My router sucks (do they all?)

Hlubocky

I just don't know what kind of reliability expectations I should have having from my router. I bought a first generation Linksys 802.11b router when they first came out and had some issues with it. I then started using the Netgear 54mbps 802.11g model which I have replaced three times in a little more than as many years. My specific problems are such:

1) When transferring large files (300mB+) between two computers on a network (one wireless), the file sometimes finishes, but sometime after or during the transfer, the router hoses up and I am forced to restart it.

2) UPnP: I don't know much about this function besides that it looks like it is a way for applications to tell the router what port needs to be opened for a specific ip. I am currently using this function for my XBox 360 and Azureus. The problem is that it randomly decides to work or not work, making me restart the router, disable/enable UPnP, and other random jiggery to get it working again.

I am really just sick of dealing with all of these quirks. Does anyone have any experience with these problems and routers that don't have them? I heard the custom Linux firmwares on the Linksys routers recommended here before, but I don't know if that supports this UPnP thing. I guess I'm really looking for someone with these use cases who has no problems to tell me what they got.

Thanks in advance!

LoneIgadzra

Well, firstly you need to turn off UPnP. I've never known it to work as advertised. Then use your router's control panel to set up any required port forwarding settings manually. If the firmware's half-decent, you should be able to either forward to a host name, or set up some static IP address assignment (or, alternatively, you can take your computers' TCP/IP settings off "automatic" and pick IP addresses and enter gateway info manually to get a static IP if the router won't do it).

If you don't understand any of that, let me know and I can post step-by-step (though not for your particular router, because I've only used one or two brands, and only had one problem with my WRT54G - its absurdly long caching of connections - before I put new firmware on it).

tsmvengy

Yeah, set up static IPs and use those for port forwarding instead of UPnP. And if you ever need a new router, get this or this and throw DD-WRT on there.