TP-Link TL-R480T+ Load Balance Broadband Router

Check TP-Link TL-R480T+ Deals on: Flipkart | Amazon | Snapdeal | Paytm

Rs. 4250 on Amazon today

This arrived today and seems to be working fine. Though I realized the mistake soon enough. Ethernet ports in the front means that it is not really suited for home use. Designed for server racks. I have somehow managed to fit it under the table where it is not causing much of a mess. Still... Consider the lower end model (TP-Link TL-R470T+) which is probably a better model for home use.

I have configured it to switch from Excitel to Airtel when Excitel drops. If I take the Excitel cable out, switchover is instant. I have not any chance to see how long it takes when Excitel disappears from the backend. Nishant has the R470 model and he told me that it takes less than 10 seconds. Would post when I experience a downtime while I am sitting on the PC.

User interface of the load balancer backend is simple to understand. Performance seems to be good too. One major issue is that the ethernet ports are not gigabit so if your ISP is offering you 100mbps+ connectivity, these are not going to work for you. So this model is definitely not future proof.

 

[bhojv74]

So this is ER-X for me with DPI & QoS enabled on 50 mbps Hathway connection, in short no drop in speed:

 

[amit_arya]

sorry for a long post, however i think this thread is discussing the devices i was looking for and could not find any suitable guidance , opinion anywhere else.

I live in a semi joint family (floor divided uncle and their families) .
we have 1 internet connection and 1 backup connection which every one in the house is using. the current configuration is :

CONNECTION 1 :
Local CABLE -> GPON -> TP-Link WR 740N -> 3 LAN connections going to different floor (including 1 in same floor) + 1 Desktop -> each floor it's own WIFI (different SSID) the wire from TPLINK WR 740N terminates on LAN port and not WAN port.

CONNECTION 2:
AIRTEL -> D-Link 2750U -> "waiting for manual plugging of LAN connections terminating at TPLINK WR740N mentioned up"


The TPLINK WR 740N and DLINK 2750U WIFI are disabled. The 3 WIFI on individual floor take care of the WIFI needs of each floor. This is to ensure that in case I manually move the connection from one ISP to other (TP link to DLINK and vice versa) then the mobiles / laptop do not have to change the WIFI network. Each WIFI have a different SSID and password as well. So that a floor can use it's own WIFI and working on different channel numbers to keep the interference to minimum.

Also, the 2 routers TPLINK WR 740N and DLINK 2750U have different IP addresses and are the DHCP servers (address space limited to 25 IP addresses which do not conflict) with gateway pointing to themselves. This is to ensure that there is no IP address conflict in LAN)

Issues that I am currently facing :

1-> I have a network printer kept near to TPLINK WR 740N, due to lack of ports I cant plug that in. whenever I have to take a printout. Either I have to remove my desktop LAN cable or move my printer and WIFI to the secondary ISP so that my laptop/desktop and printer are on same LAN, enabling me to print.
2-> whenever I manually switch ISP (plug wires from TPLINK WR 740N to DLINK 2750U, due to ISP downtime or other reasons), the IP addresses of devices is not changed (as mobiles and laptop do not see any wifi interuption) so i have to ask each floor to manually restart their WIFI so that correct gateway is configured on individual devices and they can access the internet.
3-> when I am not at home and local ISP has a downtime others "not so tech savy" people have issues (due to points #2 mentioned above)
4-> these are considerable plugs (a) GPON (b) DLINK 2750U (C) TPLINK WR 740N (d) Desktop (e) Printer on a single power strip and of these a few are switched on 24x7 leading to heat issue (especially in summers) and I on average change a powerstrip a year as the switches create issue or the plugs melt / blacked out (carbon)….

Solution (i can think of)
LOCAL CABLE -> GPON -> MULTIVAN ROUTER WITH 2 WAN + 5 LAN ports
AIRTEL -> ADSL (Not requried if Multiwan have ADSL input) -> Multiwan router mentioned above
In this case, the multiwan router would be the only DHCP for the entire network.


Looking at above scene can the the gurus suggest?

1. Better setup?
2. Suggest any multiwan router with 8 ports (preferably under INR 8K)
BONUS (not required but highly desireable) :
3. If I can have MAC level (machine level) usage graph plotted against the time so that I can benchmark the usage of individual devices and try and create policy (read slowing connection of a user post heavy usage (FUP kindish) for individual devices connected at home. I have around 20 off devices (2 desktops, 5 laptops, 13 mobiles) that connect the 3 WIFIs mentioned above. The Local ISP connection is 20mbps symmetric for 200GB and airtel connection is 16mpbs 20GB.
4. Support of USB so that my dongles can be used as a third backup connection

Off-Topic :
From the forum (some other thread) I had bought a nighthawk R7000 for under 6K around a year and a half ago and i currently find it to be over 12K .. any idea why is that ...? 100% price appreciation in a year.. with increasing complex technology i was expecting it's price to fall and not increase (the dollar was 67+ at the time i purchased and it is in similar range even now).

 

[Deleted member 63558]

I've used a R470T+ before, and never liked it, never used to do policy routing between WANs properly, and its web interface used to hang on me after 24 hrs of usage, wrote to customer care and they were aware of the bug, said it happens with certain network scenarios, after almost 8-10 months of usage, the firmware never got updated.

Since then I migrated to Ubiquity ER-X, (cost approx 5.5K + Tax + Shipping), I've loved this router and have recommend on this forum before. It has all gig ports, with 1 passive PoE port, does 150 mbps routing with QoS & DPI enabled, without that I think it does around 850 mbps. It does beautiful failover, with email triggers when such event occurs. I also easily monitor how much bandwidth I've used on my wan ports over time. Never have to reboot it, just plug it in, set it up, and forget about it. Aha, it also has beautiful smart Qos, my ping never delays even if I'm using complete bandwidth for download.

Few pics:

Where can I buy the load balancer you are having?

 

[Sushubh]

Amazon.com would be the safest bet. Find the model. If direct shipping to India is not available, use a third party service like iShop International.

 

[Deleted member 63558]

@Sushubh Can you recommend a good load balancer which is stable and doesn't hang?

And, How is your current status with TP-Links?

 

[Sushubh]

Take mine at 50% TP-Link is shit. I would buy Ubiquity ER-X if someone takes TP-Link from me

I mean it does work 99% of the times. My only problem is that sometimes it switches to Airtel (from Excitel) and does not switch back even after Excitel is back. So I have to restart the thing (or reconnect Excitel manually). This way I have ended up consuming Airtel data even when Excitel was working. Which results in FUPed Airtel during the second half of the month and if Excitel does go down for many hours... It becomes painful. But it does work most of the times just fine.

 

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[Deleted member 63558]

@Sushubh Is there any way we could do auto-power restart in the router itself?

If TP-Link has this settings? Checked?

 

[Sidharth P]

 

[Sushubh]

this particular model does not have any auto restart feature. you can manually reboot as the image above shows. my mi router does have an option where i can set it to restart itself at any specific time of the day.

 

[Deleted member 63558]

@Sushubh So if we restart the router behind the TP-Link Load balancer. That solves the problem?