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Routers: What is best?

For the best connectivity, security and performance, you need to switch to a router that can give you more

Look at the router in your average UK home and, more than likely, it will be the unit supplied by the ISP. After all, it does the job, the ISP is happy to support it, and it comes at everybody’s favourite price: free. Yet by sticking with your ISP router, you could be missing out; missing out on features that protect your family or your business, that give you more control over your network and enable you to get the full performance from your internet connection. You could be missing out on options that make your connections more reliable and ensure you get the bandwidth you need, when you need it.

Maybe there’s a reason why your ISP can send out subsidised routers, and why some routers are worth paying extra for.

Here are seven just to get you started.

1. Better connectivity

Admittedly, the days when ISP routers sported slow 100Mbit Ethernet ports and last-generation Wi-Fi are now thankfully over, but you might find yourself limited to just one or two Gigabit Ethernet ports, while the promised Wi-Fi 5 wireless networking turns out to support only the most basic level of 802.11ac, with a maximum speed of 867Mbits/sec on the 5GHz band. What’s more, routers like DrayTek’s Vigor 2865ac incorporate technologies like MU-MIMO, that support more devices simultaneously without interruption or throttling, or beamforming, which delivers a faster, more focused wireless connection to specific devices. You’ll be surprised what a difference these can make when you have a busy household with laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, games consoles and other devices all vying for bandwidth on the network.

2. Faster performance

In fact, there’s more to high-speed connectivity than just which Wi-Fi standard a router supports. Processing power, memory, chipsets and designs can all have a huge impact on performance, and on how efficiently your router moves traffic between each device and the wider internet, and between devices on the network. Different chipset and aerial configurations can also radically affect the speed and range.

ISP routers are designed to give you decent performance at a reasonably low cost. Third-party routers don’t have to be designed or manufactured with the same compromises, because the manufacturer is working under the assumption that users are looking for a desired level of features and performance. That’s why third-party routers will often incorporate into their designs additional features such as hardware acceleration, dedicated hardware processors for specific functions, such as VPN connections, and hardware based QoS.

3. Stronger security

There are two primary frequencies used for wireless networking at present, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. The 2.4GHz frequency band has a smaller and more crowded space to Stick to your ISP router and you can expect basic levels of protection, including WPA2 encryption for the local wireless network and a firewall to guard against the most common internet-based threats.

But why stop there when a third-party router does so much more?

For instance, DrayTek’s 2865ac model brings you WPA2 and WPA3 security for your wireless network, a robust firewall that supports both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, content filtering to block potentially harmful sites or content, and features to set up multiple virtual networks or a guest network. These enable you to separate your work-related traffic from the network you use to connect up family devices, or provide basic wireless connectivity for visitors or friends in a secure way. What’s more, a router like the 2865ac will have stronger controls on access to its settings and firmware, along with setup processes designed to encourage good security practices. It all adds up to greater peace of mind.

More advanced routers also come with more advanced VPN support, including the ability to create more secure tunnels between, say, the office network and the home networks of key employees, and the ability to use more advanced forms of encryption if used at both ends. As more businesses supply routers and/or broadband connections to their workers, these features could become a must-have.

4. Smoother streams and trouble-free video meetings

Your average ISP router treats most traffic in much the same way; it doesn’t know or care that your video meeting is more important than the latest update to Call of Duty, or that a cloud-based business application is more latency-sensitive than a YouTube stream. That’s a problem in a household where many users are sharing the same network and contending for the same resources. That’s why a router like the DrayTek Vigor 2865ac-k comes with robust quality of service (QoS) features built-in, so that the router can prioritise video or VoIP calls, while you can select the apps and services that require VIP treatment. You can set up queues to prioritise specific computers or devices, servers, services or apps. The result? The bandwidth is there when you need it for demanding cloud-based apps or your next Teams meeting.

5. Reliability and resilience

Good connectivity isn’t just fast but stable. We’ve already touched on how the modems built into some routers are better at maintaining a stable connection and on how QoS features can work, but premium routers are also built to be more resilient than your average free ISP effort. After all, manufacturers like DrayTek have a reputation to maintain and warranties to support.

Yet what can really make the difference is a failover option, giving you a secondary connection the router can switch to if the main fibre connection fails. That’s why DrayTek offers routers that support an LTE 3G/4G connection as well as the more standard VDSL and ADSL. Should your fibre line suffer from a temporary interruption, crucial activities can still carry on as long as you have a suitable data SIM installed.

6. Management and control

Perhaps the most important plus for a third-party router, though, is that it puts you, not the ISP, in control. You have access to a wider range of settings, including the ones the ISP usually restricts because it thinks its users won’t need or understand them. You can set up your own guest networks and virtual LANs or install your own security updates. You can set up your own Web content and DNS filters, decide on your own DNS provider, or set up static IP addresses for every computer or device in the home. In some cases, you can create policies to control how different forms of traffic are routed or prioritised and decide how any firewall rules apply. You might have to get your hands dirty with a few complex-looking menus, but you’ll be surprised what advice and guidance you can find online to help you get to grips with it all.

7. Contracts

To upgrade the ISP router you often enter into a new fixed term contract. If you’re out of contract you can upgrade your router to a DrayTek and not need to lock yourself in. Plus, you could move to another ISP and keep your DrayTek.

 

Still sticking with your ISP router?

Well, it’ll carry on working as it has before, but if you want a network that works more efficiently and securely, and that can use the full potential of your internet connection, think seriously about making the switch. Especially now that we have the increased speed and capacity of WiFi 6. It would be a great time to take advantage of what WiFi 6 has to offer. And to that, you can’t go wrong with a Draytek WiFi 6 router.

So, just in case you’ve changed your mind, we’ve listed the latest routers from DrayTek.

 

DrayTek WiFi 6 Routers

Vigor2927ax, 2866ax, and 2865ax model variants

The 2927ax, 2866ax and 2865ax are all fully compliant with the latest WiFi6 (802.11ax) standard to provide a better WiFi experience for users. All feature MU-MIMO and OFDMA technology, so you can enjoy ultrafast speed with powerful wireless capacity and efficiency to truly get the most out of these Routers.

DrayTek Vigor 2927ax
Router with WiFi 6 AX3000 wireless

DrayTek Vigor 2927ax router with Wi-Fi 6 AX3000 wireless
The Vigor 2927ax features ultra-fast and highly efficient WiFi 6, or 802.11ax. OFDMA allows the router to send to more than one device at a time, splitting up wireless frequency into blocks, assigning more to users that need more e.g. video data, less to users that need less e.g. VoIP calls, then sending all at once. Which ensures all users have less of a wait, greatly improving efficiency. It allows the router to effectively and responsively, serve more wireless clients.

Features:

  • Gigabit Dual-WAN Ethernet WAN Router with Load Balancing & Failover
  • Up to 950Mbps Throughput per WAN interface, 1800Mbps in total
  • Up to 300Mbps IPsec VPN Throughput
  • 50 LAN-to-LAN & Remote Teleworker VPN Tunnels
  • 25 DrayTek SSL VPN Tunnels
  • 5+1 Gigabit RJ-45 LAN Ports
  • AX3000 – Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band Wireless
  • 8 LAN Subnets with VLANs (Port-based / 802.1q)
  • SPI Firewall and Content Filtering
  • Optional VigorCare Available
  • Can be centrally managed by VigorACS

Buy DrayTek Vigor 2927ax Router

DrayTek V2866ax-k
Vigor Wi-Fi 6 G.fast/DSL Ethernet Wireless Router

DrayTek Vigor 2866ax-k Vigor Wi-Fi 6 G.fast/DSL Ethernet Wireless Router
The Vigor 2866 series provides a reliable, flexible, and secure networking solution, that’s ideal for Home Offices, Small Business and Satellite Offices and is DrayTek’s G.Fast / VDSL and Ethernet Multi-WAN Firewall VPN router. Ideally suited to connect directly to Ultrafast G.Fast broadband and Superfast VDSL. Providing advanced Firewall and Content Filtering, Quality of Service and VPN with Gigabit throughput.

Options for Wi-Fi 6 on ‘ax’ models, or Wi-Fi 5 ‘ac’ models provide fast & efficient wireless connectivity, while the integrated 4G+ LTE modem on ‘Lac’ models takes full advantage of mobile broadband.

Features:

  • Speeds include: G.fast (Ultrafast Fibre), VDSL2 (Superfast Fibre), ADSL and Ethernet Router
  • Multi-WAN Gigabit Performance Router with Load-Balancing & Failover
  • Up to 950Mbps Firewall Throughput for Ethernet WAN
  • 5+1 Gigabit RJ-45 LAN Ports
  • Up to 800Mbps VPN Throughput with IPsec acceleration
  • 32 LAN-to-LAN & Remote Teleworker VPN Tunnels
  • 16 DrayTek SSL VPN or OpenVPN Tunnels
  • AX3000 – Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band Wireless
  • 8 LAN Subnets with VLANs (Port-based / 802.1q).
  • SPI Firewall and Content Filtering
  • Optional VigorCare Available
  • Can be centrally managed by VigorACS

Buy DrayTek Vigor 2866ax VDSL Router

DrayTek Vigor 2865ax
VDSL Router with Wi-Fi 6 AX3000 wireless

DrayTek Vigor 2865ax VDSL router with Wi-Fi 6 AX3000 wireless
The Vigor 2865ax is a VDSL and Ethernet WAN router featuring VPN, advanced routing features, firewall, content filtering, bandwidth management and more. Connect the Vigor 2865 to Superfast Fibre with its integrated VDSL modem. Or connect to VirginMedia Cable and Ultrafast FTTP with Ethernet WAN.

Featuring high throughput with Load Balancing and Failover connectivity, suitable for handling Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and Gigabit Internet connections. Offering up to 950Mbps per-WAN of Hardware Accelerated throughput while retaining its full feature set.

With Wi-Fi 6 AX3000 wireless, it provides ultra fast and efficient wireless coverage, to your network’s computers and devices. In addition, the router can connect to Wireless networks for Internet access, allowing it to make use of Mobile Hotspot wireless connections and nearby wireless networks, where for instance a neighbour’s wireless network could provide an emergency backup connection.

Features:

  • VDSL2 (Superfast Fibre) and Gigabit Ethernet WAN Router
  • Multi-WAN Gigabit Performance Router with Load-Balancing & Failover
  • Up to 950Mbps Firewall Throughput for Ethernet WAN
  • 5+1 Gigabit RJ-45 LAN Ports
  • Up to 800Mbps VPN Throughput with IPsec acceleration
  • 32 LAN-to-LAN & Remote Teleworker VPN Tunnels
  • 16 DrayTek SSL VPN or OpenVPN Tunnels
  • AX3000 – Wi-Fi 6 Dual Band Wireless
  • 8 LAN Subnets with VLANs (Port-based / 802.1q).
  • SPI Firewall and Content Filtering
  • Optional VigorCare Available
  • Can be centrally managed by VigorACS

Buy DrayTek Vigor 2865ax VDSL Router

DrayTek Vigor 2865ac-k
AC1300 wireless VDSL router

DrayTek Vigor 2927ax router with Wi-Fi 6 AX3000 wireless
The Vigor 2927ax features ultra-fast and highly efficient WiFi 6, or 802.11ax. OFDMA allows the router to send to more than one device at a time, splitting up wireless frequency into blocks, assigning more to users that need more e.g. video data, less to users that need less e.g. VoIP calls, then sending all at once. Which ensures all users have less of a wait, greatly improving efficiency. It allows the router to effectively and responsively, serve more wireless clients.

Features:

  • Router Speeds: VDSL2 (Superfast Fibre) and Gigabit Ethernet WAN Router
  • Multi-WAN Gigabit Performance Router with Load-Balancing & Failover
  • Up to 950Mbps Firewall Throughput for Ethernet WAN
  • 5+1 Gigabit RJ-45 LAN Ports
  • Up to 800Mbps VPN Throughput with IPsec acceleration
  • 32 LAN-to-LAN & Remote Teleworker VPN Tunnels
  • 16 DrayTek SSL VPN or OpenVPN Tunnels
  • AC1300 – 11ac ‘Wave 2’ Dual Band Wireless with Mesh
  • 8 LAN Subnets with VLANs (Port-based / 802.1q)
  • SPI Firewall and Content Filtering
  • Optional VigorCare Available
  • Can be centrally managed by VigorACS

Buy DrayTek Vigor 2865ac-k Router

 

More from DrayTek at Comms Express: DrayTek Routers & Modems | DrayTek Access Points | DrayTek Switches | DrayTek VOIP | DrayTek Licenses & Warranty Subscription Packs | DrayTek MRB Accessories

 

If you require any further information on these or any other DrayTek products that we stock, please do not hesitate to contact our team who will be only too happy to help.

Until next time…