TP-Link Archer C2 vs Archer C7 vs Netgear R6220

[ivailogeimara]

I recently decided to virtualize my file/cloud/ts3 server and my gaming/workstation pc only to discover that my current router doesn't like bridged networks (vm doesn't have access to internet in bridged mode).
So I am looking to buy a new one and I narrowed my choice to these 3 and I can't decide which one to get.
I am going to use wired network primarily so I don't care that much for the WiFi. My cheap D-link DIR-501 is good enough for my WiFi needs so all of these should be fine. Most important for me is features like port-forwarding, firewall, mac filtering to work well and to HAVE NO PROBLEMS with bridged networks (i.e. bridges between host and Virtual Machines have to work).
Does C7 or R6220 have any advantage over C2 if we exclude WiFi?

 

[Lutfij]

The TP-Link routers are identical in every way except for their wifi capabilities. If the price of the C2 is much more than the C7 then I'd say get the C7 but if the price difference is great, then sticking to the C2 is better.

 

[bill001g]

What are you referring to when you say bridged mode. I am suspecting you mean some function in the pc not setting bridge mode in the router.

The router does not have any special feature to talk to a pc. It is straight forward ethernet. There is no realistic limitation on number of mac addresses or ip address that a port can use. Now if you are doing something like vlan taging on the port that it not a feature you are going to find on a consumer router.

 

[ivailogeimara]

What are you referring to when you say bridged mode. I am suspecting you mean some function in the pc not setting bridge mode in the router.

The router does not have any special feature to talk to a pc. It is straight forward ethernet. There is no realistic limitation on number of mac addresses or ip address that a port can use. Now if you are doing something like vlan taging on the port that it not a feature you are going to find on a consumer router.

When you create vm you can use several types of networking for the vm. NAT, host only, bridged....... With NAT it creates virtual network inside vm and you can ping/access everything on the internet from the VM including every computer on your local network BUT you can't ping/access the VM from anywhere including the host PC. With bridged type it creates a bridge interface that connects your physical NIC with the VM's NIC so VM's NIC appear on your local network as if it's another physical pc and can be accessed from every PC on your local network and ofc if you port forward something to it you can access it from everywhere. That's what I am trying to do.
I am trying to create virtual machine with ts3 server in it for example and I want this ts3 server to be accessable from everywhere. I read somewhere that cheap routers don't like these types of bridged networks. It was something to do with having multiple IPs on the same MAC address. Because it appears as different IP on LAN network but it's on the same NIC so it has same MAC.

 

[bill001g]

It should work fine to have multiple ip assigned to a single mac. This is just multiple arp table entries. It would be if you tried to assign multiple mac to a single IP that you get big problems.

You can assign secondary IP in the nic settings even without running VM.

I have not used VM much but you many times can assign a different mac to the virtual adapter.