New Router for School

[shayahakohen]

Hi, I just started working as an IT for a private school. The school is a bit old fashioned, and they haven't fully implemented computers as part of the curriculum. Currently there are about 30 computers that are hooked up to the router. We have the NETGEAR WGT624. Our bandwidth speeds are about 30 Mbps.
From my experience so far, this router is not anywhere near capable of handling either side. It drops connection probably about 10 times a day. We are on a very tight budget. Is there a router out there that will handle the load, without costing an arm and leg. Ideally I would go with a Cisco, but the school is not trying to spend anything over a hundred bucks. I don't need wireless, or vpn, just a good router with basic port forwarding, dhcp, and Nat.

 

[mikesgroovin]

A private school without a budget

Sounds inconceivable! But, I'm sure it's true Oddly enough, I went to private schools in 3 different cities in Maryland. Do you mind if I ask where you are working?

As for a router, its not really a matter of the hardware that you buy. With a limited budget such as you described, you really have to think about a something that carries versatility to custom firmware in my opinion. A $100 is not a lot of money. Personally, I would buy a Linksys with a good track record.. like a BEFSR81 or WRT54GL and then apply different firmware that allows you to keep it running more efficiently and effectively with your 30 concurrent connections.

 

[superdave1984]

My guess is you can get a decent router and a good switch and fix the problem. Look into surplus equipment auctions.