US Telco Support > Verizon > Verizon Fiber Optics > [Northeast] Netgear WNDR4500, is this a good router for us?

[Northeast] Netgear WNDR4500, is this a good router for us?

The WNDR4500 is a home router. It does not support static NAT. i.e. it can not map a single external static IP address to an internal LAN IP address, much less 13 static IPs.

With 13 static IPs, you don't need a router so much as you need a business class firewall that can handle 13 static IPs.

ONT---Firewall---switch+--host1 (static IP 1)
                       +--host2 (static IP 2)
                       ...
                       +--host13 (static IP 13)

Agreed. Requiring 13 static IPs means you need some serious hardware to keep it all safe. A consumer level high end router isn't going to cut it. Consider this :

Firewall : »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···33120135

Switch : »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···33122139

You need real , business level security and hardware. Not consumer level equipment. You should also consider some kind of UPS solution for power management as well for maximum up time.

reply to JohnReam
Here are some other suggestions that might help:
•pfsense
•Sonicwall
•Zyxel USG Zywalls
•Checkpoint
--
There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.

Thanks More Fiber, I'll definitely take a look at those suggestions. I did look at the Cisco ASA 5505 that Clark suggested, I'm a bit overwhelmed by it. I have under 10 employees, and the 5 web servers. We're switching to FiOS from old & slow DSL/Megapath which we ran thru a simple Netopia DSL with only 5 NAT entries and a few firewall rules. All employee PCs simple 192.x internet users, no NAT for them.

Maybe I can use the new ActionTec by squeezing into the 4 or 5 NATs limit. Is the Actiontec considered "reliable" by your standards? Ours is a new VZ Business FiOS account, I'd like to think that they'd supply us with a reliable usable modem. Our priority is constant reliability of web connection, no drop of our remote client website sessions.

I think my options are:

1 - Keep the Actiontec. Is it reliable? Other gotchas? (Gen2 E firmware 20.19.8)

2 - Cisco 5505 or similar. Overkill for us? Too complex?

3 - One of the 4 suggestions by More Fiber or similar. Maybe a little easier to setup, and may meet the 'business class' reliability needs we have better then Actiontec.

I really appreciate your guys comments. I'm stressing trying to pick the right router. Our small business will suffer if I choose the wrong solution.

John

If you have Ethernet wired from your ONT directly to your Actiontec then you can actually release the IP from the Actiontec and use whatever solution you want. The Actiontec is only required when :

A). The ONT is hooked up via Coax to your Actiontec provided router and not via Ethernet.

B). You are required to keep the Actiontec in your network for STB's for TV service.

While that Cisco might seem overwhelming to hook up it'll provide top notch security and meet the demands of your employee's and your web servers with even some small room to grow. Its always good in small business planning to buy a little more than you need in case the demand increases. Its worth while to either hire someone to come in and hook it up correctly for you or learn it own your own. As your business grows you should also consider proper IT management as well for "down the road" requirements.

What might seem over the top "right now" choice , might end up being a real smart decision down the line. More Fiber listed other brands/solutions as well. Personally I find Cisco to be top notch and for the money that ASA 5505 is a great solution.

But there is one thing you have to keep in mind .. a consumer level router nor the Actiontec will be good enough for your 10 employee's and 4 web servers and all the static IP's you want. Its not a question of "Can I?" but more "What do I need?" if you want a secured and solid running network.

If you choose to stick with the Actiontec , by all means that's your right but you are going to learn the hard way that for a small business a properly setup network means more money in your pockets and less down time.

The Actiontec or Westells are not *REQUIRED* for STBs and TV Service to operate. You can use any standard NAT/DHCP router and the STBs will grab IPs just like they do with the Actiontecs and still do VOD and update their guides. The disadvantages for this are no cell phone remote control/scheduling and no on screen caller ID. If those two features are not important to you then ditch the POS Actiontec. I would also *NEVER* use an Actiontec in a working production environment, they would keel over just from refreshing the server list in Bad Company 2...

A Cisco 5505 is probably going to be your best futureproof option if FiOS ever does go beyond their currently offered speeds. I actually use one on my FiOS and it's a 35/35 with 13 statics. They can actually handle 150Mbps of throughput which is the top FiOS package (Granted you'll also run into issues here if you max both upload and download on the 150/35 option).

I have mine setup in transparent mode from Verizon's stupid FiOS subnet routing which is beyond retarded. If you're NAT'ing though this won't be an issue for you. Before this I used a Zyxel Zywall 5 and it could only push 60Mbps of throughput, so it would choke if you're maxing both your upload and download. The Zyxel UI is a bit more user friendly, but for something production related I would definetely go with something that can push more bandwidth than your FiOS is capable of pushing. A Cisco ASA can be rather tedious to configure if you're not used to cisco, but once you know it, you're glad you do. As always each vendor has higher grade firewalls that will match to what you need, though.

For what your doing though, small to mid size business firewalls are the way to go. Just find one with an interface that you like and that is capable of pushing what you need. From my personal experience Sonicwalls and Checkpoints both suck in their interface, but as always different strokes for different folks.

Totally agree. So I don't need my Actiontec at all then? I'm going to unhook it then and box it up.

Thanks for the info , didn't know that

You don't need it as the primary router, but you do need an Actiontec as a moca bridge, or a moca bridge like the Netgear MCAB1001, to get internet connectivity from the primary router to the STB's. That's required or you won't have guide data or VOD.

(I saw the smiley, so maybe you were kidding? But just to avoid confusion on anyone else's part...)

Ya thats exactly what I do. I got a Motorola NIM-100 off ebay (Any MoCA bridge will work though) and I hook that up to one of my LAN ports on my Linksys E3000 and plug the Coax in. There is your MoCA LAN for the STBs.

Just an interesting aside on MoCA bridges... I had a VZ installer out a few weeks ago to add another coax outlet. We were talking about MoCA bridges, and he asked me if I wanted a couple. He came back later in the day with 2 ECB2200V's, gratis. They're MoCA 1.1, which was perfect. Apparently they stock them back at the depot. YMMV, but if anyone needs them, never hurts to ask.

(He had been here a couple times before, does great work, so I've called his boss to give him an attaboy. That probably helped.)

reply to JohnReam
Thanks everyone for your comments. As many suggested, we bought the Cisco ASA 5505. Thanks. This is a great forum.