I Need a New Router, Modem, or Both

[wonderflonium164]

I'm in the market for new internet hardware, and because I'm mostly clueless on this topic I've come to ask Tom's for advice.

Right now I have CenturyLink vdsl connection: 20mb down and 0.8mb up (I know, primitive speeds these days). The current router is unable to utilize LAN at the advertised speed of 100mbit, getting closer to 12mbit.

I need a VDSL2 router that can handle a lot of traffic, (I know the speed can't, but we'll upgrade that once the hardware is solid), 10+ devices over wifi, and up to 5 wired as well. I don't know if it's better to get a combo unit, or bridge the router to the modem, and any other suggestions you guys have would be much appreciated.

 

[The Paladin]

wonderflonium164,

I think many people like the Modem/Router Combos, that it may be VDSL, DSL, or cable. and yes it is a matter of personal choice.
I found that when you have a combo unit, you have to replace both when either you need a faster modem or better Router. So I would suggest to use 2 devices. a VDSL Modem and a Router. it permits more flexibility in the future realms of upgrades.

You say you have 10 devices, I would ask how many are Wi-Fi (cell phones, tablets laptops etc.) and how many are hard wired (Ethernet devices), will televisions (smart TV) will be connected to the Router? do you have your own library or Videos or Music that you like to stream over your network? all of these do define your needs and what hardware you will need.

I will give you a view of my setup, I currently run on Wired Ethernet; 2 Gaming Pc's and 3 Library Drives (NAS), on Wi-Fi; 2 Cell Phones, 2 Tablets, 1 Desktop PC, 3 Smart televisions, Stream Hulu, NAS videos and Music, and run my Video Home Security Recording off a secondary Router (ap on first router on separate Ip range)

when I ran the Cable company solution (modem/router all in one) I kept getting disconnects, slow connectivity, wait time for videos to load if anyone was playing a movie or listening to music and if 3 people was on the internet gaming at the same time, it was down to 1mb speeds. sounds familiar?

So I researched my needs and what the ISP will accept on their network (modem part) and found the fastest acceptable Modem, bought it, called them and I installed it, bonus on that it is mine, and I don't have to pay the 15$/month for the rental modem/router unit. For a router I splurged a bit, I bought a Triband, 2.4GHZ, and Dual 5GHZ, Netgear X6 R8000. why this particular model, well its great for streaming, and managing what band is used for what.

So I configured all the Cells phones, tablets and Laptops on Wifi 2.,4HZ, the Wired PC and NAS slipped those behind a 8 Port Switch, and set the Smart television on the 5GHZ bands. This router permits to combine the dual 5GHZ bands for faster streaming, all internal processes and works great!.

With all these connected, I even set a "friends 4ghz" guest network, permits, with a password of course, my buddies to get on my Wi-Fi but they are segregated from my network, they get the internet connectivity their phones or laptop need without access to my personal network.

I spend 239$ on the Netgear X6 r8000, and 80$ on the Arris SB6190 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
This was 2 years ago.. flawless ...

So what is your hardware need and what you envision your "setup", so I can suggest something to rock your network, now and for a long time.

 

[bill001g]

Not sure how you are testing and what your actual problem is.

You will never be able to go faster than your ISP speed. So the fastest you can expect from any router is 20m on your connection. It will run at 20m even if your lan ports are gigabit.

Now if you mean you get 12mbit to the internet say on speed test that may be standard ISP lie of "UP TO 20m" speeds and then in the fine print say it will be less. DSL is affected by your distance to the ISP office. Be sure you find out from your ISP if you really should expect to get 20m at your particular house. They can calculate it based on signal levels....many dsl routers have a screen that can also do this.

Now if what you are talking about is lan-lan traffic inside your house that is slightly different. First if you are transfering files between machines in your house and getting 12m be very sure than is MBIT and not MBYTE. 12mbyte is 96mbit...very close to the 100m port speed.

You would have to look at the devices and how the traffic flows in your house to select a router for that application. Since you did not say you had a file server or a NAS or some type of video streaming box you should not need anything too fancy.


Now if all you are going to do is surf the internet you may not get anything that runs much faster than your current router. Make sure you test from ethernet connected ports.

If you really want a new router for other reasons you may be best off using your current router as a DSL modem in bridge mode. You then increase your selection of routers because you do longer require a dsl modem in the device, you can buy one with a normal wan port. Still setting up DSL in bridge mode and then getting a second router configure is a little more tricky than most installations. Just remember you are not going to increase your internet speed by doing this.

 

[wonderflonium164]

Thank you both for you responses. To clear up some questions allow me to repeat myself: 1. 10+ devices over wifi, 5 over wired ethernet. 4 PC's (only two capable of gaming) and a Dish Hopper. 2. LAN to LAN connection is 12 mBIT, or 1.5mByte.

Additional Info: There are two File Servers, though one is just a duplicate of the first. Nothing is streamed from the file system, merely stored. Two of the computers are capable of gaming, and any of the Wifi devices could be streaming at any given time. While I do need better speeds, I have to single out the possibility of bad hardware. Also I want hardware that can handle it when I make the upgrade.

Based on your replies it sounds like I need a new router, but could opt to use the current router as the modem. I probably won't though because I don't really trust CenturyLink hardware... So new router, new modem, gaming, streaming, file system; I'll also likely upgrade to 60MB or higher download (again, once I can show that it isn't hardware causing insane latancy). Suggest what you think would be best, and I'll work out how much I'm willing to spend.
Again thanks for your responses as I have no clue where to even start.

 

[The Paladin]

Thank you both for you responses. To clear up some questions allow me to repeat myself: 1. 10+ devices over wifi, 5 over wired ethernet. 4 PC's (only two capable of gaming) and a Dish Hopper. 2. LAN to LAN connection is 12 mBIT, or 1.5mByte.

According to your remarks and details provided I am going to assume firstly using CenturyLink ISP.

Though unknown to me, I did check up this web page for "compatible" hardware to be used; http://www.approvedmodems.com/centurylink.html ,is a page to look at, now you can also ask your ISP if they have a web page of their own (most do) or a list of client purchasable hardware (so you don't rent it from them) they recommend to use on their network.

if you want the "household internal network flexibility" then buy/rent the VS2 Modem only (no router inside it) and to manage your various devices, get a router separately (such's as ASUS, Netgear or other).see below for more on this.

Now that said, ADLS2, ADSL, VDSL2 and DSL have physical limits of speeds (maximum speed over copper wire of the telephone wire) when accessing the internet (even with best setup for internal network (streaming a movie from a NAS to a TV or device for example) the limiting factor when accessing the internet is primarily your ADSL speed (and max speed run about; "up to 25Megabits", which means it will usually be slower because of concurrent multiple connections accessing the internet at the same time (more phones device go on the internet slower each will be, this is not a router issue its an adsl/vdsl/dsl issue.)

My suggestion for such a situation is get a modem that will permit the smallest bottleneck with ISP, and use a good quality router that you can upgrade if you need to , but let me remind you that you will do management of the "devices" internally to optimize the network, too many people believe plug in and tada.. it will provide a miracle. no it wont.

<DISCLAIMER>
you will need to do you own verification, with your ISP and with your area provider to ensure the following hardware is allowed/supported with all proper functionality to your ISP, I make no warranties these are supported, as I have not spoken to your ISP , that will have to be your job.

I suggest according to what I see, the following combination;
TP-LINK TD-8616 DSL Modem (this connects your ADSL to your Wan port of your router)
http://www.approvedmodems.com/tp-link-td-8616-dsl-modem.html
then modem then connects to the wan port of the following router possibilities

before deciding on a router, you have to see what your devices can use in bands, 802.11ac, 802.11n etc. also 2.4ghz or/and 5ghz or MiMo, latest phones can use either 2.4 or 5ghz bands, and usability will depend on where how far they are from the router in the house. (multiple floors house? what's the square footage) will and can affect speeds and connectivity for each devices.

I like this router as it is solid, 2.4hgz and dual 5ghz bands, all bands can be setup as separate accessed by separated password, include visitor secluded from your network bands (give Wi-Fi to buddies but not access to your network just internet)

TP-Link Archer C3200 <web link to neweggs.com website were all details can be found.>

you can go with a cheaper, lower abilities router (looking at the link above you have a comparison chart you can use) but with 12+ devices, I cannot suggest single processor dual bands router.