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[quote mattkime]>>Next time you go get your car fixed ask your mechanic to not use the brake pads that are actually made for your car.
Your analogies don't apply here. Maybe you need to sell expensive hardware to justify your hourly rate.
If it work, it works.
In my experience, the least reliable part of a dd-wrt setup is the electricity supply to your building. But nobody is going to fault you for going for the most expensive item in its class.
MK, until you actually get a job where you have to support a huge client base, please keep your snarky comments to yourself.
This is not a slam, this is not a putdown.
I used to make up ethernet cables to try to save money for my clients, until a very nice gentleman showed me that I could purchase 20 fully tested, fully guaranteed cables for the amount of money we were wasting making one of our own.
Even if we hired a day laborer I could still purchase cables at a four to one ratio.
Until you actually do tech support, for real clients, please keep your sniping to yourself.
BGnR
BTW, I don't sell hardware, I do recommend hardware, the clients have their own purchasing agents.
But if you did actual tech support, with actual clients, you would know that.
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I don't believe the poster was asking for which router he should deploy to a large client base.
I just don't understand how your "Nothing worse then screwing over a client by cobbling together crap. " applies. What was the crap you were referring to? The most recommended router on the forum? The replacement firmware that trounces anything out there, aside from apple's airport?
I understand that dd-wrt doesn't fit all situations but referring to it as crap is just bad advice.
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Wow, interesting responses.
FWIW, I have not rebooted MY $30 (after rebate) Buffalo (which acts as a repeater) in 3+ months (when I bought it) and I hardly consider my network "cobbled together crap" as it does not go down; this is the same level of of uptime that I like to put into my client setups, as I am batting (off the top of my head) 14 for 14 putting in Buffalo routers and having very satisfied customers. I would not put in a system that I would not use, as I would not charge them to repair my errors and that costs me money (as in my time).
As far as configuring DD-WRT, I can do that in my sleep and set it up so that I can remotely administer the box in the event that they are having trouble. I also set up a PDF walk-through as a cheat-sheet to look at specific settings that would affect them. Each of my clients have different needs (obviously) so if I think that going into the admin page would cause a deer-in-the-headlights experience, I would set up the most user-friendly setup possible.
Before throwing out statements like "Professionals don't do that", what professionals do is make sure who you are helping get what they need, whether it is a Apple router (if they have a newer 802.11N machine and like to modify settings) or one that can be tweaked to fit the need. I am setting up a WRT54GL next week for a client where they would like to surf on the other end of a long house, at the furthest point away from the router (of course). I am cranking up the router range and restricting access to just her machine (very easy to do in DD-WRT).
As far as the off-the shelf requirement, I can get a Buffalo at my local Circuit City at any time for $50 (less with possible rebates) and within 5 minutes have a very secure (WPA2, long password, no SSID broadcast, MAC lockdown), very customizable network with a good range. My clients appreciate me saving them money and getting them up and running quickly and unless something physical happens to the router (like knocking off a shelf or a power surge, which could happen to any router) I don't need to worry about it going down.
All I was asking was if it works for you, why pay more? The Apple router has advantages, no doubt, but so do routers with DD-WRT. It never ceases to amaze me that people get caught up in price vs. function argument; just because it is expensive does not necessarily make it better in all cases. DD-WRT is VERY solid and the price is right.
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[quote BigGuynRusty]
I used to make up ethernet cables to try to save money for my clients, until a very nice gentleman showed me that I could purchase 20 fully tested, fully guaranteed cables for the amount of money we were wasting making one of our own.
I 100% agree with you on the ethernet cable creation; I had to make 48 x 1' cords one afternoon and ended up with sliced, raw hands at the end of the day. 2 years ago, I bought a box of assorted-sized cables (approximately 500 cables for $250) and each time I go out to a client, I bring several 1', 3' and 7' cords to "tighten up" their connections; which I charge $3 per foot-length of cords, and my clients are happy to pay when they see how much better it looks.
As far as supporting large groups, I think that is moot for this thread, as I would not roll out a Buffalo, NOR an Apple for a large (100+) group. I worked as the tech for a floor where people needed wireless and they used Cicso access points and repeaters, which is a different discussion altogether.
All I am saying is that for 95% of the needs that I see for home users, there is no real need to spend more than $60 on a router, and I have yet to be convinced otherwise. DD-WRT is not crap as some are saying (just because it is less $$) and unless I am convinced otherwise (by upset clients or frequent downtime), this is my choice for home and small-business users.
I ordered 4 Linksys WRT54GL routers (2 separate deployments) and they should be here Monday for my rollout.
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[quote john dough]All I am saying is that for 95% of the needs that I see for home users, there is no real need to spend more than $60 on a router, and I have yet to be convinced otherwise. DD-WRT is not crap as some are saying (just because it is less $$) and unless I am convinced otherwise (by upset clients or frequent downtime), this is my choice for home and small-business users.
I have never spent more than 30 bucks on home wireless, and I said above, it wasn't DD-WRT that I was slamming, it was just cobbled together solutions.
Maybe I misspoke, most likely someone got a little edgy and blew off steam.
Since I don't have small clients, I would never roll-out a DD-WRT solution, but for home and test sites I use it.
BGnR
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DD-WRT I think is very well done. For the pricetag and the features it has it's very nice.
At work, we actually just got a WRT54GL for the sole purpose of running DD-WRT.
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what the heck is "DD-WRT" ?
Is it some firmware for buffalo routers? I never used a modern router, I am still using a d-link 614+ from 2002 I think.
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http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/index.php
DD-WRT is open-source software that allows you to tweak certain routers for greater functionality. Price is great (it is free).
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[quote BigGuynRusty]Maybe I misspoke, most likely someone got a little edgy and blew off steam.
Well, when you talk smack (and you did) about what (you think) professionals do, playing TechBoyz games or cobbling together crap, expect an appropriate response.
No steam here, just letting you know that your comment(s) weren't entirely accurate nor appropriate for this thread.
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[quote john dough][quote BigGuynRusty]Maybe I misspoke, most likely someone got a little edgy and blew off steam.
Well, when you talk smack (and you did) about what (you think) professionals do, playing TechBoyz games or cobbling together crap, expect an appropriate response.
No steam here, just letting you know that your comment(s) weren't entirely accurate nor appropriate for this thread.
LOL!
Smack?!?!
You must live a very sheltered life.
They were entirely accurate and appropriate because they were my opinion garnered from real life, and until I decide to leave this planet I will continue voicing my opinion.
Have a wonderful day, and a great life!
BGnR
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