I need dual bank recommendation

On 6/9/19 6:32 PM, nospam wrote:
I sell the Netgear WNR3500L100NAS, but it is 2.4 Ghz only.
And it is the ONLY netgear product I will sell. As
far as I can tell, the netgear stuff my customer's buy
on their own and have me set up is total crap.
that is old and slow.


Yup. But it just works. And I need a dual band sub for it
that is just as reliable and easy to set up

On 6/9/19 6:32 PM, nospam wrote:
I have had the WORST dealings with Ubiquiti.
ubiquiti is*very* good and*very* reliable, just not as easy to set up
as typical consumer products.

amplifi is more consumer oriented than their standard fare and also
works well.


I agree with you except for the reliable part. Some of
the stuff is very reliable. Some is a nightmare.

Also, there is no phone number to call. You can only
chat with them. It is a total pain in the ass if it is
the router that is the issue. You have to direct connect,
wait an hour on hold, get some instructions, hang up
with them, rewire the router, try to install the update
they say will fix it, the update fails (always), back to
direct connect and an hour on hold .... you get the
picture. It sucks.

On 6/9/19 7:08 PM, T wrote:
On 6/9/19 6:32 PM, nospam wrote:
I have had the WORST dealings with Ubiquiti.
ubiquiti is*very*Â* good and*very*Â* reliable, just not as easy to set up
as typical consumer products.

amplifi is more consumer oriented than their standard fare and also
works well.


I agree with you except for the reliable part.Â* Some of
the stuff is very reliable.Â* Some is a nightmare.

Also, there is no phone number to call.Â* You can only
chat with them. It is a total pain in the ass if it is
the router that is the issue.Â* You have to direct connect,
wait an hour on hold, get some instructions, hang up
with them, rewire the router, try to install the update
they say will fix it, the update fails (always), back to
direct connect and an hour on hold ....Â* you get the
picture.Â* It sucks.

So far I have recommended customers pitch their Edge Routers
into the trash. I replaced them with something else.
Problem solved.

On 6/9/19 6:32 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , wrote:


I am surprised no one said anything
about "dual 'bank'"

the price of some routers will require at least that.


Chuckle.

On 6/9/19 6:32 PM, nospam wrote:
synology's ui is not the usual web ui, which is much easier to set up
and works quite well. it's linux underneath, and can be tweaked if
desired.

Thank you!

I see two offerings at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=synology+...f=nb_sb_noss_1

Both are a bit expensive. Do you have a favorite?

On 6/9/19 8:01 PM, T wrote:
On 6/9/19 6:32 PM, nospam wrote:
synology's ui is not the usual web ui, which is much easier to set up
and works quite well. it's linux underneath, and can be tweaked if
desired.

Thank you!

I see two offerings at Amazon:

Sorry, mistook an asus as one. There is only one for
~200 U$D

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=synology+...f=nb_sb_noss_1

Both are a bit expensive.Â* Do you have a favorite?

In article , wrote:

I sell the Netgear WNR3500L100NAS, but it is 2.4 Ghz only.
And it is the ONLY netgear product I will sell. As
far as I can tell, the netgear stuff my customer's buy
on their own and have me set up is total crap.
that is old and slow.

Yup. But it just works.

not that well even when it was new. hopefully they're *really* cheap.

And I need a dual band sub for it
that is just as reliable and easy to set up

no single router (or any product) is going to be ideal for all
customers or situations.

In article , wrote:

I have had the WORST dealings with Ubiquiti.
ubiquiti is*very* good and*very* reliable, just not as easy to set up
as typical consumer products.

amplifi is more consumer oriented than their standard fare and also
works well.


I agree with you except for the reliable part. Some of
the stuff is very reliable. Some is a nightmare.

no issues here or anyone i know who uses them. rock solid.

there was an issue a few years ago with the flash memory in some units,
but that's long been resolved.

they are definitely harder to configure than typical consumer stuff,
with the real power via the cli, not the web ui.

Also, there is no phone number to call. You can only
chat with them. It is a total pain in the ass if it is
the router that is the issue. You have to direct connect,
wait an hour on hold, get some instructions, hang up
with them, rewire the router, try to install the update
they say will fix it, the update fails (always), back to
direct connect and an hour on hold .... you get the
picture. It sucks.

in general, i've found contacting tech support to mostly be a waste of
time no matter what company it is. the front line people know nothing
and read from a script, and that's if they even understand the problem.

it's usually a *lot* more productive to do a search for whatever the
problem is, and chances are someone else also had the same or similar
problem, along with assorted solutions. a lot of companies have their
own forums, which can also be useful.

in some cases, minor hardware repairs can even be done via what can be
found online.

major hardware repairs will require contacting the company, but that
can usually be done online.

In article , wrote:

So far I have recommended customers pitch their Edge Routers
into the trash. I replaced them with something else.
Problem solved.

pitch them this way. edgerouters are great. they're inexpensive and
*very* capable.

however, they're not consumer products and not easy to set up for those
who aren't network gurus. the true power is via the cli.

In article , wrote:

synology's ui is not the usual web ui, which is much easier to set up
and works quite well. it's linux underneath, and can be tweaked if
desired.

Thank you!

I see two offerings at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=synology+...f=nb_sb_noss_1

Both are a bit expensive. Do you have a favorite?

as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

synology has three models, the 1900, 2600 and their newest, the 2200,
although it looks like the 1900 has been discontinued:
https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/compare/routers

i've used the 1900 and 2600 and they work exceptionally well. the
issues i have with them are relatively minor.

the 2200 is designed for mesh systems, but can be used standalone, and
can be found for about $140ish.

ui example:
https://www.custompcreview.com/wp-co.../synology-srm-
rt2600ac-custom-pc-review-08.jpg

On Sat, 8 Jun 2019 19:34:44 -0700, T wrote:

I find dual band routers all over the map when it comes
to reviews. I can't tell the fake reviews from the
real ones.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a dual band router
suitable for both residences and small businesses?

I was changing out my friends and customers Linksys EA2700 style
routers with Asus RT-AC66u. The problem was that the Linksys EA2700
could not handle 100 to 150Mbits/sec throughput required by the
current crop of DOCSIS 3.0 routers. That's on the gigabit ethernet
ports. The EA2700 worked just fine at DSL speeds, but does badly
above about 50 Mbits/sec. (No, it's not jumbo packets).

I was using AsusWRT-Merlin firmware because I wanted the latest bug
fixes and some better monitoring features on the assumption that Asus
would not update their older models.
https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca
Wrong. The recent discovery of some serious exploits resulted in the
release of security upgrades for some of the low end routers,
including the RT-AC66U. So, now I'm swinging back to the stock Asus
firmware. Indecision is the key to flexibility.

Last year, the author of AsusWRT-Merlin decided to no longer support
the lower end of the Asus router series. The RT-N66U, RT-AC66U, and
some others that I'm too lazy to lookup. So, I've switched to the
RT-AC68U.
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC68U/overview/
The problem here is the large number of used T-mobile TM-AC1900
routers on eBay. It is possible to install Linksys or Merlin firmware
on these, but it's tricky.
https://www.bayareatechpros.com/ac1900-to-ac68u/
https://lazymocha.com/blog/2018/04/16/flash-t-mobile-cellspot-tm-ac1900-to-asus-rt-ac68u-p/
I managed to brick one last week while trying to be creative with the
instructions. So, if you avoid the TM-AC1900 model and get the real
RT-AC68U, you should be ok. The bad news is that they're about $150
new. The good news is that they're quite reliable, will easily route
at Comcast cable modem 150MBit/sec download speeds, are quite fast to
laptops and desktops that can do 802.11AC (5GHz only), and seem to be
quite reliable. I'm still playing with the built in mesh networking
(AiMesh) which seems to be useful.

Currently, I have only one business and three residential
installations using Asus wireless routers. Also, my next door
neighbor and myself which is where I run my tests and experiments.
That's not really enough history to make a proper recommendation, but
if you're not sure what you, these would be a good start.

Ubiquiti appeared in this discussion. I have 5 point to point
wireless bridges build with various Ubiquiti radios. These are a mix
of LocoM2, BulletM2 and M5, and Litebeam M5 models. Other than some
performance optimization and some firmware updates, I haven't had to
touch these after installation. The bad news here is that much of the
used Ubiquiti hardware sold on eBay are early version hardware that
cannot be updated to the latest firmware. It still works, but not
very well. I got stuck with a pair of Bullet M5 radios with this
problem. Since then, I've been buying new radios.

While setting up an Asus router is fairly easy using their built in
setup walk through, Ubiquiti is not easy. The settings are all there,
but often scattered on different pages, or well hidden. For example,
the wireless password is a tiny "?" icon next to the SSID box.
Fortunately, there are a fair number of walk through videos and web
pages that will help. Nifty built in features, like a spectrum
analyzer to find empty channels and interference.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 6/9/19 8:54 PM, nospam wrote:
up. But it just works.
not that well even when it was new. hopefully they're*really* cheap.


That is why I am looking for a replacement. They
are cheap. My customers balk at price of the really
good stuff, such as Watchguard's Firewalls, which include
routers

On 6/9/19 8:54 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , wrote:

So far I have recommended customers pitch their Edge Routers
into the trash. I replaced them with something else.
Problem solved.

pitch them this way. edgerouters are great. they're inexpensive and
*very* capable.

Okay, one crapped out two hours into operations. It took the
customer over three weeks to respond and over three months
to get a replacement from Ubiquiti.

The replacement was sent with the first firmware
and refused to update. It also had a dead PoE port,
even though it was configured to be on.

Ubiquiti's service SUCKS. The customer has been fighting
with them for over a month now trying to get a refund.

however, they're not consumer products and not easy to set up

No s***!

for those who aren't network gurus.

I am and they are still obnoxious to set up.

the true power is via the cli.

I support Linux and love the cli but still find edge
routers obnoxious.

Oh they supposedly have a nice "Wizard" to set them up.
But they do not ship them with the firmware that has the
wizard. And they won't update. And there are no direction
on line to do it manually. They way to use the "Wizard".

It should only take me five minutes to set up a router.
Lan network: network, mask, IP address, DHCP server,
DNS. Wireless: security, SSID, key. Reboot.
Ubiquiti ain't it.

Best place to store an edge router is in a trash can.

On 6/9/19 8:54 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , wrote:

I have had the WORST dealings with Ubiquiti.
ubiquiti is*very* good and*very* reliable, just not as easy to set up
as typical consumer products.

amplifi is more consumer oriented than their standard fare and also
works well.


I agree with you except for the reliable part. Some of
the stuff is very reliable. Some is a nightmare.

no issues here or anyone i know who uses them. rock solid.

there was an issue a few years ago with the flash memory in some units,
but that's long been resolved.

they are definitely harder to configure than typical consumer stuff,
with the real power via the cli, not the web ui.

Also, there is no phone number to call. You can only
chat with them. It is a total pain in the ass if it is
the router that is the issue. You have to direct connect,
wait an hour on hold, get some instructions, hang up
with them, rewire the router, try to install the update
they say will fix it, the update fails (always), back to
direct connect and an hour on hold .... you get the
picture. It sucks.

in general, i've found contacting tech support to mostly be a waste of
time no matter what company it is. the front line people know nothing
and read from a script, and that's if they even understand the problem.

it's usually a *lot* more productive to do a search for whatever the
problem is, and chances are someone else also had the same or similar
problem, along with assorted solutions. a lot of companies have their
own forums, which can also be useful.

in some cases, minor hardware repairs can even be done via what can be
found online.

major hardware repairs will require contacting the company, but that
can usually be done online.


I concur, especially with East India based support.

me. may I describe the problem?
them. no, i have to ask you some questions first
me. do ahead
them. it your computer turned on?
me. yes. may I describe the problem?
them. no, is your monitor on?
you get the picture

Took me over 45 minutes constantly trying to ask my question
at a customer's site once before I got to ask my question,
which was the unit under warranty. It was not.

By the way, Watchguard has American (not H1b visa) support.
They are incredible. The scheduling operator for support
often know the answer without having to create a ticket
or put you through to support. Love the guys, but no one
wants to pay $300+ for a router/firewall.

On 6/9/19 8:54 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , wrote:

synology's ui is not the usual web ui, which is much easier to set up
and works quite well. it's linux underneath, and can be tweaked if
desired.

Thank you!

I see two offerings at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=synology+...f=nb_sb_noss_1

Both are a bit expensive. Do you have a favorite?

as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

synology has three models, the 1900, 2600 and their newest, the 2200,
although it looks like the 1900 has been discontinued:
https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/compare/routers

i've used the 1900 and 2600 and they work exceptionally well. the
issues i have with them are relatively minor.

the 2200 is designed for mesh systems, but can be used standalone, and
can be found for about $140ish.

ui example:
https://www.custompcreview.com/wp-co.../synology-srm-
rt2600ac-custom-pc-review-08.jpg


Thank you!

I find a lot of the more expensive ones are packed full of
un-needed features