[Cialug] Wi-fi recommendations

[Matthew Nuzum]

I will toss out one more point to consider... buying the cheapest router in
the line of whatever brand you pick is probably going to lead to
frustration. For example, I had an old d-link router that worked for most
basic stuff, but if I started using BitTorrent sometime between an hour or
24 hours later the router would crash. Turns out that some routers get
stressed out by activities that open many network sessions. They get hot
and eventually need a reboot.

Going up a notch or two in the price point usually gets you a device with
more RAM and a better CPU and they are going to hold up to a variety of
network activities, including those that aren't on our radar this year but
next year will be all the rage.

I suspect this is why people will say, "I hate Linksys, love D-link" and
then the next person says "I hate D-link, love Linksys" etc. There was a
dark-age of router development probably 2008-2009-ish where cheaper was
better and they cut a lot of corners on the hardware. A lot of brands were
using drastically different hardware even in the same models.

It's probably still happening on the low-end products, so I'll just say I
won't buy a $50 router again except for very special cases (i.e. a travel
router).


On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 12:08 PM, jim kraai <jimgkraai at gmail.com> wrote:

> scott, that's a lotta bang for $25
>
> /me googling dd-wrt support for that router ...
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 11:53 AM, Scott Yates <Scott at yatesframe.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I have one further point to make in all these comparisons.
> >
> > Stability has been spotty among a LOT of the different brands I have
> tried.
> >  Typically d-link, belkin, and a LOT of linksys routers require periodic
> > power cycling.
> >
> > I will say that netgear appears to be an exception, along with Cisco,
> and a
> > company called tp-link.  I am sure there are others, but as you noted,
> most
> > people expect their devices to run without thinking about it after the
> > initial config.
> >
> > Here is a link to the TP-LINK router I bought and have been VERY happy
> with
> > in case you want to check it out.
> >
> > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UBU8IE
> >
> > If you don't want to buy a more expensive Cisco, and are uneasy with
> > TP-Link (I had not heard of them myself, but DO like their gear), then I
> > would recommend doing your best to find a router that supports DD-WRT, as
> > it is probably the most likely to be stable, run on more inexpensive
> > hardware and has a large community.
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> >
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-- 
Matthew Nuzum
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