Recommend a Good Enthusiast Wireless Router?

I want to replace my BT HH5 - The main reason is the port forwarding does not work, but the wifi is also very hit and miss with many devices, esp. Android.

Can anyone recommend a reliable, customisable wifi router for cable/VDSL (BT FTTC)?


My main requirements are configurability on the LAN side; i run a windows domain as a lab, with dns and dhcp on the Windows server, so the router must be happy simply running as a gateway/cable or VDSL/gigabit/WiFI router.

I would like to be able to set DNS servers on the router, which i cannot do on the HH5
I am also experimenting with VPN and Direct Access
I need BT vision to continue working (so i need igmp i gather?)
The wireless connectivity is not crucial, does not have to be AC - range is more important than speed. I also have a TP-LINK TL-WPA281 powerline WiFi extender.

I am a fan of Netgear, but not sure if the recent upstarts Asus are as good as the reviews, or they are just good for consumer devices?

Thanks for reading and for any replies!

Edited by mcompton69 (Sun 15-Feb-15 17:56:42)

Post deleted by mcompton69

I'd spend a little time looking at the merlin, tomato and wwdrt firmware options that work for many of the Asus devices

Invariably these give you more control than the stock firmware.

Do you requie a vdsl modem built in? or are you going to use an Openreach modem in conjunction with your new device.

A good list on combined vdsl devices here http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=14436.0

I use a asus rt-n66U with tomato firmware, and most of the things you also mention (domain,vpn,dns) with no problems.

Don't know about bt vision...sorry

Ian

Edited by ian007jen (Sun 15-Feb-15 18:59:33)

Thanks for all your replies, some really useful information.

I have gone for the TP-Link TD-W9980, i can always send back if it is not suitable.

It has the Lantiq (ECI) chipset which matches the current VDSL modem supplied by BT
I like TP-Link's stuff, had a few things from them, they have all been better than the price implies.
Gets 4.9/5 from 7 reviews on Broadband Buyer

It states it has the following features that I want:

Gigabit LAN
DHCP and DNS relay
DDNS
IGMP v1/2/3 and snooping (i think that covers BT vision??)
A load of different VPN protocols and standards

I will post back with my opinion once it arrives and I have had time to test it out.

Edited by mcompton69 (Mon 16-Feb-15 19:59:41)

PS I decided against the Asus as there were a couple of sites with reviews referring to poor performance/disconnections that had not been resolves 6 months down the line.

Without knowing whether that means inherent hardware problems or simply Asus firmware problems (that perhaps DD-WRT fixes, but possibly not)./

That combined with the price, they're too expensive for someone who thinks WiFi is secondary (4 cheap access points is far far superior and can be cheaper than/to 1 MEGA-AP).

if you have a VDSL/FTTC modem then this is pretty much the ultimate enthusiast router >

MikroTik RouterBOARD RB951Ui-2HnD

you can get them from places like Msdist and the price is very sensible.

you can configure anything and everything you may need in that and for around £50 basically.

It is also a very capable dual chain 802.11n wifi beast. be prepared for a worthwhile learning curve , helped by the winbox application

In reply to a post by mcompton69:

I want to replace my BT HH5 - The main reason is the port forwarding does not work, but the wifi is also very hit and miss with many devices, esp. Android.

Can anyone recommend a reliable, customisable wifi router for cable/VDSL (BT FTTC)?


My main requirements are configurability on the LAN side; i run a windows domain as a lab, with dns and dhcp on the Windows server, so the router must be happy simply running as a gateway/cable or VDSL/gigabit/WiFI router.

I would like to be able to set DNS servers on the router, which i cannot do on the HH5
I am also experimenting with VPN and Direct Access
I need BT vision to continue working (so i need igmp i gather?)
The wireless connectivity is not crucial, does not have to be AC - range is more important than speed. I also have a TP-LINK TL-WPA281 powerline WiFi extender.

I am a fan of Netgear, but not sure if the recent upstarts Asus are as good as the reviews, or they are just good for consumer devices?

Thanks for reading and for any replies!

if you have a VDSL/FTTC modem then this is pretty much the ultimate enthusiast router >

MikroTik RouterBOARD RB951Ui-2HnD

The thing that might put most enthusiasts off is the lack of any gigabit network ports. Most enthusiasts will be looking for gigabit.

In reply to a post by ian72:

if you have a VDSL/FTTC modem then this is pretty much the ultimate enthusiast router >

MikroTik RouterBOARD RB951Ui-2HnD

The thing that might put most enthusiasts off is the lack of any gigabit network ports. Most enthusiasts will be looking for gigabit.

There's a gigabit version of the same device. MikroTik RouterBOARD RB951G-2HnD

Think I'd rather spend a little bit more and get the RouterBoard RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN.