Enterprise VS Consumer Grade Routers, Need a router?

TheeSilent · 25 Sep 2016

So in the past I've gone through a few routers.
Not quickly, all have spent a few years before crapping out.
I've experienced one crap itself when we connected up 8+ computers for LAN gaming.
Not sure if they're crapping out due to load but I think it might be.

I do
Game server hosting
VPN connections
Web hosting/FTP
and usually have around 7+ devices connected. We also have meetings at my house so then I end up having 20+ devices.
I utilize MAC filtering (for every device 20+), custom DHCP and DNS routing, bandwidth control and address reservations stuff.
Basically utilizing heaps of stuff.
Streaming (In the future)

Do you reckon all this is to much for something like a TP-Link WDR4900 or should I grab a enterprise grade router for stuff like this.

Yes, I do use all the above with realistic device numbers.
Thanks in advance

bro67 · 25 Sep 2016

If you want to roll your own, use pfSense. If you are getting more than one IP from your ISP, yes a good router comes in handy. Especially one with fallback. MAC filtering is old. Use Radius. You would need to roll a Radius server for handling those connections. You can do it with a Synology NAS with Dual Ethernet ports. Also you can get one with a eSATA port to expand storage. I use the DIS216+ II with a Fantom 4TB hard drive. With two 1TB Constellation drives, I will not be using that space up.

The other good thing about the Synology NAS's being capable of handling everything for routing and firewall, is that it also lets you run Docker.