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Forum Discussion
Orbi Router Firmware RBR50
What kind of firmware does the Orbi router use. Is it DD-WRT, or is it proprietary? If proprietary what are the configuration options for the user?
hi flash
i think you are confused about what AP mode actually is
when any router is placed in access point mode its router functionality is bypassed and thus all control is passed forward to whatever router or gateway its connected to , merlin himself has even said so in the smallnetbuilder forums
i will address some of your other points
D. Syslog server ability.
would be nice but its not what the orbi is designed around , its designed for the plug and play set who wouldnt care less about syslog
E. SNMP would be a very nice feature.
see above
F. Abilty to disable ALL LEDS Lights.
you do understand that if the orbi has the magenta light glowing you have an issue and no its not because its in ap mode see my commment above
so have you still got the 3200? or what have you got the orbi connected to for routing and internet connection seeing as you have the orbi in AP mode ?
First, I appreciate your response.
I believe you are not understanding my concerns and requests, or I did not do a good job of explaining.
Please allow me to respond with what I hope is better explanation. Sorry for the "novel".
I still have my ASUS 3200s. I have now removed both 3200s in favor of the Netgear Orbi during my trial period. I have a 45 day return policy with Best Buy. This is day 3.
1. I am not, nor have I, used any consumer grade router as a firewall/router. I use SMB/Enterprise class firewalls. I am currently using Sophos UTM and XG.
A. Consumer grade firewalls are static port blocking firewalls with minimal IDS ability.
B. They do not offer IPS and/or application deep packet inspection ability. In today's world of hacking, exploits, DoS attacks, malware, spyware, phishing, etc....I do not put my trust in a $200 router.
C. Do you really thing I am going to put Baby Wifi Camera in very private room of my home and let a $200 Orbi Router protect them from a hack or attack?
2. I am more than aware that using Orbi WAP mode means my Sophos is handling all router based functions, but using WAP mode should not disable functions that are still useful in the WAP mode.
A. Ability to change the Orbi's IP address, or set DNS servers or gateway settings for BOTH IPv4 and IPv6.
B. Ability to capture the Orbi's NVRAM log to a remote syslog server. As we all know the Orbi will have limited NVRAM capacity and will begin removing older log entries when capacity is full. What if I want to keep my logs for future troubleshooting or security ability.
C. What about a guest network so friends can access my internet connection without having local subnet access to my internal network devices.
D. Having access to some details of how the Orbi is working. Connection speeds, and other "details" of how the Orbi is behaving. Yes, I have a Magenta light glowing on the router unit, but my satellite unit has no lights. What is the problem, how would I know? I can only see connection details in router mode. Maybe my link speed it too low between Router/Satellite. Maybe their is something in the logs that could tell me...But I cannot access any of this using WAP mode.
These are just some of my reasons. I do not feel they are unrealistic as Netgear competitors are already allowing advanced and more detailed access to their products.
There should be a "simple" mode for non-technical users. Then there should be "advanced" mode which gives technical users insight and absolute tweaking and tuning, and information, about the Orbi.
I am a 20 year I.T. Corp engineer. I respect that 90 percent of users are "non-technical" and would not understand how to use more advanced ability. But Netgear is taking the position that...."You will use our products exactly as we tell you, we assume all of our customers are non-technical idiots, and anyone who wishes to have a little more control or visibility of our Netgear products....Sorry, not going to happen". Which then drives us back to ASUS, Cisco/D-Link, DD-WRT, Merlin, etc, etc....
I only ask..."Please give your hobby'ist, your pro-consumers, your evangelist, user more access, more control...I know what I am doing. I know I did not what WPS (I know how to securely pair my clients to my WIFI). I know how to setup my IPs, DNS, Gateway. I know how to setup a guest network. I know how to read my link speed, noise and RSSI levels. I know how to setup my syslog server on my QNAP or Synology. I know how to read a log file and understand info and error messages.
I know netgear could easily expose these features...
Final word to Netgear. We are not living in the 1990s or early 2000s...We live in 2016-2017 with a far more technically educated and capable world....
to be honest with you its clear you have more specific needs of your router than what the orbi is ever going to give you and your expectations will never be fully met by the orbi system alone , it will however work fine as ap/sat if you allow your gateway to do everything else , orbi isnt designed for the likes of your or me or enthusiased or geeks , its aimed at the set and forget market , adding more complexity will only exassibate many unresolved issues and add to the list , some of the stuff may become available in the future but lets wait and get the basics working first
Thank You,
I felt this may be the response from Netgear. In my heart I knew when I purchased the Orbi I would have the typical Netgear experience of a very limited software design.
However, I do disagree that my needs are too much on the “geek” side. Netgear competition does not agree. ASUS, Dlink/Cisco and others seem to agree with users such as myself. They do not require me to sacrifice “everything” to gain “one thing”.
I feel if Netgear will not allow similar competing product features offered by ASUS, DLink/Cisco, etc. Then the only option would be to return the Orbi, wait for ASUS to deliver to market a Orbi alternative. I am sure they will use the same software base they use on existing products.
If ASUS does this, I think I can safely say that I will have an Orbi-Like-device in my home, without sacrificing the features I have had with Netgear competition.
What Netgear did with Orbi is wonderful and I am happy to see the Orbi. But I think we all know Orbi will not be the only product with a well-engineered Mesh setup with 802.11ac backhaul.
It saddens me that Netgear still feels they must strip their products of very desired features found on the completion, knowing the Orbi is only doing something that ASUS and others most likely have in their product roadmaps and their engineers are working on it currently.
- WPS should not be forced! It is very insecure. Countless documents from credited security firms supporting this comment can be found with a simple Google search.
- Guest Network is found on all network Router/WAP devices today. LOL. Even cheap ISP cable/DSL modem/WAPs offer guest network setup.
- Ability to see devices link speeds of connected devices. Very common today.
- Ability to change and set IPs, DNS, etc are found on every cheap and premium router/WAP sold on market today.
You can clearly see my point. 90 percent of every feature I listed in my post can be found on 90 percent of all competing products today. So how can Netgear say these features are for “Geeks’ only…???
please dont mis quote me , i didnt say those features where for geeks only but they are advanced features that the orbi team felt not needed in a set and forget type device such as the orbi adding more complexity will also complicate the build and design , i know thats not what you wanted to hear and as i said i think the orbi will never give you what you want esp in the next 3 days and its prob best you return it
i can however tell you at this time asus have no plans for such a device or aimed at this market in th near future
if you want something with capabilities look at the ubiquiti amplifi