chris6647
New Around Here
Hello everybody! (and sorry for the wall of text)
I’m quite new around these parts, and new to this whole world of more serious routing
I’ve got a plan, and I’ve been browsing around the web for the past week or so, trying to see if it’s possible, and what sort of equipment I’d need.
What I wanna do is:
*Use an old computer as NAS server, serving files, automatically backing up our computers and fetching stuff from the internet, streaming music and 1080p movies throughout my LAN and Wifi network.
*Share the printer through the router.
*I want to be able to access this home network safely through some encrypted VPN connection (I’m wondering if it’s reasonable to expect being able view the movies remotely? I know it all depends on the connection too though)
Right now I have 50/50 mbit/s internet connection but that might change soon to something lower. (Same with the wifi-range requirements, right now it has to reach very far and through thick walls if possible, but later on the range won’t be quite as much of a concern)
Since I want to stream HD content throughout my network, I expect I’d need it all to be 1000mb/s instead of just 100mb/s. And since I want to be able to access it all through VPN, I’ve been thinking that getting something supported by dd-wrt definitely would be the best option, so all the routers I’ve been looking at, I’ve been trying to look at with that in mind.
What would typically be connected to this network will be: my main desktop(mainly via lan), 2 laptops(mainly via wifi), 2 android phones(wifi only), and the NAS server(wired lan) (which will prolly be with freenas).
I’m not quite sure how much of our equipment supports 5ghz wifi, but I believe it’s only 1 of the laptops and one of the phones, so we’d need 2.4ghz and I know that everything we got supports b/g/n-networks.
The routers I’ve been looking at are the:
*Asus RT-N56U, which unfortunately doesn’t have dd-wrt support (though I read that it’s being worked on). Supposedly the stock firmware on this is very unstable and not very good. If dd-wrt had supported this, I would very likely have bought it.
*Cisco E4200, which basically just looks like it’s not quite as good as the Asus, however it supports dd-wrt. The thing is that it’s more expensive than the Asus, which makes it harder for me to pick this. Worse hardware for more money? I’m not so sure…
Besides these two I feel like I’ve been looking at all the routers topping the chars on this awesome site, but these are the ones I’ve ended up with considering the most. Right now, since I don’t know any better, I’m just sitting around, waiting for the Asus to be supported by dd-wrt. But I would love it if you guys could tell me otherwise/better!
I also read, at one point, that a better thing to do, might be to split it all up and purchase several different devices. Such as a decent router, gigabit switch and another thing for wifi. But I got all dizzy when trying to research this, so stopped, and thought perhaps somebody smart here could tell me if this is true, and if so, where to look for what.
I’ve got a d-link dir-655 right now, but even though it’s supposed to be a great router, it limits my connection, and I’m unable to reach the speeds I can when using other gear(just what’s supplied by my ISP). Perhaps I could use this as the wifi thingie mentioned before?
So, am I on the right track? Should I consider other routers? Are my choices any good, and should I just wait for the dd-wrt support on n56u? I heard that another newer asus router(RT-N66U), with another chipset or whatever it’s called, which is more likely to be supported by dd-wrt immediately is coming out next month or so. Should I wait for that one?
Sorry for the wall of text, but I feel like all the information here is necessary, if I should have any hope of good solid help, advice and guidance. So thanks a lot for reading all this, and I’m looking forward to your reply!
BTW, I can’t afford to pay more than 200 usd for the router.
I’m quite new around these parts, and new to this whole world of more serious routing
I’ve got a plan, and I’ve been browsing around the web for the past week or so, trying to see if it’s possible, and what sort of equipment I’d need.
What I wanna do is:
*Use an old computer as NAS server, serving files, automatically backing up our computers and fetching stuff from the internet, streaming music and 1080p movies throughout my LAN and Wifi network.
*Share the printer through the router.
*I want to be able to access this home network safely through some encrypted VPN connection (I’m wondering if it’s reasonable to expect being able view the movies remotely? I know it all depends on the connection too though)
Right now I have 50/50 mbit/s internet connection but that might change soon to something lower. (Same with the wifi-range requirements, right now it has to reach very far and through thick walls if possible, but later on the range won’t be quite as much of a concern)
Since I want to stream HD content throughout my network, I expect I’d need it all to be 1000mb/s instead of just 100mb/s. And since I want to be able to access it all through VPN, I’ve been thinking that getting something supported by dd-wrt definitely would be the best option, so all the routers I’ve been looking at, I’ve been trying to look at with that in mind.
What would typically be connected to this network will be: my main desktop(mainly via lan), 2 laptops(mainly via wifi), 2 android phones(wifi only), and the NAS server(wired lan) (which will prolly be with freenas).
I’m not quite sure how much of our equipment supports 5ghz wifi, but I believe it’s only 1 of the laptops and one of the phones, so we’d need 2.4ghz and I know that everything we got supports b/g/n-networks.
The routers I’ve been looking at are the:
*Asus RT-N56U, which unfortunately doesn’t have dd-wrt support (though I read that it’s being worked on). Supposedly the stock firmware on this is very unstable and not very good. If dd-wrt had supported this, I would very likely have bought it.
*Cisco E4200, which basically just looks like it’s not quite as good as the Asus, however it supports dd-wrt. The thing is that it’s more expensive than the Asus, which makes it harder for me to pick this. Worse hardware for more money? I’m not so sure…
Besides these two I feel like I’ve been looking at all the routers topping the chars on this awesome site, but these are the ones I’ve ended up with considering the most. Right now, since I don’t know any better, I’m just sitting around, waiting for the Asus to be supported by dd-wrt. But I would love it if you guys could tell me otherwise/better!
I also read, at one point, that a better thing to do, might be to split it all up and purchase several different devices. Such as a decent router, gigabit switch and another thing for wifi. But I got all dizzy when trying to research this, so stopped, and thought perhaps somebody smart here could tell me if this is true, and if so, where to look for what.
I’ve got a d-link dir-655 right now, but even though it’s supposed to be a great router, it limits my connection, and I’m unable to reach the speeds I can when using other gear(just what’s supplied by my ISP). Perhaps I could use this as the wifi thingie mentioned before?
So, am I on the right track? Should I consider other routers? Are my choices any good, and should I just wait for the dd-wrt support on n56u? I heard that another newer asus router(RT-N66U), with another chipset or whatever it’s called, which is more likely to be supported by dd-wrt immediately is coming out next month or so. Should I wait for that one?
Sorry for the wall of text, but I feel like all the information here is necessary, if I should have any hope of good solid help, advice and guidance. So thanks a lot for reading all this, and I’m looking forward to your reply!
BTW, I can’t afford to pay more than 200 usd for the router.