13, you're jumping all over the place without learning or solving anything so far.

You can still check if you have over 1Gbps aggregate ISP speeds. You should still be able to downgrade (at cost-savings) to the speed your equipment supports (if that is what you'll need to do, see below). You should test not only your ISP but your ER-4 to see it works as designed (by trying the link you found in post #23 above.

If the ISP gave you new equipment (they should have) to get the speeds they're promising you, you may be able to put it into Bridge mode and have the best of all worlds. I'm not sure if it's possible, but we were on that road until you got sidetracked.

Lastly, I suggest you act slowly on opinions from users that (pretend) to only read one side of the threads here with a grain of salt or two (by 'ignoring' who they don't agree with).

Your call to do the above (or not), but if you're here to learn your equipment and about networking in general, roll up your sleeves and find out conclusively for yourself if something is worth it to you or not. You may want to start from post #17 if you're still curious.

Dear L&LD: They did not give me any equiptment I have my own modem and router. I can rent theirs but chose not to. The Bridge mode is available on my Ubiquiti but my research suggests it might be slower. I do not speak from authority.
Are you referring to "Linked Aggregation" or is this something else? I will run concurrent tests but it may take a while due to my set up.

 

[L&LD]

What modem do you have then? That may be your bottleneck right there? If the modem only outputs 1Gbps, there is nothing to further test.

Can you give us a quick diagram of how everything you have is connected? Bridge mode is never slower (afaik).

No, I'm not referring to LAG (or LAGG?). I'm trying to verify that the equipment in front of your router is capable of providing greater than 1Gbps speeds.

I'll be looking for your testing and hopefully a diagram too when you're able to share.

 

[Tech9]

BTW right now my backup is a Dell Power Edge T310 that I have had for over 5 years I think. 2 TB drives.

Oh, wow... if all your data fits on 2TB, you perhaps don't need $700 5-bay NAS diskless.

 

[william13]

What modem do you have then? That may be your bottleneck right there? If the modem only outputs 1Gbps, there is nothing to further test.

Can you give us a quick diagram of how everything you have is connected? Bridge mode is never slower (afaik).

No, I'm not referring to LAG (or LAGG?). I'm trying to verify that the equipment in front of your router is capable of providing greater than 1Gbps speeds.

I'll be looking for your testing and hopefully a diagram too when you're able to share.

I don't know how to create a diagram but here is how its all setup: Arris SB8200 to my ISP with 1.2 GB plan. Arris to Ubiquiti router that max's out at 940 mbs. Router to switch (don't remember model but its a gb switch. Then my pc's unifi etc to the switch.

 

[william13]

Oh, wow... if all your data fits on 2TB, you perhaps don't need $700 5-bay NAS diskless.

No I am overflowing. I need more than 2 TB.

 

[L&LD]

A quick search states that your modem is the bottleneck then for your 1.2Gbps connection.

Call them back and tell them you want a cheaper rate because you can't ever achieve those speeds. You'll still be tied to the 2-year commitment you made, but you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't/can't use.

If they offer their 1.2Gbps modem (for free), ask them to put it in bridge mode and sell your Arris SB8200 when you have it working as expected. Before accepting it, ask them if the 1.2Gbps speeds will be achievable with a single device (I'm guessing not), this is for your information so you're not chasing wild geese for no reason.

 

[Tech9]

No I am overflowing. I need more than 2 TB.

You can buy a NAS box, you can build your own using the hardware you already have - whatever you like and you are comfortable with.

 

[william13]

A quick search states that your modem is the bottleneck then for your 1.2Gbps connection.

Call them back and tell them you want a cheaper rate because you can't ever achieve those speeds. You'll still be tied to the 2-year commitment you made, but you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't/can't use.

If they offer their 1.2Gbps modem (for free), ask them to put it in bridge mode and sell your Arris SB8200 when you have it working as expected. Before accepting it, ask them if the 1.2Gbps speeds will be achievable with a single device (I'm guessing not), this is for your information so you're not chasing wild geese for no reason.

I will ask for that but I don't know what your isp is like but mine never does anything for free. I appreciate your advice. Thank you