I'm itching to upgrade my DLink DIR-655 consumer router, while it still works great it doesn't have all the features I need now. At work we just switched to the Cisco WRVS4400N in the office and so far we haven't had any issues but I've read lots of reports online about reliability issues with these routers. I was briefly at one of our clients offices today and they're using Cisco RVS4000 which is the wired only version of the WRVS4400 and they're having reliability issues saying they have to cycle the power on the router about twice a day. Now it could also be their old server that's about to die (new server is going in soon) but it seems this is a common problem with these routers.

However I really like the feature set on these routers and was looking for something with the same features but with great reliability. My Dlink has been rock solid for years it just doesn't have all the fancy IT features.


WRVS4400N

 

I never used this but it supports ddwrt firmware http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833162031

 

Been using Cisco AP541N all over the place, their solid. No power cycling at all.

 

that seems more like a high end consumer router than a Small Business Router

 

I love my Cisco 871. It's a few years old, but it's rock solid and although it has the "SOHO" label, It could easily support hundreds of clients. It runs full blown Cisco IOS, which I love to tweak with . In fact, I deleted the SDM software from the router to free space for other IOSes .

If you want it with built-in wireless support, look for the 871W.

Edit: Link, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6200/

 

Mine or yours?

I would never deploy a Linksys into a small business.

 

I was speaking of the buffalo, your comment got in between his and mine.

yeah I'm not a fan of Linksys and the fact that this cisco router is just a rebranded linksys doesn't surprise me with it's reliability problems. I've never seen a reliable linksys product.

 

I'll confess up front that I have no experience in this product space, but the 800 series of Cisco's Integrated Services Routers that Thunder mentioned are probably going to be your best bet. They aren't cheap, and they aren't easy. You'll also need a Cisco SMARTnet contract (or access to one) if you want to download other code versions for the product.

 

How many users are you going to support with this thing and how big is the space? I suggested the Buffalo because I assumed a small business with outsourced IT are under 20 people and are cheap. The fact that it can run third party firmware will give it similar capability to the Cisco at a fraction of the price. If they can afford the Cisco, get that.

 

It's for my house, I'm wanting to replace the dlink dir-655 I have and love with a more sophisticated business oriented router. The cisco/linksys I talk about in my first post has everything I'm looking for except for questionable reliability

 

DIR-655 I have at home, it is not for small business...but it is a good router, why would you want to change it?

@ work I have a VPN setup up with RVS4000N, excellent ability...I'm just having one ridiculous problem with their IPS (intrusion prevention system) - it blocks me from accessing external ftp.. but everything else is great, it truly allows you to establish any policy you desire for your network. (for the price it is a good bargain, but Cisco lately is behind in updates)

 

The main issue I have with real Cisco gear in the home is that you need to pay for a support contract if you want to get firmware updates. Or you can try to get them

I've been rocking a Linksys WRTG54GL running Tomato firmware for a few years. I currently have no need for N at home but I may upgrade if I get a new gaming console. I may give that Buffalo a try one day.

 

Huh? You are kidding right? Cisco firmware is readily available..all you have to do is register.

 

^ Yeah, works great as long as you have a support contract associated with the account.

 

I just can't figure this IPS and FTP problem... the dns is resolving, but it does not connect, the moment I enable this pos IPS (which is good for an average user, prevents you from being hacked and trojans), but it does me no good. When it is enabled, the IPS, it eats half of bandwidth and the FTP works fine, disable it, you'll get 100% of the bandwidth but the FTP will not work... and I can't figure it out...

But the interface is very flexible as long as you know what you are doing..if you don't...you'll smash it against a wall

 

Each of the models in SonicWall's TZ line-up have an option for built-in wireless. They're very nice business class units, tons of options, rock-solid. Not cheap though.

http://www.sonicwall.com/us/products/13281.html

 

I would go with the Cisco 880 series or even the 870 series. Regarding IOS from my experience if you have a SCC login even after you do not extend your SMARTnet you can still pull IOS from their site. If you are looking for cheaper and do not require SDM or any nice GUI then go with an older 26xx series router and just use the CLI.

 

The reason I want one in my house is cause I have Exchange 2010 running on a Server 2008 R2 Enterprise VM on my Hyper-V 2008 R2 box. I'm doing this for education and experience. I want to work with one of these fancy routers a familiarize my self with its features so I don't have to learn everything on the job but I don't want to get into a service contract with Cisco, that's too much.

I think I'm just gonna get the WRVS4400 and if it sucks for me I'll take it back

 

yes...

 

If you want to learn a bit about Cisco firewalls you can get an ASA5505 for not too much coin. You can then pick up a wireless access point to compliment it.
http://www.buy.com/prod/cisco-asa-55...204229215.html

 

^that's too much $$$ and it doesn't have gigabit or wireless

 

BTW Stunna, don't forget there's nothing that says you actually have to get something that has both wireless access point and routing functionality like consumer devices do. You could just get something that's only a router with just two or three Ethernet interfaces. This is essentially what Doopstr was saying with his ASA5505 suggestion. Technically, the ASA is one of Cisco's security products and not one of their router products. All of the ASA devices will, however, provide basic routing functionality out of the box. They sort of have to in order to be a firewall.

One thing I will add though, is that even basic firewall functionality in Cisco-land can be confusing as f*ck compared to basic routing and switching. Especially so if you're attempting to do it from the CLI.

Lastly, to clarify the Cisco support thing, yes you do indeed need access to a service contract. You create a Cisco.com login and submit a request to have a service contract associated with the login. Once that request is granted, you're in. You can download pretty much anything you want. It's all essentially an honor system. The moral of the story is that if you can find someone who will let you use their Cisco.com login, then you could download code for your own device regardless of what is actually covered under the other person's contract. Of course, you could also always get your employer to purchase a Cisco SomethingOrOther with support, but nobody ever does that....

 

I suggested the ASA because you said you are looking for education and experience. The ASA is something that you can put on your resume and will pay for itself if it's an IT background you are trying to build. As far as I know the 5505 runs the same IOS as the bigger ones. Eventually you can convince your employer to install a 5505 or 5510 and then you can play around with VPN tunnels.

I do agree with Billiam that they are more difficult to configure than your average bear.

 

I think I want to ease myself into the IOS I'm still trying to get a hang of iOS Gigabit is a MUST too so that's a deal breaker for me.

 

With my Cisco 871, I have a gigabit switch connected to it which connects to all the devices that are gigabit capable. I have my WAP (G only), printer, and powerline ethernet adapter (for my entertainment center in the livingroom) connected to the 10/100 interfaces on the router itself. It works well for me *shrug*.

 

just out of curiousity, what features is it lacking?

 

VPN tunnels are wonderful things, I have setup up our phone system through it for multiple offices (calling each other via extensions and transferring, NJ, Italy and China).

I always find it amusing those who are trying to achieve Gigabit network without the right equipment or understanding a) is your wiring upto it? b) can your computer really handle such transfers? 120mb/s?

P.S. Run this tiny little program, netcps ... test the realm of your network.

 

Even if your network devices aren't capable of reaching true gigabit speeds, anything above 12 megabytes/sec is better than nothing.

Real-world performance with my gigabit devices at home has been in the range of ~ 35-45 megabytes/sec (all CAT6 cabling). That's almost 3x faster than 10/100, and definitely an improvement when moving 10's of GB's across the network.

Is that not good enough to be using gigabit network equipment?

 

^ I'm not arguing that but I have a handful of people that could not grasp of why they are not and cannot acquire advertised 1Gbps

100mbs @ 12mb/s as you mentioned is almost prehistoric... I've have major dilemmas whether to go NAT @ home or stick to my portable eSata drives... even cat5e @ 350Mhz is wonderful, and I'm stuck with this wiring as they are in-walls all over my house..who knew

Anything beats 1.2/2.4/14.4..etc kbps modems, now that's prehistoric! :P

 

OP, with dir-655 whats your maximum mbps on n-draft? please test if possible, my signal rates at 75mbps (router max is 130) , but im not getting any where near that... :/

 

I did the netcps thing and I got 15mb/s between my machine and one of my VMs. I've seen it go higher though, I've seen it up to about 35-40mb/s when transferring large files.

I'll test N later and let you know

 

^ thank you very much.

 

Well if I believed in god then I would take this as a sign. I was doing the netcps tests and had my laptop plugged into the router via Ethernet. I walked away for a few minutes and when I walked back to get my laptop I just picked it up and walked away without disconnecting it. So where I went my router was soon to follow and it did and then crashed to the floor! And now will not connect to the webs. I've swapped cables power cycled everything and no luck. The intranet still works mostly even wifi but I can't even connect to the router settings page. Soooo I guess I have to drive to Tampa tomorrow to pick up that cisco router. This sucks........

Sent from my iPhone over 3g

 

Sorry, partially it is my fault :P

Try to reset the router, or directly connect to it via WAN, maybe IP (default gateway) has jumped... And Yes, it is time for a new router... Since I'm having major issue right now with rvs4000, I say stay away. It was not designed to exceed 20mpbs...I've been reading cisco forums for weeks now, basically its IPS - Idiotic Prevention System, must be on for basic port forwarding and ftp connects, with that crap on, it limits speed to 20mbps..so running on a 50mbps network, I want to strangle someone..

Enjoy your new router... lol I can only imagine the expletives that left your mouth when you dragged everything with you.

 

So I picked up the Cisco WVRS4400N router today and I've spent the day setting it up, still got some stuff to configure but most of it's working. So far so good but I'm sure it'll start sucking sooner or later. The comments that it takes a while to reboot is definitely true.

I've run the netcps on it and I'm getting the same results.

I will say though that my WIFI network is much bigger now. I can now take the iPad almost anywhere in the house. I get about another 20ft of wireless range with this router than I did with the DIR-655. Awesome!

 

Ok so this router officially SUCKS! I knew this going into it but I didn't think it'd be THIS bad! It has a lot of great features but it's reliability is almost zero, I'm having nonstop problems. Wireless just drops for no reason and then it's back, same with wired. I'm having IP address conflicts even though their statically assigned IPs that are outside of the DHCP range. My hyper-v and associated VMs cannot be seen by the router, they have IPs addresses and can RDP into them but they cannot ping this router.

I got to take it back but I want router that has the same advanced SMB features but has good reliability. They can't be the only one in this market. Again I don't want a highend consumer router I want a router aimed at the SMB market that doesn't require a service contract.

 

Did you set in gateway or router mode? I told you before, this router is a pain, and it takes time to configure it, very finicky.

 

It's in gateway mode

I don't think I'm configuring it wrong, it's been unreliable pretty much right out of the box.

we have the same router at work, so I'll trying jumping in that one and taking a look around

 

Alright let me explain one of the problems I'm having to see if you can help me understand why.

It appears I'm having a problem with layer 3 on the network. the router cannot ping either of my VMs and their virtual NICs, but it can assign them DHCP IPs. These VMs do have internet access through the router but if I try to connect to these VMs from my iPad with their IP it won't find them even though the IP is correct. Now I can ping the IPs of the physicals NICs that the virtual NICs are using for access but not the virtual NIC.

For example I can ping the physical NIC 192.168.0.196 but I can't ping the virtual NIC at 192.168.0.199 even though they both use the same physical NIC and cable.

I never had this problem with my other router. Is it just not compatible with hyper-v or virtual NICs?

When I try to ping the router from the VM I get a "general failure" error message!

Also IDK why I'm getting a pop up on my windows 7 PC which has a static IP saying IP address conflict. I know for a fact that it's the only machine that has this IP, Its IP is outside of the DHCP range and the router shows no other machine with this IP and I'm not having connection issues just this annoying pop up every once in a while.

my other issue seems that the internet access just drops occasionally, especially over wireless and the only way to fix it is to turn wireless off on the device and turn it back on then it will work again. I want to exchange this router but the two local compusa's are now out of stock and I'll have to drive about an hour to a store that has them in stock. I'm not really looking forward to doing that.

 

I suspect the issue is with your VM setup and not the router.
Are you certain that the VMs are getting their IP address from the router and not the VM's host system?

IP conflict messages don't lie, there is a conflict. Try running nbtstat -A <ip address> from the windows 7 machine. It should give you information about what other host is using that IP.

I don't use Hyper-V too much but my book says your virtual network should be setup as external and not internal.