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Author Topic: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?  (Read 2858 times)

Bowdon

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Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« on: May 10, 2018, 03:47:04 PM »

I'm thinking of changing this smarthub for something else as the 14 day reboot cycle is annoying, especially as its doing it during the day and it seems to drop 1MB off each time it does it.

I've used the HG612 modem and a router in the past. But I was wondering what is the current preferred choice for a modem/router combo (and how easy is it to setup)?

Any suggestions? I'm on BT Infinity 2 if that makes a difference.

[Moderator edited to correct from HG613 to HG612.]
« Last Edit: May 15, 2018, 06:01:02 PM by burakkucat »
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gt94sss2

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2018, 05:53:06 PM »

What firmware version does your Smarthub have?

Am pretty sure that BT have fixed/stopped the reboot cycle on the Smarthub/Home Hub 6
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Bowdon

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2018, 03:38:49 PM »

It's on firmware version: SG4B1000B522
It was updated on: 12-Jan-2018

The weird thing is when I first got the smarthub it didnt start doing it until it did the firmware upgrade.

It now seems to always reboot usually on day 13 or 14.

I like the smarthub for what I need but the rebooting is annoying. If it goes the same way of the previous hub I had (hmm think it was either 4 or 5) that started rebooting many times in one night, I'll have to dump it and setup my old HG612 and asus router. Though I'd like to try a different router if I for the seperate modem/router setup again.
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gt94sss2

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2018, 11:01:25 AM »

If the problem only started for you with 522 you could try a hard reset to see if that helps?

Otherwise, BT are currently rolling out SG4B1000B540 though I don't know what changes there are between that and 522.

In terms of other modem/router combos I would suggest the Zyxel 8324/8924/1312 (the A version) depending on your needs - as you will have seen elsewhere they are pretty popular on here..

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Ixel

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2018, 04:21:22 PM »

If a low budget then probably Zyxel is a fair choice.

If not so fussy on the budget, DrayTek 2860 (I think there's a newer one now?) or the Fritz!Box 7490 served me well when I use them. Currently Fritz!Box is in storage, DrayTek 2860 however is back as my bridged modem on one of my lines and working absolutely fine (ECI cabinet). Some people notice a slightly lower downstream sync rate with the DrayTek/Fritz!Box however, that's generally because the Lantiq/Infineon chipset applies reed solomon coding (R: 16) on the downstream, not just the upstream, assuming fastpath where a Broadcom chipset on fastpath doesn't (R: 0). In terms of error rates and latency, the Lantiq chipset works best on my lines compared to Broadcom (I'm on an ECI cabinet).
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Bowdon

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2018, 06:55:17 PM »

If a low budget then probably Zyxel is a fair choice.

If not so fussy on the budget, DrayTek 2860 (I think there's a newer one now?) or the Fritz!Box 7490 served me well when I use them. Currently Fritz!Box is in storage, DrayTek 2860 however is back as my bridged modem on one of my lines and working absolutely fine (ECI cabinet).

I'm looking at the draytek 2860. But is it a modem too? In your post it looks like it is, but in the adverts for it, so far it just keeps mentioning router.

It's annoying how a lot of adverts on websites these days don't make clear when devices are modems, routers or combos.

My HH6 is now on the latest firmware and literally rebooted right on the 14 day mark. It's more annoying than anything else, especially when its just rebooted at the start of the evening so reconnecting its lost nearly 1MB of sync speed.
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Iain

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2018, 08:31:06 PM »

I like the Netgear D7000 I have, and it has the advantage of being able to run DSL stats so I can keep an eye on how my line is performing. Wireless performance is good.

It does not reboot every 14 days, though that said I do find max attainable speed slows after about a month, but a reboot sorts that - the BT HH's did the same, but rebooted themselves.
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tubaman

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2018, 09:29:54 AM »

Very happy with my Netgear D6220.
Good sync speed and nice and stable.
The only annoyance is that some trivial setting changes (eg adding a fixed DHCP allocation) require a full reboot.
 :)
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Weaver

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2018, 05:02:29 PM »

Does it absolutely have to be a combo? Separate modems give you more choice of superb modems, but there is a minor downside which is the MTU 1492 problem which is a weakness in some routers and some modems. If you don't know what that means then I wouldn't worry about it. Some routers have better fire walking more features, give more responsive performance (because of QoS) so that certain activities do not become painfully slow if you have big diwnloads or going on at the same time. Better routers are easier to manage.

Another reason for going separate is that of placement. A modem needs to be very close to the master socket to ensure best performance. You may want to park wireless kit elsewhere though. But as far as wireless goes, separate wireless access points give better performance, are faster and have longer range and freedom of placement provided you can run one network cable to them, which is often a pain though, although wireless-to-wireless distribution (or mesh networking) is possible sometimes, at the cost of performance or eating up more scarce spectrum. Having separate wireless access points means that you can deploy multiple wireless access points parked in suitable locations for superb coverage. The ultimate is - oh help - a three box system, modem plus firewall-router, plus wireless access point(s). It all depends on how much performance and ease of administration you want.

Just presenting the counter argument. There are lots of reasons why a single box may be desirable and only you know your priorities, needs and circumstances.

I use ZyXEL modems times three, a Firebrick firewall-router, an HP switch and several ZyXEL and Cisco WAPs. (The Cisco WAPs promise very high performance but getting software for them has been a ridiculous nightmare.)
« Last Edit: June 11, 2018, 03:23:31 AM by Weaver »
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Ixel

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Re: Any suggestion on a modem/router combo?
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2018, 06:41:48 PM »

I'm looking at the draytek 2860. But is it a modem too? In your post it looks like it is, but in the adverts for it, so far it just keeps mentioning router.

It's annoying how a lot of adverts on websites these days don't make clear when devices are modems, routers or combos.

My HH6 is now on the latest firmware and literally rebooted right on the 14 day mark. It's more annoying than anything else, especially when its just rebooted at the start of the evening so reconnecting its lost nearly 1MB of sync speed.

The DrayTek 2860, now discontinued as far as I know (replaced by the 2862) has a modem in it (ADSL and VDSL).

I'm running both the 2860Vac and 2862 (as I have two lines bonded here). I also have stats running from them at the moment, from my 'in development' program. It not only monitors and logs the statistics from both lines but it also adjusts the downstream SNRM offset based on the configured thresholds :P. So, if I suddenly get some instability then it will increase the downstream SNRM offset to help reduce the errored seconds before the actual DLM kicks in. I prefer maintaining fastpath, I hate interleaved.

http://754.dsl.diagnostics.fr89.uk is my better performing line which is currently synced at an downstream SNRM offset of -2 dB, therefore giving me a bit more downstream speed. This has the DrayTek Vigor 2860Vac running on it with modem code 576D17.

http://608.dsl.diagnostics.fr89.uk is my other line, not quite as good as the '754'. This has the DrayTek Vigor 2862 running on it with modem code 779B07.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2018, 06:50:12 PM by Ixel »
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