Router for small office

[MelBridgeman]

Lots of threads on routers for the home, but i am looking for something for a small office - 20 ports or so - Any recommendations on where and what to get for the experts here?

thanks

Edit: future shop, best buy, office depot dont have what i am looking for.

[FanIn80]

Where is going to fit into your network? Is it going directly in between your patch panel and the internet - or is it going somewhere else in the hierarchy?

[MelBridgeman]

its just a small office, telus high speed, about 10 computers, all the wiring is in place just need something with wireless and enough ports for all computers plus growth for now
high speed -> router - > computers.

[gottabekd]

I'm not familiar with any specific models--so won't offer my opinions. But some thoughts...

• It probably would be best to buy a router with only a couple of ports, and then plug that into a switch that will feed your patch-panel. I'm not sure if you can buy routers with a plethora of ports.
• Do you do a lot of intra-office file transfers? Are you (or will you be) wired for gigabit speed? If so, you'll need a gigabit switch. And even if you are just wired for 100 megabit speeds, you might want a beefier switch so that the 100 mbit bandwith isn't bottlenecked by your switch. Or if it is just for casual Internet use, maybe not such a concern.
• Are there any features you want from the router? Special filtering/monitoring of traffic? VPN connection somewhere else? The fancy smancy ones will do things like inline virus scanning. But I'm not sure if that is realiable/good/etc.
• Then there are always other questions like whether you want it rack-mountable, or if it will just be sitting on a shelf in a closet somewhere. Keep in mind these things can output a fair bit of heat.

As for places to buy them...well, http://memoryexpress.com sells suitable products. I've used http://www.tigerdirect.ca/ before without any problems, but some people don't like them.

[BlackArcher101]

No need to buy a router with tons of ports. Get a wireless router, then attach a switch that has the number of ports you require. The router can take care of the IP addressing.

But that's a really general setup. There's a few variables that can change it.

[Buff]

Get a router and a switch. You won't find a router with that many ports, but you'll find many many switches.

Staples has a 16-port switch and a 24-port switch

I have a couple of the 16-port switches in place (as well as a couple of 8 ports of the same brand) and they do the job. They aren't very high tech, just plug and play. Easy and reliable. I haven't seen the 24-port switch before, but it is probably just the same as the 16-port only a different company makes it.

[MelBridgeman]

thanks guys, answers as expected