Recommended fibre router

Z

zll

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2005
Messages
7,326
Reaction score
4,318
Hey, so as with all my networking hardware, I am looking to get a backup fibre router. If anyone can make any recommendations? I don't mind buying from Takealot as I have some Ebucks to burn.

Also, is a Fibre ready router a full router or one I have to buy a fibre "modem" for?
 
zolly said:
Hey, so as with all my networking hardware, I am looking to get a backup fibre router. If anyone can make any recommendations? I don't mind buying from Takealot as I have some Ebucks to burn.

Also, is a Fibre ready router a full router or one I have to buy a fibre "modem" for?
Click to expand...

Any router with a ethernet WAN port will work, fibre connections don't use modems
What's your budget?

Best budget router, limited to 100Mb ports
https://scoop.co.za/tenda-ac6-smart-11ac-dual-band-wifi-router-ac6.html

Best budget router with 1Gb ports
https://scoop.co.za/tenda-ac1200-smart-gigabit-wi-fi-router-ac10.html
 
Last edited:
zolly said:
Hey, so as with all my networking hardware, I am looking to get a backup fibre router. If anyone can make any recommendations? I don't mind buying from Takealot as I have some Ebucks to burn.

Also, is a Fibre ready router a full router or one I have to buy a fibre "modem" for?
Click to expand...

Are you looking for a device to plug directly into the fibre or are you talking about a wireless access point to hook up to the existing CPE?

If you're looking for a wifi access point, I would highly recommend the RT series from Asus. I have an RT-AC88U, and my speeds are pleasantly high, with a requirement of an occasional reboot. With Vuma I switched to 200Mbps recently and I'm getting that with a 2ms ping to my ISP over WiFi.

I can't recommend a fibre switch though, I actually think you'll have to get one from your fibre provider because they configure it remotely and lock you out of it.
 
Do you want a standalone router, or a router/wifi access point combo? Might help guide the search.

I have a Mikrotik Rb750gr3 router coupled with a Ubiquiti uap-ac-lite. It works perfectly, can be expanded by adding another AP, and is probably still cheaper than most combo deals.
 
My first recommendation would always be something running pfSense, but that's either a DIY project or quite expensive if you want an out-of-the-box solution.

Next choice would be one of the Ubiquiti routers, either the Edge router or Unifi USG.

The Edge router is very affordable and is your more typical solution: https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-edgerouterx-4-port-gigabit-router-er-x.html

The USG is meant to be used in conjunction with other Unifi products which you can then all control from a single controller interface, it's also a bit pricier: https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-unifi-security-gateway-router-firewall-usg.html

I would also always recommend a separate Wireless AP, in this case the Unifi products are my go to: https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-unifi-dual-band-ac-lite-ap-uap-ac-lite.html
 
Any router with a ethernet WAN port will work, fibre connections don't use modems
What's your budget?
Click to expand...

I'm really not sure what is decent in the fibre range, but I'm happy to spend between 1 and 2k.

Are you looking for a device to plug directly into the fibre or are you talking about a wireless access point to hook up to the existing CPE?
Click to expand...

A device to plug directly into the fibre with wifi.

Do you want a standalone router, or a router/wifi access point combo? Might help guide the search.
Click to expand...

Router/wifi combo. Small flat with two people. Got a router with wifi from our ISP, just want a backup in case it has issues.
 
After the VPNfilter incident I won't ever recommend a brand of router that doesn't have a team actively working on improving and updating their firmware. Most of these consumer brands just poop out cheap routers then never update the firmware after it's released.
 
zolly said:
Thanks, I'll take a look.
Click to expand...

Nothing against TP link, had a D7 Archer (ok, that D7 one sucked big time, still have it, lying in a drawer, TP link will never fix the issues on V1 of that model)
But these Tenda's have more features, faster wifi speeds, tested in same room as the Archer, better App on your phone for controlling and limiting users... half the price... so rather save money seeing it's just a backup router, will probably better than what you have now in any case
There is a thread about the tenda's here somewhere...
 
Last edited:
If you stay below 20Mb synchronous (i.e. 20/20) then a combined unit like the Tenda is fine.

As soon as you're thinking 50/50 or even 100/100 then you need to think about what processing power the unit has.
If you see yourself upgrading to that kind of bandwidth in the long term, then the better long term investment would be the ubiquiti devices.
You will be thinking in terms of 50/50 and 100/100 with multiple devices linking to the Wifi, streaming netflix and browsing or gaming at the same time.

If you like a DIY, then a small server running pfsense will also work 100%. I had one running for a while and it was beautiful.
The latest updates to the uniquiti routers has a very nice graphical breakdown of what each device is doing and how much bandwidth it's using. Something that I like a lot :)
 
[video=youtube_share;o-g2P3R84dw]https://youtu.be/o-g2P3R84dw[/video]
 
mercurial said:
TP-Link Archer series is not bad at all.
Click to expand...

Walk away. Got an Archer C20 when we signed up for fibre. It is rubbish compared to my Asus. Tried it, wi-fi signal was abysmal, put it back in it's box & used the Asus.
 
irBosOtter said:
Nothing against TP link, had a D7 Archer (ok, that D7 one sucked big time, still have it, lying in a drawer, TP link will never fix the issues on V1 of that model)
Click to expand...

A bit off topic, but I also had a D7 for a month or two. Whenever the 5GHz band was under load (specifically with the Steam Link), the router would completely die. No LAN, no wireless, no internet. Used to have to turn it off and leave it for 5 minutes, then give it another go.

I got the hell in, sent it back for a replacement, and the replacement did the same thing.

In the end, I just got myself an ASUS DSL-AC56U, which I now use with fibre. Great router, but a bit OP for what I need these days. I thought TP-Link routers were amazing until I had one myself. Never again.
 
zolly said:
This one looks pretty good and is well within my budget. I've never bought stuff from these Scoop okes before though. Do I have to register with them like Esquire or can I just order from them directly?
Click to expand...

No need to register AFAIK
 
mr_norris said:
A bit off topic, but I also had a D7 for a month or two. Whenever the 5GHz band was under load (specifically with the Steam Link), the router would completely die. No LAN, no wireless, no internet. Used to have to turn it off and leave it for 5 minutes, then give it another go.

I got the hell in, sent it back for a replacement, and the replacement did the same thing.

In the end, I just got myself an ASUS DSL-AC56U, which I now use with fibre. Great router, but a bit OP for what I need these days. I thought TP-Link routers were amazing until I had one myself. Never again.
Click to expand...

Jip, same problem with my D7, or all version 1's of the D7's has that issue
 
DMNknight said:
If you stay below 20Mb synchronous (i.e. 20/20) then a combined unit like the Tenda is fine.

As soon as you're thinking 50/50 or even 100/100 then you need to think about what processing power the unit has.
If you see yourself upgrading to that kind of bandwidth in the long term, then the better long term investment would be the ubiquiti devices.
You will be thinking in terms of 50/50 and 100/100 with multiple devices linking to the Wifi, streaming netflix and browsing or gaming at the same time.

If you like a DIY, then a small server running pfsense will also work 100%. I had one running for a while and it was beautiful.
The latest updates to the uniquiti routers has a very nice graphical breakdown of what each device is doing and how much bandwidth it's using. Something that I like a lot :)
Click to expand...

Believe it or not they can actually handle over 500Mbps up and down, did a speed test not so long ago with one on a 1Gb line, even a 10 year old Telkom router maxed it's 100Mb WAN port on the 1Gb line
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X