Any router experts? Need Advice.

[Moozart]

Currently, I have a Nighthawk X10 R9000, looking to replace it before my Best Buy protection run's out(will get about $400 store credit). it doesn't seem like a lot has really come out since i got this thing 2 years ago. Computers and the building repair of is my forte not really networking. Any suggestions? 60+ items on the network at any given time counting all my lights. main items are 6 gaming desktops, 5-6 gaming consoles, kids Chromebooks, our phones, tablets, NAS/Plex Server, etc. 3600sqft

[DemonDays]

ASUS 86U or 88U.

[WindfallProphet]

Do you have any old computers? You could try installing pfSense (more advanced config) or Sophos XG (better out of the box). Just get an Intel NIC and you're good. Ubiquiti also have some good routers in their EdgeRouter and Unifi Security Gateway.

Note these are routers only. They will not give you a wireless network. I'd recommend Ubiquiti again and their switches and access points.

Of course you can get a commercial router from Asus, Netgear, etc., but I think getting a standalone router/firewall will probably give you a better bang for your buck.

[Kagthul]

ASUS 86U or 88U.

Both are a serious step down from the X10, other than AX-support.

I guess my question would be...

in what was is the X10 R9000 not doing what you need it to do?

If it is doing everything you need it to do.... i see no point in buying something newer. You're not likely to need Wifi6 (AX) compatability for years, as devices that natively support it are JUST starting to come out.

If you MUST replace it for whatever reason, youll want to look for a device that has several antennas and the ability to assign them to individual SSIDs - keep your smart devices on one SSID so they dont interfere with/slow down your other SSID... and hard-wire everything you can.

Get an additional Gigabit Switch if you need to (you can get unmanaged ones - which is all you should need as a residential user - for pretty cheap) and hardwire everything its possible to hardwire.

Limit devices that are below Wifi 5 to one SSID, and Wifi 5+ to another (thatll keep the faster devices from being slowed down by that one device that is still running Wirless-N or some shit).

Honestly, i've got 25+ devices on my home network and im using a "lowly" Nighthawk RAX40 (AX4) including a ton of smart bulbs (7), switches (8) Google Home Mini's (7), a Google Home Hub, several tablets, 2 chromebooks, a Surface Go, 2 Roku's, and 2-4 phones (i actually dont connect mine to the network since we have unlimited data and i dont care, but my wife and son do). And thats not even counting the wired stuff (the Roku Ultra, QNAP NAS, HTPC, 3 Gaming PCs (mine, my wifes, my sons), 2 daily-driver Macs (mine and my wifes), Steamlink, TV.

And i had all that connected to the much older "original" Nighthawk (R7000), before a series of rapid power spikes cooked it (it was the only thing not plugged into the conditioned power bar, since the brick wouldn't fit), and that worked just fine.

[Vash The Stampede]

Currently, I have a Nighthawk X10 R9000, looking to replace it before my Best Buy protection run's out(will get about $400 store credit). it doesn't seem like a lot has really come out since i got this thing 2 years ago. Computers and the building repair of is my forte not really networking. Any suggestions? 60+ items on the network at any given time counting all my lights. main items are 6 gaming desktops, 5-6 gaming consoles, kids Chromebooks, our phones, tablets, NAS/Plex Server, etc. 3600sqft

Are all these devices wireless or are some wired? I can't imagine anyone with a NAS/Plex Server using wifi, because that would be insanely bad. Firstly, I would run Ethernet and get as many of those devices wired as possible. The game consoles, the gaming desktops, and the NAS/Plex server should all be on Gigabit Ethernet. This is probably the best and cheapest solution, and would alleviate the burden that very expensive router has to deal with. You can also put another WiFi access point in the home so long as you run Ethernet to hook it up, as that would lessen the burden of that Netgear router. I personally don't deal with routers that don't have either DD-WRT or Open-WRT installed because eventually the firmware on that Netgear will get abandoned and you'll see vulnerabilities, but whatever. A quick look at the routers specifications suggests that you're running Plex on the router itself. .. No. That will put a huge burden onto the router itself, especially when it has to handle 60+ devices. Run Plex on a Windows or better yet a Linux machine, and let the router do the job it was meant to do, and that's route traffic. Just so you know the Alpine AL-514 chipset that handles Plex isn't able to do any hardware or software transcoding. I'm assuming it just direct streams the data, which if you have some large movies that would also bottleneck your network, especially if you stream movies outside your home.

[lockblock]

Do you have any old computers? You could try installing pfSense (more advanced config) or Sophos XG (better out of the box). Just get an Intel NIC and you're good. Ubiquiti also have some good routers in their EdgeRouter and Unifi Security Gateway.

Note these are routers only. They will not give you a wireless network. I'd recommend Ubiquiti again and their switches and access points.

Of course you can get a commercial router from Asus, Netgear, etc., but I think getting a standalone router/firewall will probably give you a better bang for your buck.

I love Pfsense as well but the Op mentioned a bunch of gaming consoles and it's a known fact that both pfsense and the fork opnsense are a bitch and a half to get multiple consoles playing together in the same session. Obviously that won't be a problem when Ipv6 takes over but by then his kids will have grown up and moved out.

[Moozart]

Are all these devices wireless or are some wired? I can't imagine anyone with a NAS/Plex Server using wifi, because that would be insanely bad. Firstly, I would run Ethernet and get as many of those devices wired as possible. The game consoles, the gaming desktops, and the NAS/Plex server should all be on Gigabit Ethernet. This is probably the best and cheapest solution, and would alleviate the burden that very expensive router has to deal with. You can also put another WiFi access point in the home so long as you run Ethernet to hook it up, as that would lessen the burden of that Netgear router. I personally don't deal with routers that don't have either DD-WRT or Open-WRT installed because eventually the firmware on that Netgear will get abandoned and you'll see vulnerabilities, but whatever. A quick look at the routers specifications suggests that you're running Plex on the router itself. .. No. That will put a huge burden onto the router itself, especially when it has to handle 60+ devices. Run Plex on a Windows or better yet a Linux machine, and let the router do the job it was meant to do, and that's route traffic. Just so you know the Alpine AL-514 chipset that handles Plex isn't able to do any hardware or software transcoding. I'm assuming it just direct streams the data, which if you have some large movies that would also bottleneck your network, especially if you stream movies outside your home.

All our gaming PCs and the NAS server and dedicated Plex server are wired.

Both are a serious step down from the X10, other than AX-support.

I guess my question would be...

in what was is the X10 R9000 not doing what you need it to do?

If it is doing everything you need it to do.... i see no point in buying something newer. You're not likely to need Wifi6 (AX) compatability for years, as devices that natively support it are JUST starting to come out.

If you MUST replace it for whatever reason, youll want to look for a device that has several antennas and the ability to assign them to individual SSIDs - keep your smart devices on one SSID so they dont interfere with/slow down your other SSID... and hard-wire everything you can.

Get an additional Gigabit Switch if you need to (you can get unmanaged ones - which is all you should need as a residential user - for pretty cheap) and hardwire everything its possible to hardwire.

Limit devices that are below Wifi 5 to one SSID, and Wifi 5+ to another (thatll keep the faster devices from being slowed down by that one device that is still running Wirless-N or some shit).

Honestly, i've got 25+ devices on my home network and im using a "lowly" Nighthawk RAX40 (AX4) including a ton of smart bulbs (7), switches (8) Google Home Mini's (7), a Google Home Hub, several tablets, 2 chromebooks, a Surface Go, 2 Roku's, and 2-4 phones (i actually dont connect mine to the network since we have unlimited data and i dont care, but my wife and son do). And thats not even counting the wired stuff (the Roku Ultra, QNAP NAS, HTPC, 3 Gaming PCs (mine, my wifes, my sons), 2 daily-driver Macs (mine and my wifes), Steamlink, TV.

And i had all that connected to the much older "original" Nighthawk (R7000), before a series of rapid power spikes cooked it (it was the only thing not plugged into the conditioned power bar, since the brick wouldn't fit), and that worked just fine.

Its more so I can get a free upgrade using Best Buys Protection plan, I essentially will have a gift card for about $400. It's not so much I NEED to upgrade it but I only have about a month left on its plan. New router lets me add another 2 years ect..