You basically dedicated an entire episode to routers on KH184 yet the scope was so narrow, so I t...

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

You basically dedicated an entire episode to routers on KH184 yet the scope was so narrow, so I though I might chip in.

 

I’ve used pretty much all kinds and brands of routers from very cheap to very expensive. Routers that do only one thing such as connect my network to a VPN server and let the DHCP addressing to the next router in the chain and so far I was just getting frustration because they all have one thing in common, they start to get slow and they need to be restarted every once in a while.

 

Then I found this the Ubiquiti Networks EdgeRouter Lite (ERL3, the black box on picture 1) it is very powerful, even more than those you showed on the episode, it will do VPN both server and client, load-balancing, deep packet inspection, several DHCP pools with the ability for each pool to go over several subnets, i.e. 192.168.0.1-192.168.2.254, VLANs, it can serve two different networks, its ports are of course gigabit and it can do a million packets per second.

 

I have never had the need to restart it other than the occasional power outage or firmware upgrade. You can do any modification that would have the need to restart other routers (such as changing its IP addresses) without skipping a beat or any downtime. Its interface is very advanced but if you want more you can go CLI on it.

 

It costs only a hundred.

 

There’s also a cheaper version of it and versions that are powered through PoE from your switch, if you have one.

 

There is also this the UniFi Security Gateway (or USG, USG3 in their forums, white and silver box with the square light on top, picture 2)

 

This is basically the same as the ERL3 but it is meant to be managed by a controller, which is a [free] piece of software that runs on a server or a dedicated hardware they sell and the advantage of this is that you can setup in an incredibly easy manner Site-to-Site VPN links between two USGs. The Controller can also be cloud-hosted facilitating this, i.e., having a central location for both to connect to.

 

Both routers are metal, they look plastic on pictures though, and are very solid.

 

Naturally these are routers not Wi-Fi routers so they don’t do wireless but at that price you can add one of their UniFi access points that are capable of doing traffic shaping per client, group of clients or SSID, they have a built-in editable captive portal or it also can be hosted elsewhere—you just check a box in the Controller—they will do band steering for clients that are capable of the 5Ghz band, if you live outside the US you can use the DFS channels to make use the whole 5GHz band, the AC models do spectral analysis and my favorite is that if you have multiple APs (like you should) they do excellent zero-config Wi-Fi roaming: they multicast over ethernet their current wireless clients and they will kick a client off from the AP if the client has better reception on another AP. This is perfect to sticky clients with just one antenna, like smartphones.

 

The APs start from about USD 60. Sadly I don’t live in the US so I pay a whole lot more for import duties and taxes, but they are so worth it.

 

I usually don’t like to use just one brand for network equipment because every brand has little variations in their terminology and technologies, so it keeps me savvy but Ubiquiti has become my go-to; it’s cheap, it’s rock-solid and it’s dependable.

 

I'm attaching some screenshots of the Controller.

 

BTW, the lights can be turned off in the Controller and they are wall-mountable. They don’t include a stylus, though.

[G+_Keith Mallett]

Well done! Do you Cisco? I think you might but don't know it....

[G+_Ben Reese]

I'm sold! Actually, I've been using Ubiquiti APs at Church for a while and love them! It's an old school, so real long with cinder block walls. The 2 APs (and the 1 wireless router) setup cover the whole thing. PoE is a must have for wireless Access Points.

[G+_Peter Hanse]

I am liking what they have to offer. My business has multi locations on wireless links and always looking for good links to increase our reliability and speeds. Currently using other brands but really like this interface and use of 5 ghz AC. Also our AP are a mix of apple and other brands giving fun to management and pass off.

[G+_Ben Yanke]

I use Ubiquiti APs at my house, and also set them up at my parents' house (controlled by a digital ocean droplet, to make things stress free on the management side - they can eat the $5/mo cost). Not to mention the uptime....of the two Ubiquity APs at my parents, one has been up for a month, the other has been up for 56 days, both with no problems. Considered putting in a ubiquity router before I moved out, but they have a finicky 2-WAN setup that was working and I didn't want to mess with. 

 

Currently using a mikrotik router for my home stack (a few unmanaged switches, 1 ap, a windows 7 pro based virtualization server, a synology nas, and some desktops), which is great for tinkering, but in the future if I need to deploy setups elsewhere, I will probably use Ubiquiti's routers.

 

That $60 router is pretty enticing, especially if you already want to get the POE switch for your APs that can power it.

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

Thanks for the share, I hadn't though about Digital Ocean myself, I've been using a local controller and I've been testing Amazon EC2, I guess it never crossed my mind I could use just about any virtual server. I'm gonna give that a try.

 

I'm working with a 4-WAN setup, I'm supposed to get fiber very soon but in the meantime I needed something to cope with. The Ubiquiti routers work fine behind a load balancer, you have to pay close attention to DDNS and port forwarding though. I setup 4 DDNS CNAMEs in a row then from fifth subdomain, I also own, I point to them in a round robin fashion. It works. Of course, if you have a fixed public IP address you need none of this.

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

Keith Mallett My telco offered me some Cisco equipment if I signed up for a dedicated link but the monthly cost is insanely expensive. Over 16000MXN/mo (About 880USD) for a 10Mb/s symmetrical connection. To get where I am I would have to pay over 84000MXN/mo (more than 4600USD). I'm supposed to get fiber later in the next month and I'll be paying around 120USD for 200Mb/s and six lines with unlimited calling to most of the world.

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

Ben Reese I get what you're saying, homes down here are made out of cement blocks, it's extremely rare to find anything made out of wood so great antenna design is everything.

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

Peter Hanse Seeing you already have links in place, it might be better cost effective if you could group them into sectors, and if you really need to upgrade them. I have deployed four so far. I have three 120º sectors in a towers, two on 5GHz AC and one on 2.4GHz, granted, the stations are not too far (from 3 to 5km) but the give me great throughput; over 200Mb/s. Next week I'm installing another, I'm just waiting for some anchors to be delivered.

 

I do VoIP, file servers, share printers and even send the TV signal over the links, that way I can aggregate all services in one location.

 

I love that this brand has very active user community, they have gotten me out of trouble two or three times already and tinkering about with beta software is as easy as flicking a switch in your community profile. Their employees have often replied to me directly. The same ones that post the betas, that's amazing.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Gustavo Domínguez, if you aren't from the US, may I ask where you are from and how much import fees were?

[G+_Keith Mallett]

Jason Perry  Sounds like a pirate router config....

 

Gustavo Domínguez  You on a ship somewhere at sea???

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

Jason Perry Just right next in Baja California Sur, Mexico. But over the last couple of years the conversion rate has been steadily increasing and since I'm basically on an island, everything has to be flown in. We used to pay less but taxes were adjusted just last year so the whole country pays a flat rate. Making my state one of the most expensive to live.

 

Import fees are really a mystery, sometimes there aren't any, which is a nice surprise, or then they basically double the MSRP; if feels really arbitrary. Buying just a thing or two is not much but it really adds up. Another issue is that stuff just isn't available here, so if I screw up something like giving 48v to a 24v passive PoE equipment and fry it, which I accidentally did...twice. I need to wait for it at least 4 days to arrive. Thank god for B&H and Amazon, though. On the plus side, LAP-LAX is about a short 2hr flight, and, if you bring stuff you don't plan to resell--which I don't--you can bring stuff with you and they'll drop the fees. You save nothing because of the trip, but I focus on the positive and see it as a free trip.

 

Keith Mallett It feels like it but no, I'm very much in land.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Gustavo Domínguez, I look out the window today and I have seen rain, snow, and freezing rain. I am a little jealous of your climate right now.

[G+_Steven Wang]

I just watched the episode, and I was expecting a least one "DIY" or "Power User" choice given the nature of the show. Those single wifi setup will get a lot of latency once sharing with a few people.

 

The ubiquiti would be a nice addition to the list for a more modular setup, where you add more as cover and/or speed as you go. I would prefer multiple low powered wifi over a single wifi blasting over my head. Ideally, one AP per room, and separate AP's for the performance needy device/person.

 

The simple setup of one Edrouter X + Unifi AP (non-ac) goes for around ~$120, or ~$150 with a Unifi AC-Lite.

 

One this that could make it better allowing the Unifi controller to run IN the router.

 

 

[G+_Gustavo Domínguez]

Steven Wang  I'm using a mixed setup, at first I was using an EdgeRouter but then switched to the USG to have everything unified in one interface I lost some functionality over the EdgeRouter but it's still more advanced than a most other routers in the market and functionality has been added back with each Controller update, which is about every 2-3 weeks. For the APs I'm using a several different models, it doesn't really matter much, they're seen as Wi-Fi groups in the Controller, and yes, I'm doing one AP per room or per couple of rooms as I'm not using the 2.4GHz band but for one AP and the 5GHz band basically is limited to the same room in places made out of masonry--there's this Harmony Hub I have in one room doesn't work in the 5GHz band.

 

BTW, I bought a bunch of AC Lite models waiting for the AC Pros and they are much better than I expected, I think I might even stick with those.

[G+_Jason Perry]

Gustavo Domínguez?, I am interested in hearing what you have to say about the difference in performance between the lite and pro.