Which router next ?

I have had my trusty Draytek Vigor 2600 router for a decade now, and I started using it before I had broadband using the old Home Highway system, so its more than a bit old. Its also getting a bit unreliable, is on its second power supply, and in the last week or so its had to be rebooted each day, so its time for a new one.

I am not bothered about wireless as I use the Apple Extreme base station to stitch all the systems together so all I really need is an ADSL modem/router with 4 ethernet ports. I am conscious however, that fibre broadband will be available at some point in my area, so I would like to buy a ADSL modem/router which I can use now, but will not be wasted when I change to fibre broadband.

Anyone care to make any recommendations as to what i should buy ? Its not a money no object scenario but I want something that is as rock solid and reliable as the Vigor 2600 has been.

many thanks.

In that case it's simple. Stay with Draytek and get something like the 2820 or the new 2830.

I believe the 2820 / 2830 should be fine for fibre (anyone feel free to jump in and correct me) if you use WAN2 to connect over Ethernet to the VDSL modem.

HTH.

Edit: Clarity.

Edited by aquilla (Thu 02-Jun-11 20:48:36)

I moved from that model to the 2820 since it supported ADSL2+ and it works great. One thing you'll want to keep in mind though is that it doesn't have support for IPv6 which is essentially inevitable now. No word yet from DrayTek on IPv6 support though you can see bunches of people asking about this in their forums.

Netgear DG834 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-DG834-Router-4-port-...

Sturdy choice for around 40 quid.

Edited by deleted (Thu 02-Jun-11 23:44:02)

Perhaps work through Broadband Buyer's Router Finder Tool?

In reply to a post by Tox_Laximus:

Netgear DG834 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-DG834-Router-4-port-...

Sturdy choice for around 40 quid.

How's that going to help when he switches to FTTC?

Yeah, WAN2 works with the BTOpenreach VDSL modem on the 2820 and 2830

Could you use the Airport Extreme to log in with PPPoE? BT currently provide a modem that terminates the VDSL.

I was in a fairly similar position. My Thomson TG585 v7 router keeps locking up, so I decided it was time to buy a new router. Like you, I didn't want to have to buy another router if/when FTTC becomes available in my area.

I've just ordered a NETGEAR DGND3700.

http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/wirelessroute...

The features that attracted me were:

1. It has both an ADSL2+ modem built-in AND a Gigabit Ethernet WAN port
2. It has 4 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, so it'll replace both my Thomson TG585 v7 AND my NETGEAR GS605 Gigabit switch
3. It apparently uses the Broadcom chipset, so it should cope with my long line length
4. It's dual band (simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
5. It supports IPV6
6. It allows in-bound and out-bound VPN connections
7. It supports QOS

It can also act as a file server (via two USB 2.0 ports), although that feature wasn't of interest to me since I already have a Windows Home Server.

I went for a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH.

Snags: No ADSL modem, so if you're not on FTTC, it's no good for you.
Pros:
Not too expensive
Gigabit Ethernet
High-power Wireless (apparently)
DD-WRT - which means that it should remain supported a long time after the manufacturer has given up on it.