Suggest a router for a very small one register retail store

[cstech]

I am going to be setting up a retail store next week. They are looking to have one back office desktop that will be running quickbooks, office, and email. This PC will also be used to research some pricing as this is a higher end thrift store. The register will at the moment be a Square Stand setup so an iPad. They will also have a spare iPad as a "second register" that they can use the square reader with. All transactions will be going through the Square app and they are using the data they download for inputting into quickbooks. The back office computer may need a remote desktop like LMI as an unattended access from their "home office". I have been doing some research on the Ubiquiti devices and am really liking what these things are able to do. Looking at the Edge Router PoE and a Unifi AP for them. Is this a good solution for this situation? What is the benefit to going with one of the Edge routers over another brand? If there is something in the lower price range that may be a better solution would love to hear about it. I have dealt mainly with home offices and small offices where everything is wired or home grade routers. Thanks for any advice. I would really like to have some options that are business grade and not just off the shelf wal-mart brand routers like what most in my area are using.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I have been strongly looking into the Ubiquiti stuff and wanting to put it in place. I believe YeOldeStoneCat just purchased an edge max router so he maybe able to give you a review on these. I have not seen a negative review yet for Ubiquiti products. Good luck with the new setup.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

For businesses...I'd stay more towards a UTM appliance...versus just a NAT router.
As much as I think I'm going to love the EdgeRouter...it's a box built for pure speed... > 1 gig throughput for the small model. But no "security" features of a UTM appliance.
I'm looking at one for our office for some of our services...e-mail filtering and our N-Central RMM server...for pure speed. No regular web traffic is passing through it, and nothing but hardened *nix servers behind it.

I'd consider a little Endian or Untangle or Sonicwall device with UTM features.

 

[unclemarv]

Agreeing with YeOldStonecat.

SonicWall TZ 105 is what we use for most of our smaller setups. It will work with whatever ISP you have and give you the UTM features you need, including intrusion prevention if you're going to setup remote access. There's also a WiFi model if you want that tied in together.

Another option is the Netgear ProSecure series.

 

[cstech]

I am just starting to get into the UTMs as I have not had a client with the budget that is willing to bite. Does the UTM take the place of the router handling things like DCHP and port forwarding?
I was thinking of UTMs as a edge device that comes before the router.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I am just starting to get into the UTMs as I have not had a client with the budget that is willing to bite. Does the UTM take the place of the router handling things like DCHP and port forwarding?
I was thinking of UTMs as a edge device that comes before the router.

For the purpose of SMBs...."Yes". It is the router...replaces your basic NAT router..it just has more features, scanning at layer 7 through different modules.
In larger 'n enterprise setups...they're often a dedicated device in between the router and the network...doing passive proxy.

 

[cstech]

Awesome. So now we are looking at a netgate pfSense device and using the ubiquity unifi ap for wireless access. I have been playing around with pfSense on a spare box. Now I am going to be looking at it from a different light and seeing about adding a second network at the shop with this. They are not doing the install until June so I have some time to experiment.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

As awesome as PFSense is (it's a Ferrari)...it's not a UTM.

Ubiquiti does have a basic wireless router if you just want that.
http://streakwave.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AirRouter-HP-US

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I am running ESXi with pfSense and Untangle as VM's in my shop and have been quite happy with it, but for this situation Untangle by itself would be simpler and better as just a UTM/Router "all-in-one" solution. Although I really like some of the packages that are free with pfSense like Snort and pfBlocker.

 

[cstech]

As awesome as PFSense is (it's a Ferrari)...it's not a UTM.

Ubiquiti does have a basic wireless router if you just want that.
http://streakwave.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=AirRouter-HP-US

My only fear is with the layout of the store (Just found out today it is a long narrow building where the register will be in the front and the equipment area is in the back) that a single unit in the back may not send a reliable signal. I am defiantly looking at the Unifi AP and looking at the Sonicwall TZ105 looking at pros and cons to this unit. Or does Untangle have things like DHCP server that would be needed in there that I am just missing? I really need to do a ton more reading it looks like.

Sorry to keep dragging this out but I am learning a lot from this. I am trying to expand further into the business market as my current experience is with the micro businesses and residential. Non of them have needed things like the UTMs (read they were already setup by another competitor and were convinced that "it has worked for us so far, why change") So this is the first client I have as a full setup. My client from the beginning, and I want to do things right.

 

[e2346437]

My only fear is with the layout of the store (Just found out today it is a long narrow building where the register will be in the front and the equipment area is in the back) that a single unit in the back may not send a reliable signal. I am defiantly looking at the Unifi AP and looking at the Sonicwall TZ105 looking at pros and cons to this unit.

Sorry to keep dragging this out but I am learning a lot from this. I am trying to expand further into the business market as my current experience is with the micro businesses and residential. Non of them have needed things like the UTMs (read they were already setup by another competitor and were convinced that "it has worked for us so far, why change") So this is the first client I have as a full setup. My client from the beginning, and I want to do things right.

I'll second (or third or fourth?) the SonicWALL. Make sure you get one with 1 year TotalSecure, which has the gateway AV and IPS as well. Part number is 01-SSC-4906 for the non-wifi model. You will get recurring revenue from renewing the TotalSecure license every year; you can charge for the license and the install and for updating firmware a few times a year.

I'm not willing to work with retailers that won't purchase good security hardware and software. Although I'm sure Square is very secure, the fact of the matter is that PCI Compliance is more than just about your software. What happens when a customer walks in the door and accuses the retailer of "losing" their CC information? Even if the retailer isn't at fault, you're going to get a phone call.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

Untangle does have DHCP.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

My only fear is with the layout of the store (Just found out today it is a long narrow building where the register will be in the front and the equipment area is in the back) that a single unit in the back may not send a reliable signal. I am defiantly looking at the Unifi AP and looking at the Sonicwall TZ105 looking at pros and cons to this unit. Or does Untangle have things like DHCP server that would be needed in there that I am just missing? I really need to do a ton more reading it looks like.

Sorry to keep dragging this out but I am learning a lot from this. I am trying to expand further into the business market as my current experience is with the micro businesses and residential. Non of them have needed things like the UTMs (read they were already setup by another competitor and were convinced that "it has worked for us so far, why change") So this is the first client I have as a full setup. My client from the beginning, and I want to do things right.

Best thing I can say is get some "hands on" experience with Untangle, just to satisfy your curiosity. By default..it's basically like any plain old NAT router like a Stinksys or Nutgear or DStink router. Has a web admin, does NAT, does DHCP, etc. It's just ...you have extra modules that you can install.

Grab an old X86 computer, stick in a 2nd NIC...download the ISO...burn to disk, boot from it..install it..and play.

Years ago I used to download TONS of different linux firewalls...like 1 a month, build and play and learn. Run it at home for a month or two..and then...download and build another one for a month or so....repeat process every few months. Gets experience under your belt.

HOWEVER...if you don't have that experience with it yet, and building them, and what hardware to use...I recommend for now...for this project/proposal...going with an "off the shelf" product like a Sonicwall, or Cisco/Meraki's MX60 with the security option. (like mentioned above...resell those security options, annual recurring revenue.