Replacement hardware for Cisco RV160W router?

[higs670]

Looking for an SMB router for small sites with 2 -8 users. We were using the Cisco RV160W router, and they worked well. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Jay-Updegrove]

Is it possible you can use a Layer 3 switch in place of a dedicated router? At that point, you’re getting more ‘bang for your buck’ as it’s handling the routing but also internal switching…less rack space wasted too!

[phildrew]

Do you need a router, or router/firewall?

I’m assuming the latter, in which case a layer-3 switch is nowhere near what you want.

Requirements? Throughput? Redundant WAN? VPN?

If you don’t mind paying extra to get cloud management features with a simple GUI, then Meraki may be a good choice.

Else, the usual suspects: Fortinet, Sonicwall, Sophos, Barracuda.

There there are more SOHO offerings, like Firewalla.

[matt7863 (m@ttshaw)]

What features?
Just outbond nat to internet?
Or other such as VPN server, some firewall filtering / web filter or other app control?

Any simple ISP style router will do the internet access.

If you have multiple sites then Unifi cloud gateways could be a good option as they have cloud central management.

[somedude2]

Yeah, the why part is important here, tho I see one reason.

So what do we have now:
The RV160W does 4 physical ports, and WiFi,
Routing, NAT, VPN, Tunneling,
DHCP , DNS,
and various fancy routing things you likely aren’t using

End of support is in 2026, so while it is old, it is serviceable for a little while longer at least..

Start with what is being used, and then what might be needed in the future…
Then we can posit a guess as to where to go from there…

(And yeah, as others have mentioned, these days, for a small business, really give a security appliance some thought, the internet has not gotten nicer with age)

[DYXX]

Agreed — going with a router/firewall combo makes sense, especially for SMB or branch setups. Fortinet offers great value.

[ronberezowski]

I manage five individual schools. We started out with Cisco RV082, then went to Cisco RV325. About two years ago, we moved to Fortinet Fortigate 60F. Picked that model for the number of ports it had. We subscribe to the Fortinet software for filtering and such. A big step up from the RV325, but a lot more features and yet still relatively easy to manage. And the remote management and VPN is a big assist for monitoring and management, saves me lots of travel time and expense. You might be able to use a lower model like the 40F or 50F.