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[nfxcr3w]

First off i'd like to say im new to the Kitz Scene and 2nd off i'll be ordering the Zyxel VMG1312-B10A on Monday and would like to know which is the best firmware to use.

And is there anything i should tweak on it before i get it? as im still rocking a unlocked hg612 and feel like it's getting long in the tooth these days.

I remember trying a BCM63168 Chipset on my line before and it was amazing but unfortunately that died so looking in to the zyxel range since it seems a very popular topic in the kitz forum right now. I'm on a Huawei Cabinet

Thank you 

[j0hn]

What router do you use and does it support a 1508 MTU?
Who is your ISP?

If it supports 1508 MTU it may be worth installing a modified version of the zyxel firmware that supports 1508 MTU (also known as baby jumbo frames/RFC4638)

If it doesn't support this then I would recommend the most recent firmware release from zyxel.

Where have you bought the modem from and do you know if it is an ex-ISP issued modem or a retail model?
It might be necessary to obtain the Supervisor password to clear any ISP settings.

[nfxcr3w]

I use the netduma r1 gaming router not sure if it supports baby jumbo frames but my isp is talktalk and it will be a retail version i'll be buying. If it's a retail version would i still need to make it vanilla zyxel? Thanks for getting back in touch.

[burakkucat]

Welcome to the Kitz forum. 

. . . it will be a retail version i'll be buying. If it's a retail version would i still need to make it vanilla zyxel?

I would routinely clear the ROM-D and ensure that the device is vanilla flavoured, even if it is a retail version.

With your current hardware setup, just go to the LetMeCheck.it MTU test page and see what it reports. The HG612, in its default configuration as a pure bridging modem, does support baby jumbo frames. So if your router is capable, it would then be sensible to use the modified ZyXEL firmware image for your new VMG1312-B10A.

[tiffy]

With your current hardware setup, just go to the LetMeCheck.it MTU test page and see what it reports.

That's a handy little utility, not seen that before, thanks for the link, suitably filed away for future reference.

[burakkucat]

That's a handy little utility, not seen that before, thanks for the link, suitably filed away for future reference.

It was Weaver who recently introduced me to it, a week or so ago.

[nfxcr3w]

Welcome to the Kitz forum. 

I would routinely clear the ROM-D and ensure that the device is vanilla flavoured, even if it is a retail version.

With your current hardware setup, just go to the LetMeCheck.it MTU test page and see what it reports. The HG612, in its default configuration as a pure bridging modem, does support baby jumbo frames. So if your router is capable, it would then be sensible to use the modified ZyXEL firmware image for your new VMG1312-B10A.

Thanks for that i did the test and at the end it says The maximum MTU size for x.x.x.x is: 1500 Any steps on clearing the rom so when i get it that will be the first thing i do thank you.  Also you mentioned "routinely clear the ROM-D" So do i have to keep doing it if i needed to factory reset the VMG1312-B10A after a firmware update? sorry im still a bit new to this.

[Weaver]

A warm welcome. I have seven or eight B10As, four in use plus a load of spares.

I would recommend our very own Kitizen "Johnson’s" latest firmware. Someone can find you a link to download, from a previous thread about Kitz contribuors’ own hand-built custom firmware.

Any trouble finding it and I can help.

I use my device as a modem only, wireless and router functions disabled. The version built by our own Johnson which I am using gives full 1508 byte MTU (1500 + 8) in modem-only mode with PPPoE. You can use this if all of the following three things, your router, the link between router and modem, and the ISP’s link to the internet all support MTU 1508. (I used to use an old BT 20CN exchange with ADSL, and got caught out because BT’s 20CN kit doesn’t support MTU 1508.)

This custom firmware I’m using also has a built-in second mini webserver which is a graphing, logging and stats info server. It gives you a picture of a graph of 24 hours of SNR history in a web page and you can ask it for various pages of stats via http. The graphing and history logging is superb and the convenience is great because there is no login needed so it’s one-click. (No security downside as it’s just displaying harmless info and you can’t access anything you shouldn’t be able to.) its recently revealed lurking problems that I never knew about until I had the graphing. Without this, I would have had to know somehow to be logging in all the time and recording measurements at various times and writing them all down. And there’s no reason that I would have ever had a reason to do such recording unless I had had an attack of curiosity for some reason.

You can get all the source code inspect it and build it yourself for reassurance.

[nfxcr3w]

A warm welcome. I have seven or eight B10As, four in use plus a load of spares.

I would recommend our very own Kitizen "Johnson’s" latest firmware. Someone can find you a link to download, from a previous thread about Kitz contribuors’ own hand-built custom firmware.

Any trouble finding it and I can help.

I use my device as a modem only, wireless and router functions disabled. The version built by our own Johnson which I am using gives full 1508 byte MTU (1500 + 8) in modem-only mode with PPPoE. You can use this if all of the following three things, your router, the link between router and modem, and the ISP’s link to the internet all support MTU 1508. (I used to use an old BT 20CN exchange with ADSL, and got caught out because BT’s 20CN kit doesn’t support MTU 1508.)

This custom firmware I’m using also has a built-in second mini webserver which is a graphing, logging and stats info server. It gives you a picture of a graph of 24 hours of SNR history in a web page and you can ask it for various pages of stats via http. The graphing and history logging is superb and the convenience is great because there is no login needed so it’s one-click. (No security downside as it’s just displaying harmless info and you can’t access anything you shouldn’t be able to.) its recently revealed lurking problems that I never knew about until I had the graphing. Without this, I would have had to know somehow to be logging in all the time and recording measurements at various times and writing them all down. And there’s no reason that I would have ever had a reason to do such recording unless I had had an attack of curiosity for some reason.

You can get all the source code inspect it and build it yourself for reassurance.

Thank you Weaver, All the much help needed il be ordering it on Monday and get it by Tuesday will be my first Zyxel. I've seen what the BCM63168 can do and it's incredible since the HG612 gives me 4mb lower than a BCM63168 which gives me 4mb higher on the max attenuation. I've heard good things about this Zyxel just fingers crossed it lives up to the hype.

[Weaver]

If you’re using FTTC, then it might be that the B10A won’t be any better than some of the other modems such as the inferior B10D, because I’m told that the superiority of the B10A is in the modem department because if a posh input filter at the analog front end although ?I don’t know any details only what I have been told by other Kitz members. I am using extremely long and very very slow ADSL lines and so I need the posh modem. If your line is superb anyway the modem’s abilities might be irrelevant.

The other factor is the match between your modem and the kit at the other end. I got a superb improvement because my exchange DSLAMs are Broadcom too, same as this modem so they both speak a Broadcom-specific proprietary protocol called ‘PhyR’ for ADSL2, which gives hugely improved reliability and effectively more speed, because you can risk pushing the modems harder. It’s the same thing roughly as the G.INP standard protocol, both are link error correction systems that work by retransmissions of small parts of messages as needed, so no corrupted packets.

Other people have reported good things if they match modems with kit at the other end for other, unknown reasons. And it may not always be the case that Broadcom is best if you have the wrong kit at the far end, according to the grapevine. On the other hand, iirc, Kitz was skeptical about this matching thing though.

If someone could help me dig out the link to the firmware it will save me a job, or having to post it up myself.

We have some serious ZyXEL modem experts here. I am not one of them, am asking for advice about it all the time.

[nfxcr3w]

If you’re using FTTC, then it might be that the B10A won’t be any better than some of the other modems such as the inferior B10D, because I’m told that the superiority of the B10A is in the modem department because if a posh input filter at the analog front end although ?I don’t know any details only what I have been told by other Kitz members. I am using extremely long and very very slow ADSL lines and so I need the posh modem. If your line is superb anyway the modem’s abilities might be irrelevant.

The other factor is the match between your modem and the kit at the other end. I got a superb improvement because my exchange DSLAMs are Broadcom too, same as this modem so they both speak a Broadcom-specific proprietary protocol called ‘PhyR’ for ADSL2, which gives hugely improved reliability and effectively more speed, because you can risk pushing the modems harder. It’s the same thing roughly as the G.INP standard protocol, both are link error correction systems that work by retransmissions of small parts of messages as needed, so no corrupted packets.

Other people have reported good things if they match modems with kit at the other end for other, unknown reasons. And it may not always be the case that Broadcom is best if you have the wrong kit at the far end, according to the grapevine. On the other hand, iirc, Kitz was skeptical about this matching thing though.

If someone could help me dig out the link to the firmware it will save me a job, or having to post it up myself.

We have some serious ZyXEL modem experts here. I am not one of them, am asking for advice about it all the time.

Isn't the B10D a BCM63381 Chipset? i've had a BCM63381 Chipset before it was causing major SNR Drops so now im staying away from them and focusing more on the BCM63168 Chipsets since they feel more stable. im on FTTC 80MB Package getting the full 79,999

[j0hn]

The BCM63168 and the common mode noise filter makes the difference in performance between the 1312-b10A/B on FTTC very noticeable.
It isn't only better for ADSL by a long mile.

The BCM63381 having the 3 as the 3rd digit shows this is in Broadcoms budget range.

The OP has a 1500 MTU but note that he is Talktalk FTTC residential and they use IPoE so no PPP.

Can you try setting 1508 MTU on your router?

[nfxcr3w]

The BCM63168 and the common mode noise filter makes the difference in performance between the 1312-b10A/B on FTTC very noticeable.
It isn't only better for ADSL by a long mile.

The BCM63381 having the 3 as the 3rd digit shows this is in Broadcoms budget range.

The OP has a 1500 MTU but note that he is Talktalk FTTC residential and they use IPoE so no PPP.

Can you try setting 1508 MTU on your router?

Tried that it said MTU Size Invalid

[Weaver]

> It isn't only better for ADSL by a long mile.

That’s good to know, thanks J0hn. I was thinking about long lines not ADSL vs VDSL2. It’s good to know it’s a common mode filter too, I didn’t even know that much before, thanks again.

That should be ‘try an MTU of 1500 for IP’, it’s only 1500+8 for IP+PPP+PPPoE. Referring to the sizes of to different things, IP only or IP plus a PPP+PPPoE wrapper, doesn’t apply if you are not using PPP. You should be able to set an IP MTU of 1500 maybe.

But will possibly need our Johnson’s custom firmware for the B10A if using PPPoEoE on the LAN side, between modem and router, for the modem to be able to handle 1508 byte IP+PPP+PPPoE, and the modem and router will both need to be able to cope with that. No point much trying it without the good firmware.

If there is no PPPoE over Ethernet over PTM over VDSL2 on the FTTC link then that extra overhead is not there on that side.

[nfxcr3w]

> It isn't only better for ADSL by a long mile.

That’s good to know, thanks J0hn. I was thinking about long lines not ADSL vs VDSL2. It’s good to know it’s a common mode filter too, I didn’t even know that much before, thanks again.

That should be ‘try an MTU of 1500 for IP’, it’s only 1500+8 for IP+PPP+PPPoE. Referring to the sizes of to different things, IP only or IP plus a PPP+PPPoE wrapper, doesn’t apply if you are not using PPP. You should be able to set an IP MTU of 1500 maybe.

But will possibly need our Johnson’s custom firmware for the B10A if using PPPoEoE on the LAN side, between modem and router, for the modem to be able to handle 1508 byte IP+PPP+PPPoE, and the modem and router will both need to be able to cope with that. No point much trying it without the good firmware.

If there is no PPPoE over Ethernet over PTM over VDSL2 on the FTTC link then that extra overhead is not there on that side.

Thanks for this sounds all a bit confusing to me someone mentioned the HG612 uses Baby Jumbo Frames but i think the router side only handles 1500 Bytes when i get it ill clear the ROM-D then put johnsons firmware on. I knew when i was on BT they used PPPoE but had to leave them since my speed kept flucturating alot from 75mb to 10mb in the evening which caused major ping spikes while gaming. So now on talktalk which has been more than stable.