Enhancing your home network to Gigabit speed? Seeking guidance is wise.
Enhancing your home network to Gigabit speed? Seeking guidance is wise.
Hello! I'm working on improving my home network setup. I need to upgrade my router and switch. My house has a central electrical cabinet with an Asus N12D1 (4x100Mbit LAN) that handles various functions like switching, NAT, DHCP, etc. I'm planning to get a gigabit connection from my gaming PC to a server in the garage, and possibly boost my Wi-Fi AP too. I've been considering the Ubiquiti Edgerouter X but am unsure if it would perform well without hardware offloading. If I use hardware offloading, could I lose features like QoS, NetFlow, or bonding? I'm not very familiar with those terms. The PoE version of Edgerouter might be a better choice since it should work faster without extra hardware. It could cost around 60€ or 70 USD in Finland, while the regular model is about 180€ or 210 USD. The price difference is clear. My usage mainly consists of streaming services, gaming, and general browsing—about 99% of that time. I'm thinking of needing at least one WAN port plus four LAN ports so I still have space for other devices. Most of my internet activity is light streaming, gaming, and casual browsing.
Are you really relying on POE? If not, a standard router should suffice. It's likely you're using at least cat5e, so a router with gigabit ports will do. Almost any mid-range or higher model will meet your needs. Usually, you don't require extra features like QoS. I’d skip the idea of edge routers and opt for something more everyday. For instance, a Nighthawk x6 costs around 150 and delivers better Wi-Fi, includes gigabit WAN/LAN ports, and supports QoS. You can also connect USB ports to add a network drive if needed.
PoE is required for the Wi-Fi AP but can be added later if needed. Everything works with the ER-X using a single injector for both AP and router. The cabinet only has two power outlets, one of which is already used by the fiber modem. If I need distinct power sources for Wi-Fi and the router, modifications would be necessary. The internal wiring isn’t suitable for Wi-Fi since the steel cabinet blocks it, making it ineffective. USB connections are unnecessary. I already have a server in the garage. The router size is also problematic—Nighthawk X6 is too large, its RGB design is overwhelming for outdoor use, and many features aren’t essential. Edgerouter PoE appears to be a more suitable choice.
QoS offers advantages, but I wouldn't suggest it for a typical consumer router unless you invested heavily in an x86 model. You might wonder whether the device remains functional after upgrading your internet speed. Many support 100/20 Mbps, but increasing bandwidth significantly changes performance. What's likely certain is that your existing setup is likely limiting your current connection. Based on my experience, routers with only 100Mbit LAN ports are built for much slower broadband than they appear. Those offering Gigabit speeds usually fall short of handling half the traffic effectively.
Currently I’m seeing around 60Mbps download using the ASUS router, and about 100Mbps when connecting directly to the fiber modem. It’s clearly a limitation.
File move (big ISO) from Garage PC to Gaming PC Asus router: ER-X: (needed three times more files since it was too fast to capture a screenshot) File move (small BMP files) from Garage PC to Gaming PC Asus router: ER-X: Speedtest... both rooms had HD IPTV streaming in the living room and several phones on Wi-Fi. Asus router: ER-X: Gains everywhere. I believe NAT, Firewall etc. features in ER-X are still reducing download speed, as I think I achieved 90Mbps+ directly from the fiber modem.
Is there a connection point between the ER-X and the PCs? The ER doesn’t support hardware acceleration, so it’s recommended to use an external switch.
I understand the lite has some problems (my version). The X might have a hardware switch and offers more ports. With QOS it can handle around 40Mbps, while the lite supports 80Mbps. The new 4 and 6 can reach about 300Mbps in QOS. I’m using QOS only on upload (Comcast gives me 13Mbps), which helps reduce lag during games if people are uploading or streaming to Twitch. I strongly suggest upgrading to a switch for the network, even a basic $20 8-port 1Gb port would work well.