Upgrade a RT-n66u ?

[Tech9]

have you seen other models besides the 86U? I mean the boards.

Yes. All PCBs are different with different layout. Consumer products are made similarly with cost saving first in mind. Most use very close to SoC manufacturer suggested reference design in order to save on engineering. Some designs work for many years, some fail in few years. Tech companies don't like repair guys anymore. Some fruit logo companies use unmarked custom ICs or serial numbers coded in firmware to prevent repair attempts. I don't have too many posts on this forum and a quick search will tell you what I do and why.

 

[RAJ]

Oh its ok I don't need to really know what you do, none of my business. I think you know your way around a circuit board and from you pic with tweezers you can repair and solder well. I go way back to the Atari days and I was always impressed by my friends that were good at repairing and soldering chips, ram etc without ruining the board.

I did read a few posts you did on 86u and I don't trust it for the office from what I read. Maybe its fine with active cooling but sounds like sort of dice roll on how long its going to hold up. I don't feel like tearing it down to put in copper shims. I would need to active cool it and even then not so sure how much it would add to its life. Could be wrong, I will probably just run it at home. And start to look for a inexpensive commercial unit that will run VPN, (just for fallback when server VPN is down).

 

[Tech9]

Ask the person who supports your network about Cisco RV300 series, Ubiquiti EdgeRouter/USG, Netgate SG-2100/3100 appliances etc with corresponding/compatible APs for Wi-Fi access. Modular system will allow you easier expansion and upgrades in the future. If you want to explore low initial cost consumer product options ask for Qualcomm SoC Synology RT2600ac with their SRM, Netgear X4S with OpenWRT or Broadcom SoC Asus RT-AX88U with Asuswrt-Merlin, all good reliability record alternatives. All of the above is very different from what you remember with RT-N66U, including current Asuswrt-Merlin. You may need to update your networking knowledge and get familiar with specifics before using those in production.

 

[RAJ]

Ask the person who supports your network about Cisco RV300 series, Ubiquiti EdgeRouter/USG, Netgate SG-2100/3100 appliances etc with corresponding/compatible APs for Wi-Fi access. Modular system will allow you easier expansion and upgrades in the future. If you want to explore low initial cost consumer product options ask for Qualcomm SoC Synology RT2600ac with their SRM, Netgear X4S with OpenWRT or Broadcom SoC Asus RT-AX88U with Asuswrt-Merlin, all good reliability record alternatives. All of the above is very different from what you remember with RT-N66U, including current Asuswrt-Merlin. You may need to update your networking knowledge and get familiar with specifics before using those in production.

Really appreciate the help. Thanks!

I only have experience with the N66u and 68u (my home router) Both EZ. I will run what ever I got at home lab for sure till I get a feel for the new feature set.

I like EZ if possible, I mean I can learn any of them but I think I can do a swap using a asus with less work and configuration and reading.
I just looked at the cisco unit (pure coincidence) But does not support Open Vpn which I use and have configured of offsite users.

I picked the 86u based on it being newer and felt it might be supported longer and I liked its footprint, space is limited in that particular location.
I did not realize the 88u might be a more reliable model thanks again.
Oh misread that AX88u not AC. I avoided it only because it only seemed to have better wifi which I don't care about. If its more reliable yes that I care about.

I noticed it is much larger which might mean it has more room on the board to sort of spread things out and have better heat dissapaition. Is that why you listed this one and not the smaller AX models?

 

[RAJ]

Just use the router and see how it performs. I can't give any recommendations about firmware version; you have to find the best one yourself. I'm a little surprised your office network is run by a home router. The right router for you is not called 86u, but rather x86 powered appliance running firewall OS.

yes there is a reason in this particular situation for not running it on x86 I could have but that is another story. Have lots of VM servers running on the Dell Server rack.

I got the 86u yesterday and testing it out.
So far it seems to run cooler than both my 68u. During VPN, FTP speed tests etc the max temp was 73c most of the time its sitting at 69c which seems fine to me.
Wi Fi speed 475/24 about all my 500/30 home gets.

Before I took the 68u offline I used my hand sensors for a crude test. Just held the front and back of the router to "feel" how warm it felt. Did the same thing on the 86u. Crude test but the heat coming from the 86us case and vents is noticeable cooler. I'll have to plug it to a meter see what it draws in watts.

So far so good no issues.

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