ive had issues every now and then with dealing with routers...
i guess it started back in 2000 or so when i got DSL.
- when i first got my "PieceOfShit SpeedStream 4060 USB" DSL Modem. i used something like "WinGate" software to share the connection over my network. WinGate or whatever its called didnt like closing connections. refreshing a server list in Half-Life only was able to ping half the servers since the WinGate's NAT table was full or some shit. it left a connection open to each IP address it pinged and didnt disconnect. Half-Life couldnt ping anymore IPs because all connections were full.
- i didnt have to deal with that for too long, because in 2001, i got a SpeedStream 5260 DSL modem. the 5260 used with the "RASPPPOE" software was a lot better than the USB modem and its shitty proprietary software. i still had to deal with Windows handling all connections (so a PC had to be up and running 24/7 for all other network stuff to work), but i could use things like the Windows built in Internet Connection Sharing to have it act as a router, which worked better than the 3rd party internet sharing/DHCP software i used before.
- a lot of 5260 modems were just 5660 Routers with cippled firmware. lucky for me, my 5260 was really a 5660. flashing it with 5660 firmware enabled router-like features like PPPoE Dialer, DHCP, NAT/firewall/port forwarding stuff, etc. that paired with a cheap hub made a somewhat decent router.
it had issues with resolving DNS though. visiting a site ive been to before the same day would sometimes just totally fail. "unable to find site xxx" or whatever. some games couldnt connect either through it.
- in 2002, i got a Netgear RT314. i purchased it refurbished direct from Netgear. i got one after using the same model at work and seeing all that it could do. it could forward whole ranges of ports, had a Dynmic DNS updater built in, a friendlier web interface, and it of course was a "real" switch, and not a "dumb" hub/repeater like i had been using (better for general PC to PC network traffic). it also was reported by a lot of people to work just fine with all kinds of games.
the Netgear RT314 served me and my family for a long time.
...fast forward to when BitTorrent came out. opening lots of connections with a Torrent made my whole internet connection just DIE. i tried limiting connections and messing with settings, but the Netgear RT314 would just throw up when any number of connection attempts were made with BitTorrent.
no matter what i use, something is always lacking. i had been going with Windows XP w/ its Firewall acting as my home's router. but after playing with various installs of Linux and x64 Windows (and my computer rebooting several times a day, which of course prevented it from working as good router), i had my Netgear RT314 set up to act as the router. i just queued up a bunch of torrents last night and had to deal with the network going down for everyone because of the Netgear throwing a fit, so i have my 5660 Modem acting as the router right this second. so far, so good.