TP Link ER605 vs ER7206

[shoman94]

Anyone have any experience with these?

Mainly I want DCHP control with reserving IP addresses and Adaptive QoS for gaming devices etc.....

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tech9]

No Adaptive QoS on those routers. Adaptive QoS is Trend Micro engine based QoS in Asus routers. DHCP reservations are available on any router. I’m not sure what you’ll be using the ER routers for. The features they offer fit well in centrally managed Omada setups.

 

[shoman94]

Honestly, I'm looking for an alternative to using the WiFi router. Personally I want a wired router similar type QoS function since most of my network is wired (My Kids Game a lot) and then I can buy a AiMesh setup like the XD4 to cover my mobile, Smart switches and such indoor and my property surrounding my humble abode. I love Asus and its functions but I don't want to Purchase a high end wireless router just to disable WiFi.

 

[Tech9]

TP-Link ER605 is similar to Ubiquiti ER-X. Low price basic router with tiny hardware. ER-X can do QoS on up to 100Mbps connections, ER605 didn't even have QoS options last time I had one for tests. I don't know what's available in newer firmware. ER7206 has better hardware, but also no QoS options listed in specs. You have to look elsewhere. Asus routers are relatively cheap for what they offer. A new AX86U is about $250. Proper wired router with fast x86 hardware is $700 and up. Since you are already familiar with Asuswrt, better get one Asus router and disable the Wi-Fi. You can build your own pfSense/OPNSense router using old computer hardware, but the OS learning curve will be steep and power consumption will be much higher.

 

[shoman94]

TP-Link ER605 is similar to Ubiquiti ER-X. Low price basic router with tiny hardware. ER-X can do QoS on up to 100Mbps connections, ER605 didn't even have QoS options last time I had one for tests. I don't know what's available in newer firmware. ER7206 has better hardware, but also no QoS options listed in specs. You have to look elsewhere. Asus routers are relatively cheap for what they offer. A new AX86U is about $250. Proper wired router with fast x86 hardware is $700 and up. Since you are already familiar with Asuswrt, better get one Asus router and disable the Wi-Fi. You can build your own pfSense/OPNSense router using old computer hardware, but the OS learning curve will be steep and power consumption will be much higher.

Well that's frustrating. I planned to do just that with my AC88U and add a 3pk XD4 in AiMESH/AP mode but my router has been plagued with some issues recently with some settings changes that a reset is required. I've been wanting to use a wired router for quite some time. I use to work for Spectrum as a Field Tech but I recently started a job with a Smart Home Solutions company which uses Araknis. I may take a look at the Araknis AN310 since I could probably get one at cost if that's a viable option.

 

[Tech9]

My advice - find a router you like, add a switch and wired access points. Skip consumer XD4 and AiMesh. Best price/performance centrally managed Wi-Fi system is perhaps TP-Link Omada. It's very stable, the roaming is better and it's expandable. Since most of your devices are wired, you can go easily with AC class access points. Mobile devices like phones/tablets have nothing to use high speeds for anyway.

 

[John Davis]

You can build your own pfSense/OPNSense router using old computer hardware, but the OS learning curve will be steep and power consumption will be much higher.

if your internet connection is 500mbps or slower then something like a HP elitedesk mini using ‘router on a stick’ topology along with a cheap managed switch can be a good compact, low powered opnsense/pfsense option. The ex-lease market is awash in desktop mini g1/g2s dirt cheap….

 

[shoman94]

All I want is an easy to manage wired Router with similar functionality of a good wireless router like an Asus. Makes no sense to me that everything today is a wireless router.

 

[Tech9]

low powered opnsense/pfsense option.

Exactly. I was running pfSense on HP Elitedesk 800 Mini in both configurations router on a stick and with 2x USB 3.0 Gigabit LAN adapters (AmazonBasics with ASIX chip). It can outperform any home router easily. Now the same PC runs my DYI NAS with 2x 8TB Easystore HDDs. It's an i5-4570T CPU with 8GB RAM - plenty of processing power. Another option is HP Elite 8300 USFF, it has a Micro PCIe slot inside. I had one of those with CERRXIAN Micro PCIe Gigabit adapter (Realtek 8111F chip). This one was running pfSense, OPNSense and Untangle for testing purposes. Both PCs can be found on eBay for about $100, less than RPi4 kit.

 

[Tech9]

All I want is an easy to manage wired Router with similar functionality of a good wireless router like an Asus.

No such thing. Asus makes home routers, they must be easy to setup. If you need a proper high powered x86 firewall, you have to learn and explore.

 

[coxhaus]

The RV340 router is pretty easy to setup running it flat. There is not much you have to enter using the wizards. You can be up and running in minutes.

The sad thing is the Cisco RV340 router is finally reaching EOL. It was released in 2017. And we still have 1 more year of support from Cisco. I would say I got my money's worth. I paid $150 when I bought it new back then.

I hope the replacement will be as good.

 

[shoman94]

I'm now running an Araknis AN110 Router with 2 XD4 Access points in AiMesh wired and it's working much better. My internal LAN is now running at full speed as well. My AC88U was not giving me 940mbps throughput.

 

[Tech9]

I can't find detailed specs for this router. What OpenVPN speeds it is capable of, for example?

 

[shoman94]

I can't find detailed specs for this router. What OpenVPN speeds it is capable of, for example?

This help?

I haven't installed one with gig service. We only install the AN310 on the networks we do and they are capable of gig speed thru the WAN.

 

[Tech9]

I mean, what's inside, the CPU/RAM. What's the price of this one, without Wi-Fi version?

 

[shoman94]

I mean, what's inside, the CPU/RAM. What's the price of this one, without Wi-Fi version?

CPU: 880 MHz
RAM: 512 MiB
Flash: 128 MiB


MSRP is 257.95

 

[Tech9]

Aha, black with blue LED's. I have no idea what they sell for $260.

 

[shoman94]

Aha, black with blue LED's. I have no idea what they sell for $260.

Huh? It is a solid product with a very easy OS. I never see the CPU above 25% nor Ram usage above 20% with my very busy household.... and yes, black with blue LEDs.

 

[Tech9]

Easy UI is probably there, but ER605 is $60. It also has very easy UI and does Gigabit + Multi-WAN. This router is a downgrade compared to your previous AC88U. It does Gigabit only because it can't do much, very basic. You have VLAN's support extra, but your XD4 doesn't speak VLAN. For $260 - this is the current price of AX86S. Much better hardware and can do more.

 

[shoman94]

Easy UI is probably there, but ER605 is $60. It also has very easy UI and does Gigabit + Multi-WAN. This router is a downgrade compared to your previous AC88U. It does Gigabit only because it can't do much, very basic. You have VLAN's support extra, but your XD4 doesn't speak VLAN. For $260 - this is the current price of AX86S. Much better hardware.

I disagree, this router outperforms my AC88U. I don't need multi wan.... My important stuff is wired and the devices connected to the XD4 APs are performing better.

With both my kids gaming and my wife working and streaming TV I can still run internal Speedtest at 900+ so I have no concerns.