Router for a very small business

[Teknologie]

Here are some details about the small business I work for:

- Trying to go low-cost
- There are only two users: My boss and myself
- Total of 8 devices running.
- Everything is running on wireless, except for my boss’ computer.
- There are no data jacks on walls and we don’t plan on wiring anything unless the boss finally buys the building. Scalability would be great, although not required.

What are we looking for in router:

- Security
- Speed
- Any good extras and bonuses are a plus.
- Scalability not only in that, in the future, the building may be bought and we may be able to put in data jacks for everything to harmonize well, but also in that, in the future, we may want to put our own little central storage server like a NAS or something. It’s a preference, not a requirement.

What we are trying to accomplish in our small business:

Currently, this small business is running on a broadband modem-router that gives us no administrative capabilities whatsoever. We are unable to mask the SSID with our own made up SSID. Thus, the SSID of the phone company is being broadcasted. On top of that, we have no say in making up our own password for our own network. Although the password is complex, it does not give us the management. Furthermore, we currently are not using a router. The business is only about a year and five months old. We’re just starting.

The reason why I don’t go for a switch is because, as stated before, we do not have data jacks in any room other than his office. So, we cannot hook anything up locally. We don’t opt to put in any data jacks either because my boss does not want to spend money on something he’s not sure whether he’ll buy or move out of (the building).

What would be our best option?

 

[Gentleman Jim]

I would look at Linksys most of the models EA 6500 and up have the features that you are looking for. The cost is a little high , however the bonus' for one of these routers would be the speed, very good security and you could add storage to it vis the usb port at a later date. A couple of models I would recommend would be the EA 6900 or the EA 8500. Both of these have a high price tag but the features you want and ability to have storage later make them solid choices.

 

[bill001g]

It depends what you plans are. If you need to replace the router being provided by the ISP then you are going to need a model that has the correct modem in it. Most times these are some form of DSL or cable modem. In some cases the ISP will not allow you to replace their device.

If you plan to put another router behind the ISP router the you can use almost any router with a ethernet wan port but since the ISP router still exists and you can not change the configuration you will still have the wireless active. You also may have issues running router behind router if you need to do anything related to port forwarding.

It is strange they allow you no access especially not allowing to change the passwords on the SSID>

 

[Teknologie]

I would look at Linksys most of the models EA 6500 and up have the features that you are looking for. The cost is a little high , however the bonus' for one of these routers would be the speed, very good security and you could add storage to it vis the usb port at a later date. A couple of models I would recommend would be the EA 6900 or the EA 8500. Both of these have a high price tag but the features you want and ability to have storage later make them solid choices.

Gentleman Jim,

Thank you for your response. The little USB hookup sounds very attractive. Just the kind of scalability that would be nice to have in the future. I will look into the prices. Even if it is a little too high, if he considers it to be worth it, we'll move forward with it. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Teknologie]

It depends what you plans are. If you need to replace the router being provided by the ISP then you are going to need a model that has the correct modem in it. Most times these are some form of DSL or cable modem. In some cases the ISP will not allow you to replace their device.

If you plan to put another router behind the ISP router the you can use almost any router with a ethernet wan port but since the ISP router still exists and you can not change the configuration you will still have the wireless active. You also may have issues running router behind router if you need to do anything related to port forwarding.

It is strange they allow you no access especially not allowing to change the passwords on the SSID>

Bill001g,

Thank you for your response and insight. We're definitely not looking to replace the device, but rather run the router behind the router. We're currently not looking into port forwarding yet, but we may as well test it before deciding to keep the router. The wireless of the ISP's device continuing it's broadcast while we have the router running behind it is definitely something that concerns me a bit, but I feel the situation we're currently in is worse than just having the original SSID continue it's broadcast while we're running off of the new one.

In regards to the absurdity of the ISP allowing us no access, especially not in changing passwords...I know. I was taken aback by it too. Looks like I'll have to do some testing.