Why a $300 router doesn't work?

It's not difficult to find a cheap dual WAN router out there. They cost anything from $250. The question is, do they work? *And*, if so, how good?

If you are running a home network, chances are you don't care too much about its stability, quality, performance and such. Even so, a cheap router may not even work well at home!

OK, why they suck? They are lots of reasons really, but here are the major ones:

• Just a rebrand/OEM product - Some vendors just took a no-name brand from somewhere and mark their name on it. Be smart, ask them if they own the underlying technology.
• Just one product out of 100s or even 1000s - For popular consumer brands like Linksys, DLink, a dual wan router is just one small member of their entire product line. You bet, we can imagine how much attention they pay to these home routers.
• Did I mention support? - OK, seriously, would anyone expect good support at this price level?
• Did I mention they crash a lot? - Simply poorly designed software.
• Still the old saying - You get what you paid for!

If it's for home, well, that's fine. It doesn't hurt much.

Now if you're running a *business*, I think you should be careful. Get a truly business grade multi wan router instead. It's an one-off investment, so it will pay off over time nicely and quickly.