Best Wireless Router/AP to get?

JuncoPartner

I'm going to be getting NTL broadband soon and wondering what is the best wifi router/access point to get. I believe I cant just get any old router to work with ntl?
I currently use a fairly old SMC but its giving me tonnes of problems these days. I have a fairly hefty amount of devices on the network:
iMac, 2 laptops, PC, Wifi Printer, Airport Express, 2 Skype Wifi Phones, xbox, xbox 360, xda mini, and Im sure a few others that I cant think of right now.
So I need a router that will handle all those boys for me. Cost isnt really an issue once I can get something thatll work well.

Cheers

mayhem#

www.ruckuswireless.net
Mediaflex router
It's really the only device that will comfortably handle all those devices and data-streams.

'nuff said...

E.

JuncoPartner

cheers man, read about them in another thread too and they sound savage if it works as well as they say. seems to be the general consensus on the infoweb that they are as good as it gets so i guess ill be ordering one! thanks again

irlrobins

Linksys WRT54GL is well recommended.

mayhem#

irlrobins wrote:

Linksys WRT54GL is well recommended.

While the Linksys is a decent middle of the road wireless router with plenty of modding options it really doesn't come close to the Ruckus products.
I suggest that you have a look at the website to get an idea of all the options...

E.

irlrobins

mayhem# wrote:

While the Linksys is a decent middle of the road wireless router with plenty of modding options it really doesn't come close to the Ruckus products.
I suggest that you have a look at the website to get an idea of all the options...

E.

shill!!!!!

humaxf1

hi mayhem,

Any ideas on pricing for the ruckus gear?

JuncoPartner

http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=131981 i bought mine here, should arrive today I hope!
works out about 125 eurodolla or so which isnt really that bad

humaxf1

http://www.expansys.ie/p.aspx?i=131981

€136 incl del to ireland DHL

Post your results junco, thx

mayhem#

Those are the old models!
The new one is the Mediaflex 2825.
You can get info on Irish resellers from Wimax EU (Irish distributor).
Look on the hardware section on their website: www.wimax-eu.com.
The router retails for €129.

E.

JuncoPartner

I emailed those boys and they didnt bother responding so they can stick their routers :P
I have the MF2900 beside me here on the desk, cant wait to get home and hook her up!
Also what sort of a company goes downwards with their model numbers! scumbags

mayhem#

I know the lads in Wimax and would b surprised if they didn't reply.
What email address did you sent it to?

E.

P.S I would really send back the 2900 and get a 2825 somewhere.
The 2825 support routing and multiple SSID's amongst others and is just much better than the 2900.
I've attached the datasheet that came with my 2825 so you can see what it does..
http://support.ruckuswireless.com/documents/6/download

JuncoPartner

info@wimax-eu.com was the address on the site.
just from the ruckus site there doesnt seem to be too much different between the 2900 and the 2825 besides the ethernet ports but i could be wrong

mayhem#

I've just spoken to the lads in Wimax EU and they have asked if you could PM me a phone number for them to contact you on...
There is not a physical difference between the two but there is a huge difference in functionality...

E.

JuncoPartner

humaxf1 wrote:

http://www.expansys.ie/p.aspx?i=131981

€136 incl del to ireland DHL

Post your results junco, thx

Well I have one of the routers up and running now at home and I am very very impressed so far. Compared to the old smc I was using this is an absolute diamond of a product.

Where as before my airtunes would constantly skip, my xda and skype phones would lose signal when I moved around the house and my laptop would get randomly booted off the network, ALL of these problems seem to be fixed.

Playing Gears of War live on my 360 while streaming iTunes around and other people were browsing the web was completly lag free, in fact so was playing on my ds for that matter!

The range is definately improved and I have yet to find a dead spot in my house, and it is a big house (5 floors/9 rooms).
When I moved devices to certain parts of the house that were previously completely dead it sometimes took a minute or two to locate and join the new network but once on there all the devices stayed on extremely well.

Setup was handy enough but not a breeze, a couple of times I had to hook straight into my laptop again to change settings but thats not exactly the end of the world.

One problem with the 2900 is the lack of ethernet ports which only occurred to me when I got home and realised Ive no wifi card in my old desktop, and that my printer needs to connect by ethernet during set up to get the network settings. Again not the end of the world as everything else I have is purely wifi. Also the new model has 4 ethernet ports on it anyway.

So all in all Ill happily recommend this Ruckus gear to anybody. Im a bit annoyed that I got the old model but Ill get over it, and the second one is being set up in a pure wifi environment where there is no need/want for ethernet anyway.

Also on the subject of Wimax-Eu, they seem to have genuinely not received my email about the products so I guess I was a bit harsh. They have since contacted me and made every effort to sort the issue out. And although I didnt see it the other day they do in fact have a facility to order online too on www.ruckuswireless.net so thats another plus for them (added to the fact they are cheaper and stock the new models).

If anyone has anymore questions about the routers feel free to ask me, or if anyone has any diagnositc tools they want me to run for them I will.

jayo2004

I was thinking of buying one of these http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/RangeMaxWirelessRoutersandGateways/WPN824.aspx

Just wondering would the Mediaflex router be better. Can the Mediaflex work in wireless bridge mode???

mayhem#

jayo2004 wrote:

I was thinking of buying one of these http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/RangeMaxWirelessRoutersandGateways/WPN824.aspx

Just wondering would the Mediaflex router be better. Can the Mediaflex work in wireless bridge mode???

In my opinion the Ruckus Mediaflex is better than anything out there. However why don't you see for yourself?
Wimax EU is running a "satisfaction guaranteed" warranty. They will give you a full refund if the Ruckus router does not perform to your expectations...
Can't go much wrong there in my opinion...

E.

mayhem#

I've been told by a mod that my enthusiasm is not appreciated.
I'll shut up now....
;-)

E.

WUSBDesign

Does this wireless wonder have firewall abilities? SPI, NAT?

Block (8

JuncoPartner picked this router up after reading this thread but cannot connect to the router.
I can connect when I first plugged it in then it timed out.

When I plug in my cable to the back of the router the led at the rear lights up but the wan led on the front doesnt.
I tried from my laptop both wirelessly and from a cable and still cannot connect.

The pc is set to obtain ip automaticaly and no firewalls are on.
Awaiting a reply from wimax-eu but any help appreciated:o

JuncoPartner

Hi Block,

Did you get the router set up at all? I was unable to set it up wirelessly, nor was I able to connect from my laptop via ethernet. However I connected it to my desktop no hassle to set it up.
For the setup you need to set the IP of your machine to within a certain range and then connect to the IP supplied with the router. This takes you to the setup screens. After set up you need to reset the IP on the machine you were using to whatever range YOU specified or automatically obtain IP if you choose that option.
As soon as this is done you will no longer be able to connect to the router via the IP address supplied with it. You should make a note of what the new IP address before you finish the setup. This can be a bit confusing tho! And Ill admit Ive just reset the router the 2 times I needed to go in and change settings.

Block (8

Hi JuncoPartner
Got an email from wimax-eu and set an ip in my pc and now I could connect to the setup screen.
I put in my ip settings and pressed "update settings" and nothing happens.
It's like the pc is trying to get the router to change the settings but ii can't connect to the router.
I close the screen and from then on I cannot get to the setup screen again unless I press the reset button behind the router.
I tried plugging in the modem into the router in hope that the settings went through but no.
My laptop can see the router but it just holds the connection a couple of seconds and loses it and it comes back again, on off on off.
Having said that my laptop had this problem before with my ap which is why I bought the router!

mayhem#

Going by the fact that you can't connect without a reset after you change the settings I would conclude that the router has "accepted" these settings.
You have probably changed the settings from a fixed IP to DHCP. You need to do the same on your laptop or PC before you will be able to connect again.
Also make sure you connct to the right SSID. The router has two SSID's. One iis for IPTV use and has WPA-encryption. The other is for data use.

E.

Block (8

mayhem# wrote:

Going by the fact that you can't connect without a reset after you change the settings I would conclude that the router has "accepted" these settings.
You have probably changed the settings from a fixed IP to DHCP. You need to do the same on your laptop or PC before you will be able to connect again.

That's what I thought too mayhem, I changed the pc that I used to configure the router back to "obatin ip address automatically" plugged the modem in and still can't get on the net.
Tried rebooting the pc and router but no luck.

mayhem#

In the default mode it "passes through" the IP address provided by your DSL modem. You might one to check if the modem has DHCP enabled.
If this is not the case you might want to configure the Ruckus router to use fixed IP adresses..

E.

Block (8

mayhem I have a static ip and from the router settings page I already configured it to be static ip but when I press update settings the page freezes, so I've already done that and it must be something else.:(

mayhem#

OK, just to clarify;

If you're DSL/Broadband router allocates a dynamic/dhcp IP address to the network you should set both the Ruckus router and all your network clients to accept DHCP. In that configuration the Ruckus router will pass through the dynamic IP address "issued" by your DSL/Broadband router.
If you've done it exactly like that and it doesn't work I suggest that you send an email to Wimax-EU and ask them to escalate the support issue.

E.

Spongebobrob

Funny talking up the routers that you are actually selling yourself Mayhem.
:eek:

I guess it is just a coincidence that the Wimax-Eu router distributors are located in Tipperary, like yourself.. and you happen to be quite enthusiastic about how great they are and people buying them?

BostonB

Are their any independent reviews of these Ruckus products. I've never heard of them before.

PotBelly

I was on the ruckus website, The gear looks impressive.

However I am looking for a new adsl modem/router.
The modem router i have is a buffalo wbmr-G54.
It seems to be acting up a bit and I reckon it is time to upgrade to a new one.

Am I right in going for a modem router or should I go for a modem router separate?

I have alot of stuff on this router, 2 laptops, 1 pc, network printer, 2 network storage drives, 2 X360, Ps3, Wii, 2 Ds, 2 PSP. The modem router is on 24/7 with constant network traffic. I run a small business from home aswell as online gaming and downloading media etc etc.

Obviously not all game devices will be on at same time but they all have static IP addresses and I have mac filtering setup etc etc.

Any help would be great as pcworld etc seem to only sell the middle ground of modem routers and asking staff in them places for advice is laughable