What kind of router to purchase?

[TPK]

What kind of router to purchase?

I find that after about 6 years I need a new wireless router for my
home. I have been pretty happy with the router I currently have (2.4
Ghz Lynksys BEFW11S4 V.2 Ethernet wireless Access Point Cable Router
with 4 Port Switch 802.11b).

Lately, my router has been periodically dropping the wireless access,
making it necessary for me to restart it. The wireless stays on for a
number of days, then spontaneously stops. This is somewhat annoying,
hence the router shopping.

My home network has grown considerably since buying the Linksys. I’d
like to get a robust router that has room for expansion, good
throughput (300 + mgbts, have good wireless signal strength, can be
configured to be reasonably secure (WEP, WPA, WPA2, NAT, SPI, etc.),
and has both Ethernet ports and wireless. (Ideally, it would also work
with older systems (Mac OS 10.4, Windows XP, etc.)

We don’t do VOIP, extreme gaming or video streaming at this time, but
if I ever wanted to it’s be nice to already have the capability.

Currently, I have maxed out my Ethernet ports (4). Here is what my
home network has to handle:
3 computers (Mac OS 10.6.8) (2 ethernet ports, one wireless – and
thinking of adding another wireless (Mac OS 10.4.11)
1 networked laser printer (1 ethernet port)
1 NAS 2 Tbt storage device (1 ethernet port)
2 iPad tablets (wireless)
1 iPod Touch (wireless)

I was checking out these devices:
1. D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Gigabit Wireless Router ($79.00)
2. D-Link DIR-825 Extreme-N Dual-Band Gigabit Router ($99.00)
3. ASUS (RT-N56U) Black Diamond Dual Band Wireless-N 600 Router,
Hardware NAT, 5 Internal Antennas, AI Radar and Graphical Traffic
Monitor ($129.71)
4. Cisco-Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance Simultaneous Dual-Band
Wireless-N Router ($159.99)
5. Cradlepoint Wireless Router MBR95 ($92.24)
6. Cisco-Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance Simultaneous Dual-Band
Wireless-N Router ($159.99)

Does anyone have any experience with these units? Any thoughts or
recommendations?

[Char Jackson]

On Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:44:39 -0700 (PDT), TPK <tim....@comcast.net>
wrote:

Random thoughts:
1. #4 and #6 look identical.

2. Use an Ethernet switch to expand the number of wired ports. If you
get a new router and find that you need a few more 100Mbps ports, keep
in mind that your current router can be configured to act as a switch
and will give you 3 additional ports.

3. Check reviews and get product info at sites such as
<http://www.practicallynetworked.com/>.

4. Pay attention to things like wireless technology (802.11a? b? g?
n?) and whether you expect to need Gigabit ports on the switch section
of your new router rather than the older/slower standard 100Mbps
speed.