New Router shopping

[firewolfrl]

I am looking for a new router. I currently have D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router but I am building a garage/shop and I need a new router for the new building.
the house and the shop are going to be wired via LAN. and the old router is going to be in Bridge mode

Some of what I want in specs is:
Wi-Fi Certified 802.11n or with Simultaneous dual-band. 10/100/1000 LAN
Handles 1000 simultaneous open sessions or more would be nice
Draft 2.0 sounds good
good over all wireless security
STABILITY "I don't want to have to reset the bugger when it gets loaded up. I don't want wireless drop."
priority-based QoS
I want a very configurable system.
a good firewall setup
game friendly "kids will complain if not"
parental controls "this is where the kids complain"
IF it exists. P2P block "Kids again....lol"
under $300


Oh! Oh! I hope I am not asking too much....LOL

 

[Nelviticus]

I have one of these and it sounds as though it ticks all your boxes:

D-Link DIR-655.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[kmcferrin]

Nice. I've been looking for a wireless router that had gigabit ports for awhile now. Turns out that this is the least expensive of the ones on NewEgg that fit that criteria. I'm not sure what's up with Linksys, but they seem to have inherited some pricing tendencies from their parent company. $200+ for a wireless router? That's crazy.

 

[ArizonaGeek]

Hmmm, my suggestion would be Smoothwall linux router/firewall and WAP. If you have an old PC (any PII or PIII with a 10 gig hard drive and 128mb of ram will do three 10/100/1000 NIC's) and the software is free and VERY easy to install. Install it with a red/green/purple network and that allows you to keep your WAP from gaining access to files on your wired network if it should ever be hacked.

Old PC maybe $50 to $100 if you don't have one, free software and a $50 WAP.

http://www.smoothwall.org

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[Nelviticus]

Here's a link to a review of the DIR-655 from one of the Tom's Hardware sister-sites:

D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router Reviewraft 2.0 arrives (Closing Thoughts)

The advantage over a Linux set-up is ... the D-Link has lovely blue LEDs!

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[firewolfrl]

the D-Link DIR-655 has been on the top of my list so far.
I have not had good luck with Linksys products. the routers I have used I had to reset often because of the 255 simultaneous connection issues.

 

[kmcferrin]

I have used Smoothwall before, but I can't see the value in it in this case. I can spend $110 for the DLink device, or I can recycle one of my old PCs and put gigabit cards in it (or buy a gigabit switch too). The DLink solution will be smaller, quieter, need fewer cables and consume far less power. Cost-wise they wouldn't be too much different once I got the wireless and gigabit connectivity that I need.

 

[ArizonaGeek]

I have used Smoothwall before, but I can't see the value in it in this case. I can spend $110 for the DLink device, or I can recycle one of my old PCs and put gigabit cards in it (or buy a gigabit switch too). The DLink solution will be smaller, quieter, need fewer cables and consume far less power. Cost-wise they wouldn't be too much different once I got the wireless and gigabit connectivity that I need.

Very true. I guess it's all about how much geek you really want to be. I am a linux nut, and I run a couple of servers from my home, so Smoothwall works for me. Plus I got my extra PIII PC for free, and got my gigabit switch on Ebay for $25, which helps. Just threw it out there as another suggestion.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[wahnula]

My contribution to this discussion is to nod in agreement, D-Link has been my wireless & wired company of choice for many years, after real-world wireless comparisons in my office environment with Linksys, SMC, Buffalo, and Netgear (thank heaven for eBay). To take it another step, I use only D-Link for all add-in cards.

One caveat: Make sure you understand how to get "bridge" mode to work properly. I did not and when I decided to increase the strength of the signal in the far corners of the office by adding a WAP-2100, I could not get it configured properly. D-Link support, while readily available, is rendered useless (to me)by thread656-1293610 plus I received different solutions from different reps, all wrong.

I had limited time (part-time IT, full-time employee) so simply hard-wired the new device via CAT-5 crossover cable and it works beautifully. If it is possible to get a CAT-5 cable strung while the garage is in the construction phase do it.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[LawnBoy]

Do you really need Gigabit ports on your firewall? You really have a Gigabit's worth of internet bandwidth?


"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[kmcferrin]

Do you really need Gigabit ports on your firewall? You really have a Gigabit's worth of internet bandwidth?

Yes.

OK, no. I just wanted to make your face go all buggy.

The fastest my ISP currently offers is only 15 Mbps downstream. But I do regularly transfer large files between machines on my internal network where having a connection faster than 100 Mbps would be highly beneficial. I know I could simply add a gigabit switch to my current config, but that's yet another device, more cables, more power, etc. I'd rather just get a new router with 4 or 5 internal gigabit interfaces + wireless, and then pass my old router off to a relative.

 

[firewolfrl]

LOL...slow versus fast...I am running 4 big conduit tubes between the house and the new garage and I have a gigabit 8-port with a media center electrical box so all my wall plates in the office I am building will have wired LAN. the wireless part is just for when I want to go beyond the LAN. that and I have metal siding on the house and metal siding on the garage and this does wonders to a signal to make it poor...lol... so I get the best of both...the new router sits in the house by the cable modem and gives me the wireless N for my laptop. the old router will sit in the garage and supple the 8-port LAN and give me wireless G in my office... I will be running three computers via LAN and have the capability to run more. I also have a cheapo router that I use to isolate a computer from my network so if I am doing a repair and the computer has a virus it doesn't share. on the side note I also have a computer that I can loop through to see what is being hammered if the computer does have a virus. the biggest benefit is blocking port 25.

 

[smallrims]

Draytek are pretty solid too.