We&#;ve all spent an afternoon at the electronics store mulling over the right home router &#; or sat clicking on Amazon for a few hours doing the same &#; but buying a business router is an entirely different animal.
You can&#;t just pick up what&#;s on the shelf &#; you&#;ve got to do some research. Use this comprehensive overview to help get you started. We&#;ll go over some of the distinct types of routers and provide you with examples, so you&#;ll end up being armed with everything you need for choosing the right WAN router. We want to help you decide what router is right for you based on your needs and the network you&#;re managing or growing.
Remember, routers are essential to running a secure, sophisticated system. That means you should always plan for a little more capacity than you need today, so you don&#;t end up needing to repeat this process later.
Let&#;s start with the two chief router options: network edge routers and branch routers.
Edge routers are designed to ensure that your network&#;s edge can deliver quality services while also generating high-level security for your network. They&#;re a smart deployment option for campuses, data centers and branch networks. Video, data and mobile needs often turn to network edge routers.
Choosing the right WAN router may involve an edge option if you need to improve the strength at which you deliver services to customers close to their locations. Edge routers are the powerhouse for transporting IP traffic in either static or dynamic options.
Edge routers sit at the point where a LAN or WAN connects to external networks. Look for options that are multi-layer so that they can support a greater number of connections and duties. Layer 3 and 4 routing are a must-have, but if you can secure the switching architecture of a Layer 2 router, then you&#;ll be in better shape with your investment.
When choosing the right WAN technology, always remember to focus on security. Edge routers are the interaction point between your own, trusted enterprise network and outside networks or the Internet at large, so you must make sure their security protocols are reliable.
You&#;ll have multiple security options, but today you can just purchase an edge router that has a built-in firewall option. So, you can securely facilitate VPN tunnels, provide state-based inspections and use intrusion detection signature matching protocols.
Branch routers are designed to optimize the branch services you offer on a single platform, enhancing overall availability. These are the tools most commonly used when running services and applications at a high level continuously. They&#;re your bread-and-butter at remote locations.
Branch routers typically don&#;t worry about edge requirements and instead deliver functionality that you need in the core network, rather than at the edge. Branch routers will sit on the far end of your WAN and serve as a connection point for your WAN edge routers and the remote locations, delivering a greater number of connection options.
Common branch router functions that differ from edge routers include:
Today&#;s branch routers are not only growing significantly in throughput, but OEMs are empowering them with spam filters, smart encryption, traffic shaping, content-dependent controls and more.
For deploying a service itself, the branch router is a prominent player. Consider the full range of media services engines and service-ready engines that allow you to run applications from the OEMs themselves &#; like a voice on a Cisco unified communications technology platform &#; as well as some units that are specifically designed for industrial networks where there is a greater level of ambient radio frequency interference.
Service provider routers are a stronger breed designed specifically to support portfolio differentiation. These routers tend to offer more robust scalability and can facilitate a considerable number more of connections, services and other deliverables.
Early on, many routers tried to differentiate themselves with this kind of branding. It&#;s mostly faded, but you may see some references because it helps people choose a carrier-grade router. All the routers carried by Worldwide Supply are &#;service provider routers,&#; and the examples provided at the end of this list meet that description as well.
This is something to look for in documentation just in case but isn&#;t a requirement. If you&#;re reading about a router that discusses your business in the right terms, you&#;re looking in the right place.
Each deployment and network need is unique, but there are some larger themes we can address. Here are eight questions to get you thinking about the big picture, and even dig into some options and offerings that will help determine what is the right router for you:
Routers are a long-term investment, so yours will need to last at a baseline usage that remains consistent or will steadily grow over time. Guarantee that the models you&#;re considering are designed to withstand the traffic you have currently and what you plan to reach in the coming years.
Throughput likely won&#;t go down, so don&#;t settle for something that&#;s too small. It&#;s the perfect way to ruin your budget.
One note on the question of, &#;What&#;s the right router for me?&#; is that many routers can be upgraded to increase their throughput support. That&#;s a worthwhile consideration if this is a network that you want to be flexible in case of growth.
While our throughput question dealt with traffic scaling, this one deals with the hardware and infrastructure that you plan on running.
Routers come in two chassis flavors: a modular (customizable) chassis and a fixed form-factor chassis. You&#;ll initially save on a fixed form-factor unit, and it may be a smart choice if its throughput can handle what your five-year projections predict.
Modular chassis routers allow you to change different elements of the router, making upgrades easier and scaling the edge of your network especially well when needed. Modular designs can support swapping of CPUs, ports, memory and more, so you can be a little more responsive to changes in network requirements.
Look at costs and see if you need to be flexible, or if it would be more affordable to purchase another router a little sooner. Refurbished routers can make that decision much more attractive.
Traditional routers have controls and limited hardware versatility, so they&#;re customized for one task and optimized to keep running it for years. The other option is a router that relies on virtualization technologies.
Virtualization allows you to change how networked resources operate and can making for stronger security and more dynamic IP routing as needed. Routers that support virtualization tend to be a little more expensive and have more technical requirements &#; such as all supporting the same command platform and structure &#; but they allow you to optimize investment and networked assets.
Some say choosing the right WAN router starts with the routing table: a set of rules that&#;s used to determine how your IP traffic is directed. Tables cover final destinations, hops, interfaces and available route determinations.
WAN routers tend to need to support a smaller, more limited table though some edge routers will need a more sophisticated table support.
However, for carriers and networks like yours, it&#;s recommended to find a router than can support a large routing table. This allows you to optimize paths and have greater flexibility when needing to adjust traffic flow due to errors, breaches, failures and more.
Always look at your network when you want to decide which router is right for your business. Connectivity differs by router location, network strength, customer requirements and much more. Match the router&#;s capabilities with what you need right now. It also doesn&#;t hurt to aim a little larger if you think you&#;ll be building a stronger network or making a shift to technology like FTTH.
Connectivity methods you should consider include:
If your system is changing consistently or you predict a significant shift, look for a router that supports multiple connections types. This will give you an investment that can be used today and will likely be useable tomorrow as your new network takes shape.
For most carriers, your routers will do double-duty with security needs. Built-in firewalls and other security capabilities will allow you to protect networked resources while also delivering the routing and traffic management that your customers need.
Remember that routers that ensure the safety features and functionality tend to rely on more processing power and memory, except in some of the more sophisticated virtual networking environments.
One note here is to read up on router choices because some will only provide you with security features if you opt-in for a more expensive licensing protocol. This isn&#;t always the case if you&#;re working with a partner that can support multiple OEMs, but it might lead to cost increase.
Choosing the right WAN router and other technology is a combination of meeting network needs and physical infrastructure requirements. Routers at the network edge as well as branch routers can fail, but there are methods to both prevent failures and limit their impacts.
Redundancies and other fault tolerances include both hardware and software considerations. The device would include additional route processing engines, dual power supplies and back-up energy sources.
Software redundancies are more akin to fault tolerance controls that run multiple instances of your routing table across many different devices in your network. You&#;ve then got control mechanisms scattered throughout &#; or centrally controlled with instruction points spread throughout &#; to keep traffic running smoothly.
For large networks, you may also want to consider clustering options to help keep your system up and provide consistent load balancing options, so no single router has too much control or is pushed too hard.
What makes your business itself unique? When you think, &#;What router is right for me?&#; what customer demand or existing problem are you trying to solve?
Thinking about how your network is used, where its faults could be and where it&#;s projected to grow in the next five years will get you started on the right path to ensuring you choose the right WAN technology.
Today, the big consideration is software-defined networking because SD-WAN architecture is becoming more available and is providing significant improvements in operational efficiency as well as network profitability.
In some instances, SD-WAN is delivering lower WAN costs by 40% to 80% depending on the system architecture, according to Gartner.
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Let&#;s provide you with some examples to get the process going and help you answer the question, &#;Which router is best for my business?&#;
Below we look at four carrier-grade routers that may help your network:
1. Cisco offers a broad range of Gigabit switch routers, including the GSR series that we often recommend for developing and building out a new service while reducing overall capital requirements. It&#;s a useful tool for an intelligent, modular network. If you need scalability, look for options like the GSR, which can climb from 2.5-Gbps to n x 10-Gbps capacity per slot. Carrier IP and MPLS networks are easy to support with such a model.
2. Cisco&#;s series integrated service routers excel for small businesses and enterprise branch offices. Refurbished models can give you concurrent T3/E3 wire-speed for your wireless networks, data, security, video and voice. You also get a reduced cost and deployment, plus easier networked management. Units support up to 112 10/100 Mbps switch ports.
3. The MX series of routers from Juniper (MX240, MX480 and MX960) offer high-density, high-capacity platforms that can work across multiple edge and data center cores as well as on campuses. They excel in network availability and features a top-quality broadband network gateway with multi-layer switching and VPN support.
4. Juniper T320/T640 Series routers are an end-of-life series that provide Gigabit Ethernet, SONET/SDH and similar high-speed interfaces for large networks and their applications. It&#;s designed with an ISP in mind and provides up to 64 Gigabit ports. Maximum aggregate throughput starts at 160 Gbps in the full duplex and can be a smart choice for growing your network affordably and efficiently.
We hope this general guide made it easier to get on the right path to building your network through a smart router choice. We know it can be conclusive, so we have experts ready to help you solve your needs or direct you to specific models to consider.
We&#;ll walk you through the latest in network routers, when it&#;s safe to use refurbished models and how to plan for a network that will scale as you save.
First of all &#;the basics&#;. The minimum requirement is a 4G router. A 4G router is basically a WIFI router that allows you to insert a sim card and receive a data connection from your local cellular mast, a &#;4G WIFI router&#;. Much like a Mobile , you can easily switch network on a 4G router with sim slot by simply switching out the sim card for another providers.
As described above &#; these 4G WIFI routers will require a sim card from a network provider to work &#; you can find out more here or use the button at the bottom of the page for guidance on 4G/5G network selection. major providers in the UK include, EE, O2, Vodafone & Three
4G router connectionsPLUG AND PLAY Broadband KIT: As always you can skip all these steps and instead choose one of our ready setup &#;Plug & Play&#; router kits. If you would prefer to go it alone no problem, keep reading
Before you consider 4G WIFI/internet for your home or off grid use. The reality is that not all locations have adequate signal strength to provide suitable 4G internet speeds. Additionally your signal strength can vary significantly with different service providers at different locations. Having full knowledge of this will ensure you get the best possible speeds and reliability at your chosen location.
If when you run signal checks it stated &#;strong outdoors & poor indoors&#; you will also require a compatible 4G antenna kit. Weak signal stated as &#;unsuitable for broadband&#; may also be resolved with a suitable 4G antenna so please don&#;t be disheartened.
Even in strong signal areas, an external 4G antenna kit will always increase your 4g WIFI speed and reliability. Think of it in the same way as one of those old hooped aerials you had sitting on your TV vs plugging into to a mast antenna installed outside your home. No comparison right? This is exactly the same concept. The down shot is that 4G antenna kits obviously make your setup more expensive so if you are in a strong signal area you have a personal decision to make.
If you require a full signal survey to determine the best network and signal strength, we can provide this service for you below. This service provides a full study of each of the main UK service providers at your chosen location. Including mast locations, speed, reliability, and suggested 4G hardware selection that best match the results.
What about 5G off grid broadband?
4G Router ZTE 5G routerIf when you ran signal checks you had a strong 5G signal. You can also go with a 5G router option. 5G routers are still quite new to market, this means there are few models to choose from in comparison to 4G routers. 5G routers are also very expensive in comparison to that of 4G models. However they do offer extremely fast speeds in some cases 10x faster than that of 4G. When the infrastructure is in place to support across the country and hardware choice increases hence reduces in cost, this will undoubtedly be the way to go. However this is at least 3 to 5 years away in most rural areas.
Also of note is that 5G router are backwards compatible with 4G signal. Meaning they will run off both 4G and 5G signals. If you want to future proof and not have to update again in future at further cost its may be worth purchasing a 5G router now and have it automatically kick over to 5G when that signal becomes available.
For further information on 5G routers and setup, try our 5G home internet guide here
TOP TIP: There are a huge number of 4G routers on the market, many of which offer great value for money. For a good standard 4G router you can expect to pay between £90-300. Below we will describe the major points to keep in mind when choosing a router.
When choosing a 4G router you will want to ensure it is not locked to a single network. These routers can sometimes appear to be a great deal but will have the downside of locking you to single network. If the providers increase price or suddenly , have poor signal at your location you have no choice but to purchase another router or go with the price hike/poor signal and speeds. Unlocked routers or routers open to all networks will allow you to simply change the sim for that of one on the network of your choice. Below is a selection of our tried and proven 4G routers. Our go to router being the MR as it offers great reliability and speed on a budget. It can be upgraded with external antennas if required
Although not always needed, we would strongly suggest purchasing a 4G router that if required or wanted in the future, you can plug in an external 4G antenna kit to boost signal strength and reliability. The ports/sockets can vary in type, the most common being SMA. Don&#;t worry too much about the type of connection as they can all be converted via adapters very easily. Antenna ports/sockets are a must if you are in a poor signal area.
Please note that many routers will appear to have antennas that can unscrew and you can plug in your external antenna. However this is not always the case. Many routers look this way but in fact the antennas have a soldered connections direct to the circuit board. These antennas cannot be removed.
4G router antenna unscrewLets not make this too complicated. You may see routers advertised with a Cat4, Cat5, Cat6, Cat7 or Cat12 in their descriptions. There are other categories but these are quite rare on the mainstream market.
4G Router CategoriesBasically A cat4 router is the minimum standard you want and is the most common on the market. The cat5 offers up to double the download speeds as cat4 and increased maximum uplink speeds. This makes it slightly better for gaming or video conferencing than the Cat4. Cat8 routers offer up to 4X&#;s the max download speed of the Cat5. We&#;re not sure how much gain you will get out of anything higher than a Cat5 in the UK but in basic terms if it&#;s Cat4 or higher then you wont have any problems.
TOP TIP: In practice you are unlikely to achieve anything like the top download speeds but you will see a real term difference in performance between the categories.
So we are not going to say that you have to buy an expensive brand name router in order for it to work well. However there are some big names in the world of 4G routers that have proven track record for reliability and capability. If you don&#;t want to be disappointed we would recommend sticking with the big guns when selecting your router. These include but are not limited to. D-Link, TP-Link, Netgear, Teltonica and Tenda
its important to pick the right 4G router for your purpose. There are a few specific categories of routers. Home 4G routers, Industrial 4G routers, Mobile Hot spot 4g routers.
4G Home routers are designed to live in a stress free environment. sitting on a sideboard or shelf somewhere, plugged into a home plug socket. Some may have external antenna ports or removable antennas which allow us to plug external antennas into them where the normally installed antennas are not adequate or suitable. These routers can range in category &#; we would recommend a category 4 or above. They also tend to be the most affordable of the 4G routers.
Our go to 4G home router is the TP-link MR. This is an extremely affordable router that is really easy to setup but also extremely reliable. It also has removable antennas that can be swapped out for an external antenna if required.
You can purchase this in our store at a great competitive price or even find it at all major stores such as Amazon, Argos etc&#;
4G Industrial routers are designed for more robust use than that of Home 4G routers. They are designed for use in locations that could be vulnerable to fairly extreme conditions. This could be hot or cold environments, Humid conditions, or even areas where the router may be subject to bumps/rattling. These properties make these routers really great for use in vehicles such as motorhomes, campers, caravans, trucks, vans, boats etc&#; We find Teltonika provides the best routers in this sector.
Boosting WIFI Something we find great about industrial routers is that some can be used to boost WIFI signal &#; Such as free onsite WIFI and then only use the 4G data signal as a fall-back. This makes them ideal for caravans users, truck users..
Something we find great about industrial routers is that some can be used to boost WIFI signal &#; Such as free onsite WIFI and then only use the 4G data signal as a fall-back. This makes them ideal for caravans users, motorhomes, and truck users..
Our go too 4G industrial router is the Teltonika RUT240. This router is quite affordable and offers great features. It can be used to boost WIFI but only has 1 WIFI antenna. To boost external WIFI signals effectively we would recommend upgrading to a Teltonika 4G router with multiple WIFI antennas such as the RUT951.
These routers differ in that they come with their own battery. This means you can get out and about with your 4G hotspot and use it anywhere. For those wanting even more speed 5G hotspot routers are also available but come with a premium price tag. 4G Hotspot routers range in price from as little as £15 to the really top end routers at £400-500We would recommend somewhere in the middle of that range at about £150 and as usual we recommend sticking to the well known and trusted brands such as ZTE, D-link, Netgear and Tp-link. At the really low end you would likely be better off using the hotspot functionality on your as it likely has higher performance, however once we get past the £100 mark you should experience significant performance gain over that of using your .
Mobile Hotspot external antennas Some Mobile hotspots come with external antenna ports. This makes them really flexible for use in both indoors and outdoors in poor signal areas. This isn&#;t a common feature and something that adds to the premium pricing.
Some great additional features that are common on 4G routers these days and worth looking out for include, Ethernet ports, gigabit Ethernet ports, VoLP and 4x Mimo.
Ethernet ports allow you to connect a ethernet cable directly from your router to a device. The device could be your smart tv for example. Using the ethernet cable rather than the WiFi connection will increase speeds and reliability of connection to the device.
VOP allows you to plug a VOP enabled into your router. Think of this like plugging your old landline into the wall socket. It allows you to have a static at your location.
That&#;s it for router selection. If you also want to or need to purchase an Antenna kit then move to the next step (STEP4: Antenna selection) or skip to (Step5: Setup)
If the above seems a little to much to take in then we do have kits available which remove guess work for you. we have ready to go out the box kits. We have set the router up, run signal checks, provide direction to point your antenna(if required) and much more. simply plug the router in and you are good to go. check them out in our store.
OR If You don&#;t require an Antenna you can skip to Router Setup
Interested in 5G?
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