Get yourself a SMC and be done with it. No really. Our origninal SMC Barricade Router arrived the very day our Cable internet was turned on (A little over 2 years ago) and in those 2 years it's probably been 'rebooted' (Turned off and back on, takes about 20 seconds) 5 times and it's only been down for more than 10 minutes twice, both times my fault.
To put this into perspective, we just leave it on. 24/7/365.
I've heard people whine about their DLink or LinkSys routers having to be rebooted all the time and other junk. No such problems with SMC. Watch your Office store flyers and these (In wired version) can easily be had for under $50.
I hate to say it about LinkSys and DLink, but Saaby's right - they go down like a 2 bit w&%@$, and need to be rebooted all of the time. Heck, just try to add another node onto your network and boom ! REEEEEEbooot time. They also aren't very long lived from what I've heard and seen out of them.
I can't give you a very good personal recommendation on one as I stick to wireless routers for my own setup, but if I needed to feed a bunch of hungry Ethernet drops I'd probably go on eBay and buy a used Cisco 10/100Mbit router on the cheap. You might even be able to score a deal on the SMC brand that Saaby mentioned as well.
I highly recommend Netgear routers. Inexpensive, reliable, high performance, and metal chassis!
As for uptime.. yes I keep my Netgear RT314 running 24/7/365. The last time I rebooted it was when I had to plug it into a different power strip.... 316 days ago!
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
Menu 24.1 - System Maintenance - Status
Port Status TxPkts RxPkts Cols Tx B/s Rx B/s Up Time
WAN 10M/Half 75332929 292025577 0 0 736 7600:13:54
LAN 100M/Full 111609416 76255884 0 278 92 7600:13:54
Port Ethernet Address IP Address IP Mask DHCP
WAN 00:90:27:ee:a0:d0 24.90.193.190 255.255.248.0 Client
LAN 00:a0:c5:e3:7e:e2 192.168.0.1 255.255.255.0 Server
The Makita RD-1100 is the best you can get. Saw one on sale on the internet for around $175..still looking for it..I shoulda bought it..for $100. you could get a 1 HP Makita, but for an extra $75 you get 2 1/4 HP and the quietest strongest heavy duty router made, great dust removal, and a very handy D-handle. Or, did you mean an internet router?
I'm currently using a Netgear Prosafe VPN Firewall broadband router, it's solid and proforms well, though not cheap at $120 retail.
I have a SMC Barricade 7004ABR and Linksys BEFSR41 aslo. And must say the Barricade is the best for its value. It has a 100mbps WAN port and a built in Print Server which is not commonly found on other routers at its class.
EDIT: Oh wait...are you asking about network routers or wood routers?? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif[/img]
Darn, I wanted to talk wood router. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif[/img]
I did some research and ended up with a Bosche. I nearly went with a Makita because they are good at just about everything.
OK, I bought it, used it one time and it sits in the garage. My new recommendation is rent one unless you really plan to be a wood worker. It takes a while to get good with it and at $200 I'm not getting my money's worth.
Router? Oh yea, the thngy that hooks to a computer. Don't have a clue. Sorry to hijack but the Tim Taylor in me needed to vent.
Well I had a helluva time getting the firewall from my Dodge installed under my computer station...but I did it! Now that I've got my boots on, I'm ready to "boot" it, where do I kick it? (sorry...I've only dealt with computers since 1979 and my first thoughts were "wood routers" also!) Sure glad I waited to post! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
When your linksys fails, and you open it up, there will be a blown resistor of unknown value. I would recommend replacing this resistor with a 5 watt 1/2 ohm resistor. This usually fixes the problem, the original is a 1/4 watt resistor, and is not up to the task.
In general I like the netopia 910 router as a home/office router. They are robust, have all of the router features, including the ability to act as a vpn server or client, serve dhcp, and do multinat.
The netgear routers seem decent, but people usually need to call tech support in order to get the properly initially configured. After they are configured for the first time they are usually robust.
Linksys routers usually have a 3-9 month mean time between failure.
I'm using a Nexland SOHO router at home and I haven't experienced any problems with it. I disconnect it from the power during lightning and when I'm on vacation and i've never had to do more than plug it back in again in order to restart the network. I've never had any lock-ups or problems like that. I really like the little box doing all the work [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
The BLUE Netgear routers are rock-solid (the SMC Barricade is top-notch, but can be pricey). I tested several of them for a while as a side thing. Right now, you can get a refurb Netgear RO318 on eBay for about $35-$45 shipped. It's got 1 internet port (to your cable modem or DSL) and 8 local ports. It's got all the goodies for protection and is very configurable.
The thing to remember with the Netgear units is to stick with the BLUE units, not the small platinum ones.
[ QUOTE ] The Yeti said:
When your linksys fails, and you open it up, there will be a blown resistor of unknown value. I would recommend replacing this resistor with a 5 watt 1/2 ohm resistor. This usually fixes the problem, the original is a 1/4 watt resistor, and is not up to the task.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks Yeti, but your confidence is a little unnerving. Going from .25W to 5w is a huge change, and I'm concerned that it can create a fire hazard.
I also have a Nexland.
Very good.
I thought I had a problem with the router, but it was only Verizon's modem. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
[ QUOTE ] brightnorm said:
[ QUOTE ] The Yeti said:
When your linksys fails, and you open it up, there will be a blown resistor of unknown value. I would recommend replacing this resistor with a 5 watt 1/2 ohm resistor. This usually fixes the problem, the original is a 1/4 watt resistor, and is not up to the task.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks Yeti, but your confidence is a little unnerving. Going from .25W to 5w is a huge change, and I'm concerned that it can create a fire hazard.
Brightnorm
[/ QUOTE ]
I was thinking in terms of fuses [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif[/img]
Odd. I have two linksys and one SMC routers. It's the SMC that is constantly getting rebooted, and the Linksys which is up 24/7. One I carry as a "network in a box" [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
I have an SMC Barricade for a couple of years now and I too can only say high accolades about it. I've had two, three computers hooked up to it at all times with no problems. I think the only time I've ever rebooted it was when I was making sure the DSL was down and not a router/modem problem (never was).
I wonder though. This has the standard NAT hardware firewall protection but in this day in age I wonder if I need more robust hardware firewall protection? I also run Norton Internet Security.
only thing i dislike about linksys is my last firmware update erashed all my seting.s man i was frustraded since it took me a while to get it to work with my dsl modem and net work in a safe and secure manor
geepondy, technically NAT isn't really a firewall. It does make it much harder for a hacker to get into your network, but you still should use a firewall. Fortunately even the cheap routers these days tend to offer both NAT and a firewall, and by all means you should use both. The firewall blocks all incoming traffic, while the NAT makes all the computers in your home network look like a single machine from the outside. If you use both these features plus keep your operating system as well as other software up-to-date with the various security patches that become available, you should have a reasonably safe environment.
Good and Cheap Router?
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif[/img]
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