Router lifespan

[sir-les-mp]

Decided to try sort my wifi out with one of these Ubiquiti UniFi AP UAP just the base one at £60

 

[Jamauk]

When I moved house I went from cable BB (NTL 512Kb/Sec) to Sky ADSL, a year later due to the massive reduction in speed (~3Mb/Sec down to under 1Mb/Sec) coupled with the quite frankly terrible customer service and reluctance to help from Sky I moved to BT and after recommendations from here had an Asus RT-N16 running Tomato firmware (& a HG612 - still in use) for around nine years, Wi-Fi was turned off on both as I've always had access points due to adopting Wi-Fi at an early stage when routers simply didn't have it. Started with an Asus cable router and separate access point, then moved over to a few Cisco APs and then moved to UniFi. Now gone the full UniFi route with switches, USG & APs.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

OK as the title suggests I'm looking to find out what would be deemed as the avg lifespan of a vdsl2 modem router.
The reason I ask is I bought an Asus DSL-N66U a little under 3 years ago. However recently it has been dropping the WiFi signals in the house. I currently have 4 WiFi networks running from it, standard 1x 2.4 ghz 1x 5ghz and 2 guest networks at 2.4 ghz.
The reason for the 4 is 1 each for my kids which I can remove for bad behaviour and the standard and 5ghz ones for me and the Mrs to use.
When they do disconnect and it comes up network not in range all I have to do is log in to the router disable them and then 're enable them, but it's getting to the point I'm doing this every 3 to 4 days.

Can't you remove their access using mac addresses or ip bans?

Using 4 different networks will be putting strain on the router which is a residential product not designed for that kind of use.

Sounds like you could try flashing third party firmware if that doesn't work then new router.

However I've never had a router fail but I tend to buy a new one every 3 years because of updates in technology

 

[Rroff]

However I've never had a router fail but I tend to buy a new one every 3 years because of updates in technology

In some ways it is good not to let a router get too old in that respect - one of mine just had an update after 18+ months since the last one with 45 security fixes which is more than it had through its main operational life due to the tech being out so long people found more obscure ways to exploit it, etc.

 

[sir-les-mp]

Unfortunately the router I have hasn't had a firmware update since I bought it.

 

[Rainmaker]

In some ways it is good not to let a router get too old in that respect - one of mine just had an update after 18+ months since the last one with 45 security fixes which is more than it had through its main operational life due to the tech being out so long people found more obscure ways to exploit it, etc.

Unfortunately the router I have hasn't had a firmware update since I bought it.

In a nutshell, ladies and gents, the reason why consumer all-in-one 'routers' are a spectacularly bad idea. A joke, in fact, and a complete waste of money. The one network edge device that stands between you and the entire Internet - script kiddies, professional Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese and similar hackers, botnet armies and all that fun stuff... Running in 99% of homes on woeful years-outdated base operating systems, with vulnerable shells, and either no security updates to speak of (thanks to OEM 'support' that doesn't mean the criteria for the definition of the word) or updates so patchy and late that they may as well not have been issued at all. All this on extremely meagre low power (often last-gen) hardware, that people rush out to spend a couple of hundred quid on because the box says 'Gaming' and its glossy cheap plastic case looks like an alien spacecraft or something. {Facepalm}

A nice site with some info.

There needs to be a serious re-education of the public about what network security involves, at least enough to cause them to moan a bit on Twitter and push OEMs to start taking security seriously lest it affect their bottom line. What's the old quote; "Friends don't let friends use consumer networking equipment.". If you really are wanting point and click, with support and a fairly set it and forget it MO, then grab a Mikrotik or Ubiquiti router and tick the box for automatic updates. If you know even a bit about computers etc build your own and get daily security updates from upstream, whether that be one of the BSDs, Linux or OPNsense/pfSense et al. Not to mention you can grab a very beefy, cheap setup for less than the cost of a commercial box, and it'll last you 10+ years of very hard usage and still be viable with up-to-the-minute OS updates and security patches. Having to replace expensive network hardware every year or two just to get another short round of (inadequate) security patches is a joke!

 

[Psycho Sonny]

In a nutshell, ladies and gents, the reason why consumer all-in-one 'routers' are a spectacularly bad idea. A joke, in fact, and a complete waste of money. The one network edge device that stands between you and the entire Internet - script kiddies, professional Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese and similar hackers, botnet armies and all that fun stuff... Running in 99% of homes on woeful years-outdated base operating systems, with vulnerable shells, and either no security updates to speak of (thanks to OEM 'support' that doesn't mean the criteria for the definition of the word) or updates so patchy and late that they may as well not have been issued at all. All this on extremely meagre low power (often last-gen) hardware, that people rush out to spend a couple of hundred quid on because the box says 'Gaming' and its glossy cheap plastic case looks like an alien spacecraft or something. {Facepalm}

A nice site with some info.

There needs to be a serious re-education of the public about what network security involves, at least enough to cause them to moan a bit on Twitter and push OEMs to start taking security seriously lest it affect their bottom line. What's the old quote; "Friends don't let friends use consumer networking equipment.". If you really are wanting point and click, with support and a fairly set it and forget it MO, then grab a Mikrotik or Ubiquiti router and tick the box for automatic updates. If you know even a bit about computers etc build your own and get daily security updates from upstream, whether that be one of the BSDs, Linux or OPNsense/pfSense et al. Not to mention you can grab a very beefy, cheap setup for less than the cost of a commercial box, and it'll last you 10+ years of very hard usage and still be viable with up-to-the-minute OS updates and security patches. Having to replace expensive network hardware every year or two just to get another short round of (inadequate) security patches is a joke!

i buy bang for buck i'll spend around £75 on a router every say 3 years. which is £25 a year.

i have a spare pc with a spare network card i could run pfsense on but then you are talking 150W running costs i imagine 24/7. which is £200 a year in electricity. compared to a router which will use 23W which is £30 a year.

so running a residential router vs a pc as pf sense is a hell of a lot cheaper.

i might get a Mikrotik or Ubiquiti router in 2 years time when it's time to upgrade though. just for more power really. but i don't like the fact they are ethernet only and you need access points seperately

 

[Rainmaker]

i buy bang for buck i'll spend around £75 on a router every say 3 years. which is £25 a year.

i have a spare pc with a spare network card i could run pfsense on but then you are talking 150W running costs i imagine 24/7. which is £200 a year in electricity. compared to a router which will use 23W which is £30 a year.

so running a residential router vs a pc as pf sense is a hell of a lot cheaper.

i might get a Mikrotik or Ubiquiti router in 2 years time when it's time to upgrade though. just for more power really. but i don't like the fact they are ethernet only and you need access points seperately

If your machine is idling at 150W you have a serious problem lol. I currently have my x86 router (Optiplex Core i7), Coffee Lake desktop (sig), multiple switches, Unifi PoE wireless AP Pro, Synology 2 bay NAS, 3x PoE UHD CCTV cameras, a fridge/freezer, TV, aquarium and external filter, pump etc and several LED light bulbs all running atm; which is basically my house's 'background/idle usage' and all that is using 3p (~300W) an hour.

Even if we (very generously) say the router is using 1/3 of all that - which it certainly isn't! - then we're still barely talking 80 quid a year. Since it's actually much less than that the cost is negligible. Heck it only has a 200W power supply and is running a long term average of 0.1% load... lol.

 

[sir-les-mp]

Well seeing how well this Unifi UAP works, all be it in 2.4ghz mode only 9 seems i bought one of the older versions) im convinced that i should get hol of the ?USG, a switch with POE ports as well as a Cloud key.
The only porblem i have there is finding a good VDSL Modem to plug into the USG to get net access. Im not sure if i can just use my N66u as the modem and then run rest of network from the Unifi setup

 

[BigT]

The only porblem i have there is finding a good VDSL Modem to plug into the USG to get net access

Nothing wrong with a second hand BTOR modem for £20 off eBay. Nearly everyone I know, including myself, have never had problems with them and there’s a plentiful supply.

 

[Avalon]

Well seeing how well this Unifi UAP works, all be it in 2.4ghz mode only 9 seems i bought one of the older versions) im convinced that i should get hol of the ?USG, a switch with POE ports as well as a Cloud key.
The only porblem i have there is finding a good VDSL Modem to plug into the USG to get net access. Im not sure if i can just use my N66u as the modem and then run rest of network from the Unifi setup

Nothing at all wrong with the old 2.4Ghz UniFi AP’s, they still get updates and are very solid bits of kit - 2.4 also gets better penetration and in all seriousness anything that’s speed orientated should be wired anyway. VDSL wise an HG612 is the default weapon of choice, that said BT have officially stopped pushing updates to it.

i buy bang for buck i'll spend around £75 on a router every say 3 years. which is £25 a year.

i have a spare pc with a spare network card i could run pfsense on but then you are talking 150W running costs i imagine 24/7. which is £200 a year in electricity. compared to a router which will use 23W which is £30 a year.

so running a residential router vs a pc as pf sense is a hell of a lot cheaper.

i might get a Mikrotik or Ubiquiti router in 2 years time when it's time to upgrade though. just for more power really. but i don't like the fact they are ethernet only and you need access points seperately

23w is not far off what my R210ii (1220/SSD) idles at running pfsense, it’s a machine from 2011 and not overly efficient as it’s a mid range server. By comparison my similarly ancient i5 2500 (non K) scrapes into the low 30’s with an efficient PSU, I very much doubt that a more modern CPU will idle significantly higher running on iGPU with fewer fans and a PSU running even remotely within its efficiency range etc. Buying something similar and a decent AP means you get regular security fixes (Ubiquity for example are normally $*** hot in this respect) and remove the need to upgrade ‘everything’ every 3 years while opening up the ability to do vastly more. Also when you do upgrade, you can upgrade what you need to (eg Wi-fi AP) rather than the whole lot.

That said, running a dedicated x86 router isn’t for everyone and something like an ER-X/HeX is a reasonable solution for those who prefer more options and flexibility without the power/heat/noise and performance, if your serious about your network though, you don’t run an AIO device, it’s rarely (if ever) going to be as good as decent individual components chosen to do the jobs required.

 

[sir-les-mp]

Well i have found the BTOR Modem given to me when i first had the fiber installed. However it is one of the ECI B-focus V-2Fub/r Rev B versions.
Now i remmeber when i first got it i was unable to see my Line stats hence why i went for the Asus DSL N66u as both my Billion and Netgear router where ADSL only and dont have Wan Ports on them.
Ive had a look on the interwebs and unlocking this particular version seems to be a complete Pain in the Backside.
Is it worth looking for one of the HG612 versions that have already been unlocked. seen a few on the bay of e for around £20-£30 inc P&P

 

[Rroff]

Ive had a look on the interwebs and unlocking this particular version seems to be a complete Pain in the Backside.

If it is like my ECI rev B they've gone a step beyond the ones in the guides and actually de-soldered some bits and glued others just to make it extra difficult

 

[Avalon]

Is it worth looking for one of the HG612 versions that have already been unlocked. seen a few on the bay of e for around £20-£30 inc P&P

Please don’t pay someone to plug a cable in and upload firmware, it’s literally a 2 minute process and the ‘locked’ versions should be half that.

Also the ECI will work perfectly, you just don’t have stats in the event you need them.

 

[V F]

In a nutshell, ladies and gents, the reason why consumer all-in-one 'routers' are a spectacularly bad idea. A joke, in fact, and a complete waste of money. The one network edge device that stands between you and the entire Internet - script kiddies, professional Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese and similar hackers, botnet armies and all that fun stuff... Running in 99% of homes on woeful years-outdated base operating systems, with vulnerable shells, and either no security updates to speak of (thanks to OEM 'support' that doesn't mean the criteria for the definition of the word) or updates so patchy and late that they may as well not have been issued at all. All this on extremely meagre low power (often last-gen) hardware, that people rush out to spend a couple of hundred quid on because the box says 'Gaming' and its glossy cheap plastic case looks like an alien spacecraft or something. {Facepalm}

A nice site with some info.

There needs to be a serious re-education of the public about what network security involves, at least enough to cause them to moan a bit on Twitter and push OEMs to start taking security seriously lest it affect their bottom line. What's the old quote; "Friends don't let friends use consumer networking equipment.". If you really are wanting point and click, with support and a fairly set it and forget it MO, then grab a Mikrotik or Ubiquiti router and tick the box for automatic updates. If you know even a bit about computers etc build your own and get daily security updates from upstream, whether that be one of the BSDs, Linux or OPNsense/pfSense et al. Not to mention you can grab a very beefy, cheap setup for less than the cost of a commercial box, and it'll last you 10+ years of very hard usage and still be viable with up-to-the-minute OS updates and security patches. Having to replace expensive network hardware every year or two just to get another short round of (inadequate) security patches is a joke!

Gaming branding and marketing. Sad times. RGB, glossy plastic, everything plastic and as you said alien space craft. Funny to think this was the same garbage with computer cases back in 2003.

 

[sir-les-mp]

So i have just replaced my Asus DSL-N66U with a Unifi UAC AP and the Edgerouter X and so far im liking what i see when i enable DPI
This allows me to see where my kids are acutally going when connected across thier various device's.

What im looking to find out is there a way to give each device a friendly name that will show up on traffic analysis within the Edgerouter like there is within the Unifi controller software.
I would like to differentiate between my 2 kids devices as they both have the exact same handset, tv device and games console.