I think I need a router

[JeremyCT]

Little history, my home internet line comes into my basement. I had the cable modem (SB6141), my WiFi router (ASUS RT-AC66U), my PLEX server (running on OMV 2), VOIP setup, and a crypto mining machine down there. PLEX, VOIP, and crypto were on wired connections.

Modem => Router => other stuff

Problem became that WiFi service in the house upstairs was less than optimal and couldn't reach my bedroom nightstand so my phone could do updates/backup overnight, and also just barely reached the back of the house where my office sits, so bandwidth was limited there.

As a solution, we ran a CAT6 cable from the basement to the living room and put the WiFi router behind the TV. Problem was that I still had the two wired systems in the basement. As an interim solution, I brought a very old piece of equipment out of retirement - a D-Link DI-604 ethernet router and put the ASUS into Access Point mode. The D-Link was inexpensive in 2004, but did its job.

So now I have Cable Modem => D-Link => (ASUS, PLEX, crypto, VOIP)

This works ok, though the network speeds seem to cap out at about 35 Mbps. This is likely due to the age of the D-Link router. Also, for some reason the PLEX server now cannot be found on the network by any device. I ensured that the correct ports were open/forwarded, but still no love. I'm not sure if its due to age or what, but given that its not working for all devices and is bottlenecking the network in general, I need to upgrade that part.

After searching Amazon quick for an "ethernet router" and not paying complete attention, I accidentally bought a D-Link switch. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008PC1FYK

I'm assuming that this cannot take the place of the ancient D-Link since it isn't a router. Correct?

Given this, could you guys recommend some sort of ethernet router to take its place? When I search Amazon for "ethernet router" I get switches and wifi, but not what I'm after. It seems as if WiFi is so prevalent today that I'd almost be better off buying a WiFi router and turning off the radios.

I found this: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-SafeStream-TL-R600VPN-throughput-Concurrent/dp/B007B60SCG/

Any experience? I've never used TP-Link gear. I like the ASUS router I have, it's been good to me and required very little in the way of maintenance and configuration. When I setup the OMV-PLEX server I don't recall having to go in and manually set ports. It just figured it out somehow, either that or it was so quick and painless I forgot I did it. Either way, it worked with no hassles. I'd like to have that sort of experience again, but a lot of the ethernet routers (Ubiquiti and whatnot) out there are significantly more expensive (over $100), and when we're talking that kind of $$$ I start to wonder if they're worth the price.

 

[Janus67]

Why not put the Asus back downstairs and install a dedicated Access point elsewhere in the house?

 

[JeremyCT]

I don't have any other drops in the house for wires. GF put the kibosh on "anything with antennas" on the walls. If I could get a drop from the attic to the basement I guess I could do something like a Ubiquiti saucer or two.

But that's longer term and doesn't solve the current issue, which is the OMV-PLEX server not playing nice.

As an interim step, maybe I could try running router software on the crypto box (it has two LAN ports) and putting the switch behind that?

Cable modem > crypto router > switch > VOIP/OMV-PLEX/ASUS WiFi

Or is that just complicating things for no reason and I need to get my fat butt up in the attic and start assessing?

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Powerline adapters?

 

[||Console||]

Little history, my home internet line comes into my basement. I had the cable modem (SB6141), my WiFi router (ASUS RT-AC66U), my PLEX server (running on OMV 2), VOIP setup, and a crypto mining machine down there. PLEX, VOIP, and crypto were on wired connections.

Modem => Router => other stuff

Problem became that WiFi service in the house upstairs was less than optimal and couldn't reach my bedroom nightstand so my phone could do updates/backup overnight, and also just barely reached the back of the house where my office sits, so bandwidth was limited there.

As a solution, we ran a CAT6 cable from the basement to the living room and put the WiFi router behind the TV. Problem was that I still had the two wired systems in the basement. As an interim solution, I brought a very old piece of equipment out of retirement - a D-Link DI-604 ethernet router and put the ASUS into Access Point mode. The D-Link was inexpensive in 2004, but did its job.

So now I have Cable Modem => D-Link => (ASUS, PLEX, crypto, VOIP)

This works ok, though the network speeds seem to cap out at about 35 Mbps. This is likely due to the age of the D-Link router. Also, for some reason the PLEX server now cannot be found on the network by any device. I ensured that the correct ports were open/forwarded, but still no love. I'm not sure if its due to age or what, but given that its not working for all devices and is bottlenecking the network in general, I need to upgrade that part.

After searching Amazon quick for an "ethernet router" and not paying complete attention, I accidentally bought a D-Link switch. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008PC1FYK

I'm assuming that this cannot take the place of the ancient D-Link since it isn't a router. Correct?

Given this, could you guys recommend some sort of ethernet router to take its place? When I search Amazon for "ethernet router" I get switches and wifi, but not what I'm after. It seems as if WiFi is so prevalent today that I'd almost be better off buying a WiFi router and turning off the radios.

I found this: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-SafeStream-TL-R600VPN-throughput-Concurrent/dp/B007B60SCG/

Any experience? I've never used TP-Link gear. I like the ASUS router I have, it's been good to me and required very little in the way of maintenance and configuration. When I setup the OMV-PLEX server I don't recall having to go in and manually set ports. It just figured it out somehow, either that or it was so quick and painless I forgot I did it. Either way, it worked with no hassles. I'd like to have that sort of experience again, but a lot of the ethernet routers (Ubiquiti and whatnot) out there are significantly more expensive (over $100), and when we're talking that kind of $$$ I start to wonder if they're worth the price.

The switch will work but it wont assign a Ip ( no dhcp server) but your main router should still assign through the switch to the things pluged in .

How old is you modem , In canada it is pretty customary for the modem to be a router/modem/wifi . And we can upgrade them when ever the ISP gets a new brand does it not work like this for you ? I would see if your ISP has a new brand with better wifi .

 

[Janus67]

I don't have any other drops in the house for wires. GF put the kibosh on "anything with antennas" on the walls. If I could get a drop from the attic to the basement I guess I could do something like a Ubiquiti saucer or two.

But that's longer term and doesn't solve the current issue, which is the OMV-PLEX server not playing nice.

As an interim step, maybe I could try running router software on the crypto box (it has two LAN ports) and putting the switch behind that?

Cable modem > crypto router > switch > VOIP/OMV-PLEX/ASUS WiFi

Or is that just complicating things for no reason and I need to get my fat butt up in the attic and start assessing?

You had mentioned that you ran CAT6 to the living room behind the TV. I figured you could move the Asus back down and put a dedicated AP there with the Asus was moved temporarily, this way you have two wireless APs in the house to hopefully have some better coverage.

 

[JeremyCT]

How old is you modem , In canada it is pretty customary for the modem to be a router/modem/wifi . And we can upgrade them when ever the ISP gets a new brand does it not work like this for you ? I would see if your ISP has a new brand with better wifi .

Motorola SB6141, so decently recent. The ISPs here in the US charge non-insignificant rental fees for equipment such as modems and WiFi routers, $10-15 every month. Most savvy people buy their own and tell the ISP to stuff their rental fees, as I did. The modem I chose is a modem, nothing more.

EDIT: I decided to log into the modem, and found this on the configuration tab...

DHCP Server Enabled
The SURFboard cable modem can be used as a gateway to the Internet by a maximum of 32 users on a Local Area Network (LAN). When the Cable Modem is disconnected from the Internet, users on the LAN can be dynamically assigned IP Addresses by the Cable Modem DHCP Server. These addresses are assigned from an address pool which begins with 192.168.100.11 and ends with 192.168.100.42. Statically assigned IP addresses for other devices on the LAN should be chosen from outside of this range

That sure as heck sounds like the D-Link switch I have would work since there's a DHCP server built into the modem. I would be missing features like NAT and port forwarding, but I honestly don't know what missing those features would mean to my network.

 

[Pinky]

Run a second wire to behind the TV, keep the Asus there but put it back into standard router mode (with wifi). This is assuming the wiring run from behind the TV to the basement isn't terribly difficult, and you have some more wire.

Cable Modem [basement/wherever] --> Asus [behind TV] --> DLink Switch you bought [basement] --> other wired devices

So long as your wiring run is less than 300 feet you shouldn't see any performance hit with this setup.

Yes, the old DLink likely isn't providing a service the PLEX needs, like upnp or some media streaming/hosting function. It's also likely the cause of your bottleneck. It is also likely a security hazard, as many older routers are easily hacked now.

 

[Pinky]

Why not put the Asus back downstairs and install a dedicated Access point elsewhere in the house?

This would work too, put the Asus back downstairs exactly how things were and get a wireless router for behind the TV [make sure to turn off DHCP on the new wireless router or it will create havoc with the existing Asus].

 

[JeremyCT]

We wound up doing a second Cat6 drop to behind the TV. It almost didn't want to go up the wall, there's a narrow point in there somewhere evidently, but we convinced it to go. This required the returning/purchase of no extra equipment, so it was deemed best.

Cable modem > ASUS router > switch > all others

Everything seems to be working thus far, thankfully. WiFi range is still not what I'd like it to be, but that's a problem for another day.

 

[JrClocker]

Check out my MoCA link in my signature. These little babies run 1 GBPs over the coax cables already in your walls.

Also, you can go:

Modem -> router -> switch

Just make sure you plug into the correct "uplink" port on the switch if required. The router's DHCP server will give out IP addresses.

In my setup, i have:

Modem -> router -> 24 port switch (lots of stuff off this one)

Connected into the 24 port switch I have a MoCA connection that runs to the other side of my house. On that end I have another MoCA box and a wifi access point.

Also connected into the 24 switch is another 24 port switch.

 

[HankB]

I don't see any mention of a firewall anywhere in this discussion. Your Asus WiFi Router can do that. Perhaps the modem itself has that capability too. (Incidentally if you use the DHCP server in the modem to assign addresses, you will still have NAT since 192.168.100.* is not a routeable address - local LAN only.) I don;t know if the D-Link can firewall but I wouldn't trust a D-Link product with my garbage. Do be sure to apply updates to the Asus or it will not be much better.

But to my point, you really a firewall between the modem and the rest of your LAN. I would use the Asus for that. If you really need to move the WiFi somewhere else one option is to purchase a dedicated firewall product. I got one of these https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173128 (using a drive and some RAM I already had) and installed PFsense on it for firewall, DHCP and so on. My Asus RT-AC68W now operates as an access point only.

In other words -

[modem] <-> [Zotac] <-> [unmanaged switch] <--> [RT-AC68W] <-> WiFi devices
                                            |-> [wired devices]

(I've actually got quite a bit more going on but this is the simplified view.)

Another option to the WiFi issue might have been to add an AP upstairs, plug the Cat6 into one port and the Plex box into another port. You would need to reconfigure this as an access point and not use the WAN port.