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Author Topic: Advice on modem router solutions - minefield  (Read 2143 times)

PCMasterRace81

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Advice on modem router solutions - minefield
« on: March 19, 2018, 12:47:28 PM »

I thought I was pretty tech savvy, until I decided to start looking at replacing my ISP provided DSL modem router!  ???

I'm on a VDSL2 connection provided by WarwickNet. Although they primarily supply broadband to businesses I am a residential customer, so my needs are not necessarily the same as their broader customer base. The supplied me with a Zyxel VMG3925-B10B modem router. I am far from satisfied with it.

The sync speeds are decent at 80Mbps down and 20Mbps up, but the interface is horrible, the QoS requires a brain much larger than mine to understand, the WiFi performance isn't great and the 5GHz WiFi channel sometimes drops entirely. I have three machines running Windows 10 and they all lose connection and can't re-establish. These machines have differing specifications and different wireless solutions, so I can only place blame at the router itself.

The main issue I'm coming up against is that it's not clear which modems will be supported by my ISP. I am told I require a VDSL2 modem that supports vectoring, but most websites don't seem to include this information. Am I missing something really obvious? Is it called something else?

For info, my needs:

  • Easily configurable, or adaptive, QoS to protect streaming and gaming data (highest priority)
  • Support for a large number of devices (on average there are 10 connected devices in use at any one time, with many more idle ones connected)
  • I need to ensure there's decent connectivity approximately 40 feet from the router through a couple of walls
  • The modem needs to support vectoring

Thanks in advance for any help, apologies for any typos (dyslexia), and apologies if I am missing something obvious when searching.

 :fingers:
« Last Edit: March 19, 2018, 12:50:40 PM by PCMasterRace81 »
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skyeci

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Re: Advice on modem router solutions - minefield
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2018, 01:01:25 PM »

why not just put the zyxel in bridge mode (modem only) and run a decent router of your choice behind it. I have a 3925 on an infinity line in bridge mode.

ask the isp what authentication is needed on the wan side
 eg ppoe, dhcp etc.. most routers do all this anyway but if you know before hand it's helpfull..

your 3925 acting as a modem only will support vectoring..

PCMasterRace81

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Re: Advice on modem router solutions - minefield
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2018, 01:06:53 PM »

why not just put the zyxel in bridge mode (modem only)

I hadn't considered that...  ???

Thanks!  :-[
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skyeci

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Re: Advice on modem router solutions - minefield
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2018, 01:16:28 PM »

no probs. A decent router seems like the best choice to me

johnson

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Re: Advice on modem router solutions - minefield
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2018, 07:17:11 AM »

Easily configurable, or adaptive, QoS to protect streaming and gaming data (highest priority)

I can only echo what skyeci has said in that putting the 3925 in bridge mode and using a more capable router is the way to go, the zyxel supports G.INP vectoring and all that jazz and is clearing syncing at great speed on your line already.

As for the capable router, thats another can of worms, but I can to speak to the QoS part. If you are willing to find and flash a router that supports OpenWRT it offers a super simple set and forget implementation of "cake" smart queue management that performs fantastically well without having to specify more that your up/down throughput. It's obviously a lot more hassle to find a router that meets your needs and also supports OpenWRT, but in my mind is worth it for being able to use an open source firmware with latest features like cake QoS and is a nice middle ground between an off the shelf box with an ancient linux kernel and some fiendishly complicated setup running pfsense on server grade hardware.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 07:21:31 AM by johnson »
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