Buying a new set-top router/switch
 

Hi folks,

I am seeking suggestions for a new set-top router for my home LAN -- based on your personal usage experience. Been browsing reviews but most are little more than the usual click-bait reviews.

For more than a dozen years I have been using a Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT. Getting old and I worry about the device dying. DD-WRT has not been updated in several years. I would like to retire the device to an emergency replacement role. I would like something with newer features to improve wireless connections in the LAN.

Desired features:

* Most devices these days have a built-in switch but that is not a priority. Separate unmanaged 1 Gbs switches are common enough, but if built-in then 1 Gbps is the criterion.

* If the device supports a built-in switch then built-in VLAN support would be nice to create isolated wired subnets for testing.

* Support 802.11ac wireless (nominal future proofing if there is such a thing with these devices).

* Support separate guest wireless subnets.

* VPN support. (I don't know whether this should be handled at the router or use passthrough to an internal server.)

* Low energy consumption.

* Web browser interface.

* No vendor lock-in or automatic updates.

* No phone-homing.

* Dependable security patches.

The new device does not need to support free/libre firmware although that might be nice. While DD-WRT has done well enough for me, the WRT54GL version has not been updated in several years and there never was an official release -- so I am not entranced with free/libre firmware support. Any free/libre support needs to be with firmware that is actively maintained for all devices and not just the latest cool devices.

I never liked the idea of reading gobs and gobs of documentation and forum threads just to install DD-WRT. Likewise with OpenWRT. This seems more problematic these days with newer devices, which are more complicated. I would pay extra for a device that has free/libre firmware preinstalled, but I am not convinced free/libre firmware is any more secure than vendor firmware. Vendor firmware probably is adequate as long as there are regular security patches.

Originally I considered installing a dedicated firewall/router distro in a physical or virtual machine. For example, with a mini-itx dual NIC main board. Yet I need wireless support. I want an all-in-one device and not two devices. Would be nice if these distros could be installed in a typical wired/wireless set-top device. Using a full computer and installing a wireless radio card gets complicated and defeats the desire for low energy consumption. And probably is overkill compared to any set-top device.

Thanks for suggesting and sharing. :)

I have a pair of Asus RT-AC68 routers, one at home and one at work, and they have been rock solid on the manufacturer firmware. FAST 802.11ac (I get 60-70 MB/s throughput on my laptop to other machines on the LAN, on the 5 GHz channel line-of-sight, around 15 feet away from the router), guest wireless, etc. That said, I do not believe it has VPN or VLAN support, but I can't be sure (see below).

I don't use mine as a router though, I have a DrayTek Vigor2130 wired router for that. The Asus is strictly a wireless access point. That could be why I don't see any options for VPN or VLANs, a lot of the options disappear when you switch it to AP mode.

Thanks much for sharing your info. :)

I used to have a Linksys; in fact, I had several with no problems except that stuff sometimes wears out after a number of years.

Now I have a Belkin. I don't know what I'm getting next, but it won't be a Belkin.

If were happy with linksys then maybe time to fork over 200 clams for a new model. I'd cringe on that but I am pretty happy with a rosewill n150 that I got for $10 free shipping one day.