Im just curious if its just me or whether other people find this too. Basically we have 2 routers, a netgear jobby and some thomson thingy. I usually use the netgear without trouble, but every so often (3-6 months it seems) speeds seem to take a bit of a knock and internet access in general seems to get a little less reliable. Turning the router off and on seems to help in the short term but usually the problem returns the next day etc.

Swapping over to the other router however usually results in a bit of a boost. Usually we stay with this router until the same problems seem to occur, and then swap back, and hey presto, the router seems to be working better and will continue to do so for a long while, and repeat ad infinitum. Am I imagining things or do the routers sometimes need a bit of a long-term cool down after a lot of use?

Was using an Asus thing for a few years before (cant remember the model) and that never died, just got replaced because it wasnt wireless.

Been using a Thompson SpeedTouch 580 for the last 3 years and its held up well but its definatly on its way out now with a mixture of problems:

Decides its not online anymore (DSL/Internet lights go off) but Internet still works
Visa Versa of the above (lights but no connection)
Last few weeks had a habit of resetting itself and loosing its settings
Frequently decides that all wireless things need to be downspeeded to 11mbs

A few other things but for 3 years on a free router which is always turned on and always downloading something I cant complain.

More likely its your ISP seeing a different mac address and that forcing it to resync the connection. Or something.

Theyre going to be running generally crap software hacked together in some tibetan sweat shop for starters, and theyre going to become less responsive depending on heat.

Also they will maintain a cache of mac addresses and routes (depending on what the device is, most home routers are not proper routers) that will probably be poorly managed with hacked together software.

i am on my 3rd netgear.
they have all had problems when the dns expires & it needs  a new ip

so whats a recommendation for a decent router.

id like a device i can just leave and forget about.
id like it to have gig lan, decent wireless, vpn connections.

what else do people use? what do they recommend?

im expecting some good info from mark here given he is pretty much nailing this sort of kit day in day out (but obviously on a grander scale!)

Matt

I think next time I get a free router Ill leave it in the box and fleabay it, and put the money towards something better.

Quote from: bytejunkieso whats a recommendation for a decent router.

id like a device i can just leave and forget about.
id like it to have gig lan, decent wireless, vpn connections.

what else do people use? what do they recommend?

im expecting some good info from mark here given he is pretty much nailing this sort of kit day in day out (but obviously on a grander scale!)

Matt

My basic needs is something that doesnt care about being left on and downloading 24/7 (some overheat in that case), gig wired and decent wifi (only really want WEP security). Jobs done.

Going to have to look into a specific router to buy soon enough as this speedtouch isnt going to last much longer

As I say to any of my customers (as I get this question often)

You will always get people who decry a particular manufacturers equipment due to a bad experience
In residential equipment, anything modern is just as reliable as the next thing.
Never take the recommendation of the person who is selling you the equipment.

Buy something based on features - you have specific needs (gig LAN, N-wifi?) so buy something in yoru budget that does that.

Personally, Ive had a Netgear router that sits in the corner, powered up 24/7, occasionally hammered (75GB average download per month) and has never missed a beat over at 3-4 years.

You dont get many routers with gig built in but Linksys do one for £85. If you can miss the gig bit then the Zyxel 660 is pretty good for £50ish and is nice and easy to set up for things like VPN passthroughs. Most Zyxel stuff is flaky but the 660 is pretty solid, it gets lots of good reviews and we sold loads of them.

Ive always prefered a seperate gig switch next to the router.... seams to crash my router a lot less that way

Quote from: bytejunkieso whats a recommendation for a decent router.

id like a device i can just leave and forget about.
id like it to have gig lan, decent wireless, vpn connections.

what else do people use? what do they recommend?

im expecting some good info from mark here given he is pretty much nailing this sort of kit day in day out (but obviously on a grander scale!)

Matt

Get a pix and someone to configure it for you. Plug it in and then forget about it.

cant buy PIX any more though - its ASA now!

Quote from: Markcant buy PIX any more though - its ASA now!

fleabay!!

Or theres probably still some kicking around the broker channel I suspect