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Cheap ADSL Holds Up 802.11n Router Design
sholto writes "Ever wondered why you can't find the perfect 802.11n router? You know, the one with dual band, great range, USB print server and storage? Australian ISPs used to give away modem routers to consumers with expensive ADSL plans, but competition has forced them to drop the plans' prices so low they can't subsidize the boxes any more. D-Link Australia says R&D into N routers is now becalmed in a Catch-22."
the perfect 802.11n router? You know, the one with dual band, great range, USB print server and storage?
It's called the Time Capsule. I own one, and it offers all that. What, exactly, was the question?
(oh yeah, maybe you don't like Apple for whatever reason. That's not the point. The point is that such a device does indeed exist, contrary to the claims of the author that it doesn't.)
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
"You know, the one with dual band, great range, USB print server and storage?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_Extreme#AirPort_Extreme_Base_Station
Dual band? Check.
Great range? Check (covers my house).
USB Print and storage? Check.
You're welcome.
It's a little bit expensive at ~ $200, but you get what you pay for. It has great features for the price and is rock solid. Dual-band 802.11N, Gigabit Ethernet, IPv6, SNMP, bridging and routing modes, etc, etc. The only drawback is the proprietary GUI required to configure it (no web interface). This is a show stopper it if you do not have a Windows or OS X based computer at your disposal, but few people are in that situation.
The only reason to pass it up is if you're one of those weirdoes that immediately write off anything with an Apple logo.
Beyond a few rare anomalies, every other consumer router I've used in nearly a decade has been complete garbage, I'd sooner build a PC based Linux or BSD gateway over dealing with that nonsense.
Except for OpenWRT, Apple Airport Extremes have been doing that successfully for years. I have one that is 3 or so years old and it works great. And though you won't get OpenWRT, you do get WDS support. And they are under $200.
Five gigabyte ethernet ports, one USB2 for printing or network storage or both (you can connect a hub to it), dual band, WPA2, WDS, etc., etc.
Not in Australia there isn't. There's ADSL, and there's only one single ADSL standard (well, two if you consider ADSL/ADSL2+). and there's Cable. (and dialup modems/satellite if you want to be picky, and lets face it, who doesn't!). No one's really investing in cable anymore, since the infrastructure for ADSL already exists, and just requires exchange upgrades and back-haul upgrades, instead of in-street wiring of cable and back-haul upgrades.
That's several million homes in Australia who all get an adsl modem from their ISP, and if the isp recommends a wireless router/adsl modem, then they're pushing a path that allows them to invest in R&D on newer features. They all still offer the simple ADSL modem, but there's plenty of room for people with multiple computers (something a large fraction if not the majority of australian households now have) to warrant the availability and simplicity of a modem/router pre-configured by the ISP to just work when you plug it in.
The odd thing is, I already have the router that both you, and the article describe...
It has:
Simultaneous dual band
Ability to broadcast a guest network as well as my secured ones 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz ones
Gigabit ethernet switch
Range good enough to get from one corner of my house to the other far corner, and probably more.
USB print server
Ability to add storage
Ability to act as a backup server
Doesn't overhead
Hasn't crashed since it started running several months ago
Hasn't ever dropped a connection
Hasn't ever had compatibility issues with random 3rd party hardware/software
What is it? Oddly... it's an Airport Extreme
Plug in a modem.
Carriers are forced to lower margins, can't cross-finance as much.
For everyone who can't calculate it themselves: It's pretty much always better for the customer to buy stuff and pay lower monthly fees instead of the other way round. Large one-time costs are better than medium long-term costs.
That being said, just get a Fritz! Box 7390 and be done with it.
2 * POTS
1 * ISDN with optional pass-through to a proper telco appliance
6 * DECT handsets
2 * USB; the mass storage can be exposed via SMB & UPNP-AV/DLNA
4 * Gigabit Ethernet
802.11 bgn
IPv6
And a ton of other features. Plus, you can install freetz!, a free modifcation of the Linux that runs on the Fritz! boxes.
PS: I am aware of how bank credits work, but I am talking utility costs, not buying a house, here.
Of course, in my new house design I actually have a comm closet - wouldn't necessarily put the wireless router in there, but I sure as heck would put the cable/DSL modem in there and use an ethernet run to any wireless routers. Hmmm... at that point might as well use POE and those thin wireless APs. But that's a commercial solution and a LOT more expensive than a consumer integrated unit.
You can roll your own PoE, just run half-duplex connections to your kit (1/2 and 3/6 pairs, IIRC) and use the other wires in the bundle to carry power. Don't make the mistake of trying to run AC power down the line, most anything like that which runs on AC will also run on DC, although it usually only works with one tip polarity because such small crap devices often have half-wave rectifiers. A couple jacks and wall plates will cost you $10 at the home despot. Do yourself a favor and get odd-colored jacks to denote half duplex. If you just install some other kind of power jack in the wall (buy jacks and plugs at radio shack) for the power to come out of, you can't even harm a device by plugging it in.
I get internet access from a local WISP. They installed a bridge/AP in a metal box on the antenna mast. The PoE injector is in my living room closet along with my primary AP/router. (WRT54G with DD-WRT.) Then I have a cable run to the entertainment system hooked up to another AP, as well as to the Xbox (about to be removed as it has died), Xbox 360, Wii, and a PC. This is the AP that I hammer when I want to transfer files, so that my lady can still get access. I don't know if it's a problem with 802.11G or a problem with DD-WRT but if I have a file transfer going I get dropouts, and my two APs are on different channels with no others visible in the area since I live in the boonies.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
SonicWALL is good. Their products are aimed for the small, medium, and large business through. So expect to pay a lot more. But I would recommend them for home use if you can afford it.
Their TZ 100 Wireless-N lists for $360 on CDW. The TZ 100 Wireless-N with 1 Year Total Secure lists for $410. 1 Year warranty is extra I think.
Life is not for the lazy.