Question On Routers

Access Points
1

Hi, I am interested in purchasing a couple of the pro AP points for my home. But I need a router, I currently have a Draytek VDSL modem on Eero Pro 6 units, I’m in the UK and have a PPPOE connection, fibre is on its way. So I would like a router that can power the AP’s over POE, give me a firewall and the ability to setup the PPPOE and future fibre connections. Will your up coming 8 port switch do this? Or would I need something else, if so does anyone have any recommendations. I only need 5 or 6 ports.

Would an Edge router work? Are they easy to setup? I had Ubiquiti Dream Machine and Dream Router before with an AP, but never had an Edge router.

2

If you will grant me the liberty of my 2 cents… I would strongly suggest looking at PFSense or OpnSense for your router. The EdgeRouter has not had any attention given to it for a good long time now. If you are going to learn something new, that is not the router to pick. You are not going to find a “good” router, POE switch combo that will be worth the money. I would go for PFSense, an Alta POE switch, and Alta APs for now.

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3

Thanks for the reply, not sure I want to go down that route. I am looking for something that is easy to configure and I’m not sure PSsense etc is is it? Plus I don’t want any large boxes, as small as possible would do. I mean what options are there for going down that route that’s easy to use and not expensive? I would assume the 8 port switch is around £150, the AP’s are around £170 each.
I’ve never seen let along used PFsense or Opnsense in my life! It would be totally new to me.

4

I would buy a seperate POE+ switch. Most provider routers don’t have POE and also have max of 4 ports.
An extra 8 ports POE+ switch will give you more flexibilty.
Opnsense/Pfsense has a steeper learning curve. If you want to have a rock solid CPE, I would go for the AVM Frtizbox boxes.

5

@SonNgo was also looking for a solution for this too, he might have some ideas…
And I know @Todd_Vasko has some experience with this :slight_smile:

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6

I get what you’re saying, use a standard router for firewall and connection then a POE Switch for the AP’s. Hmm that’s an idea, easy to use then too.

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7

Thanks for the call out!

Seems like pfsense (or opsense) is the way to go. I’m still investigating a few easy alternatives for failover but this is still in the running, thanks!

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8

But those aren’t easy to configure are they? Not a plug and play solution.

EDIT: I just found Netgate devices, seem to be the solution for turnkey using PFsense. Small enough too.

9

Is your default router not good enough?

My experiences with the Vigor 2927 are good. Firewall, VLANS etc are often good enough for many environments. Or is this disabled in your router?

I would install a seperate PoE switch. So when your router breaks down, your LAN is still active.

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10

Works for me, but I use Eero currently. I was asking for advice on a router with built in firewall, ability to set up PPPOE connections etc like an Eero does, and supplies POE for the access points, and members advised me to separate everything out. I have a Draytek modem not router.

11

OK, then take a look at the Vigor 2927. It’s a great small business router and is able to set up a PPPoE connection.

12

Not a bad option, shame it lacks POE. I think the Ubiquit Dream Machine Pro SE is the best option looking at everything. But Ubiquiti aren’t the most reliable with their firmware updates.

13

PPPoE is extremely buggy and unreliable on the dream machines. Use with caution.

14

Hi, would something like this work? I could remove my modem then, would it work well then with a fibre connection using an ONT later on? Don’t need dual WAN. If my broadband goes down I just use my 5G on my phone.

I see Draytek have some new interface too, I always found their interface rather lacking compared to Unifi before.

15

Whilst the Alta APs are still in the roadmap, I highly recommend looking at the Grandstream routers.

Pretty straightforward to configure, option to cloud or locally-manage, and cost-effective.

They just released a few new models too GWN7001, 7002 and 7003.

I’ve used one paired with my AP6-Pro and it works a treat!