I'm going through router's faster then water

[lordofduct]

Though the analogy isn't accurate for a man who doesn't drink much water.

I'm going through router's really fast constantly. I'm on my 3rd this year, which is really pissing me off(and that third is dieing right as I type this). They've all been Linksys of varying models, and I stream a LOT of data over my network constantly.

See I have a 'file server' in the center of the house with over a terrabyte of data to share amongst the various computers (music, movies, and work stuff). Personally I couldn't get a really secure and functional routing pool out of Linux, so I stick with a standalone router for that job and just give the fileserver a static IP address on the network.

That and I didn't like the idea of my file server containing all my important documents (I have it stored with redundancy, and back up occasionally), being also the computer sitting raw dog on the internet blocking my other PC's from incoming requests from the internet. Yey, my XBOX has port loops keeping it from getting hacked... but WHAT the hell do I care if the XBOX gets hacked... if I lost my music collection or dev files off of the server I'd be crying for years to come. I've got over 200 gigs in mp3's and ogg files alone.



Also, I have a Vista machine in my bedroom that uses Media Center. I have this streaming episodes out to my 360 in the living room and the 360 in the garage. My buddy Adny also has XP MCE 2005 in his room and he streams TV shows that he recorded as well (I do the discovery, history and science channel... he shares the Twilight Zone, House and Eureka!).



My router's over time start dropping connections randomly after only a few months of use. Sometimes it disconnects the internet, other times it straight up clears the DHCP pool. And worse sometimes refuses any request even from machines with Static IP address's. All this week I lose my connection to the network every 15 minutes or so. It comes back after only a few seconds, but it still drops and when you're watching a movie having to restart the movie again from the beginning and fastforwarding back to where you were every 10-15 minutes (and sometimes even sooner) is REALLY annoying.

I'm assuming this is because I beat my network with constant data streaming to several machines at once (I have 10 computers/game consoles hooked to the network, of which atleast 3 are streaming data at any given hour of the day).



SO, my question. Do you guys know of a quality router that can handle the beating I put on it. Preferably with gigabit support... (oh I have a 16 port gigabit switch to chain to the router, so LAN ports aren't really concern, atleast one will do).

And please don't suggest some 1200 dollar Cisco router with 3 WAN ports and 256 megs of RAM... I'm not made of cash flow here.





...
and as many will understand... I won't lower my network useage. I've come to love the access to media in my house. In any room at any time I can play any movie, music file, or access data. The idea that my girlfriend can record a TV show in my living room, while someone watches a recorded show in the garage and I can record my own show in my bedroom and have it saved directly to a pool that EVERYONE has access to is great. I don't know how I got around before this set up.

[Mozgus]

I'm an idiot about networking, but a D-LInk router served me well for years. I'm ordering another right now.

[racketboy]

I've had the same Linksys for years....

[marurun]

I think your best bet will probably be an SMC router. They used to make hardware that companies like D-Link rebranded and sold, but they started selling their own stuff and it's made very solidly. I had a Linksys once when I was living in a house with some other guys. It couldn't handle the traffic of a high-speed cable connection with 6 or 7 computers tapping it simultaneously. It kept needing reboots. When we switched to a Netgear the problems went away. But I hear Netgear these days isn't what they used to be.

So again, back to the SMC. That's what I have now and it's served me well for 2 years now, directing wired and wireless traffic for 2, soon 3, computers. SMC is worth the few extra dollars. On top of that, there's not been a SINGLE firmware update for this SMC I have here. Not a one. It's so nice to buy a product where they got it right from the get-go.

[D.D.D.]

I've had the same Linksys for years....

Same here... The same 4-port wired router for about 8 years now. Perhaps just a streak of bad luck~

[marurun]

If you've done tech support as many years as I have you'll have heard bad things about every brand, but Linksys, for all its reputation, seems to have an awfully high rate of problems (anecdotally), particularly with the cheaper products.

[Perseid]

Linksys used to be the best but then they switched from a Linux based firmware to some funky custom thing. If you can find a Linksys WRT54GL(note the L) it is based on the older Linux system and so far has done everything I've asked using every weird little networking device I've tried.

[lordofduct]

I've had the same Linksys for years....

Same here... The same 4-port wired router for about 8 years now. Perhaps just a streak of bad luck~

I really think it's the traffic I shove across it. As I said, it is probably abnormal in comparison to you. The bandwidth is at peak speeds for most of the day streaming several songs, movies and data files at the same time.

It's not like we're just sharing internet... which is very low bandwidth in comparison to the capabilities of the LAN.


...
I ordered a D-Link a couple days ago. Hopefully it does what I want (didn't see any SMC router's that fit my needs when I looked the other day on newegg).

[opethfan]

My old Netgear served me well. Just avoid 2Wire. Got one from my ISP, and it sucks!

[JF]

Hello lordofduct,

It seems that the primary use of your network is to stream data/music/video internally, so you don't need a router.. what you need is a gigabit switch (if you use only ethernet connections and not wireless ones) plus a router.

The switch "switches" packets at a very fast speed not consuming processing power in the router. The router (or a firewall if security is your main concern) only connects you to the Internet, and if it is needed it acts as a DHCP server, assigning IP address to yours PCs and consoles. So the traffic between your server and the consoles NEVER goes through the router.

Diagram:

PCs and Xbox's---[SWICTH]---[ROUTER/FW]----Internet


Linksys makes great home-class switches.

If you want to stream to the Internet or want an integrated router and switch that can handle your traffic, I recommend you to move to Cisco but please be aware that Cisco's 851 and 871 routers cost like $300 to $500. You can replace the Cisco Router by a Cisco firewall, as long as the router is only handling your Internet connection (I mean doing NAT and connecting to your service provider), I would say Cisco ASA 5505 that costs like $400.

I hope this helps.

Best regards

JF