Pls help me order a DSL router

[mojotooth]

Hello,

Woohoo! After waiting 10 years for DSL service at my location, it has finally become available and I just ordered it for "line turn on" on the 6th of August.

I would appreciate help ordering a DSL modem that meets certain qualifications. Actually, I also have a networking question. I declined the $79.95 + $12.95 wireless modem that AT&T offered. It is probably the SpeedStream 5100 that they are shipping in my area.

The wireless modems that AT&T ships -- I see them in other people's houses -- almost always have one ethernet port, a USB networking port, and of course the wireless broadcast. I would really like to step up a notch from that, to a DSL modem that is in fact a router with at least 3 ethernet jacks at that base.

Can someone recommend for me a model number of router for that? I was given the registration URL to register my third party modem once I have purchased it. I really appreciate any and all help.

Thanks!

 

[JackMDS]

Welcome to AnandTech's Networking Forum.

The is No Wireless Modem.

There is a Combo Wireless Modem with Wireless Router in the same plastic box.

Many DSL provider give/rent to their customers these combos since it cost them only few $$$ more than a regular Modem and it spares the customers calling tech suppurt due to PPPOE problems (The combo keeps the PPPOE alive in hardware).

http://www.ezlan.net/PPPOE.html

Thus far i did not see a generic combo that do not "Sux" big time.

Serious users should get a regular Modem/Bridge and buy their own Wireless Router.

That said, in some combos the Router part can e disabled and the combo can act as a regular modem.

User then can use the device as a Modem and get his own Wireless Router.

Here is an example of a stand alone modem.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16825112003

As far as a Router goes it depends on the user needs .(I.e., the user should post how he is going to use the Wireless Router).

 

[mojotooth]

That's a great point about the preconfigured PPPoE.

I'm going to order this one:
http://tinyurl.com/dsl-gateway

Thank you.

 

[Eug]

Thus far i did not see a generic combo that do not "Sux" big time.

Serious users should get a regular Modem/Bridge and buy their own Wireless Router.

I bought a 2wire 2700HG-B (combo DSL modem and 802.11g 4-port router) for $20 (refurb at the local store) and I'm really impressed at how well it works. The configuration software is very reliable, the firmware is rock solid, and the wireless 802.11g is very strong (and there is an option in the software too to change the transmission power). In fact, despite the fact the 2wire has no external antenna, it provides a stronger 802.11g signal than my Trendnet TEW-432BRP 802.11g router (which has an external antenna). As for the rock solid stability, I've had this thing for a couple of years now and let's just say it has been a very refreshing change from the old crapola Linksys, SMC, and Netgear routers I had which needed to be rebooted every few days if I was doing heavy file transfers or something.

I am in Canada on TekSavvy, but this refurb unit came pre-configured for AT&T. (Actually, it has the AT&T logo right on the case.) However, it was easy to change the settings to support TekSavvy.

BTW, I think the 2701 (posted by mojotooth) is the successor to my 2700. If the 2700 is any indication, then the 2701 is likely a winner.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Eug

Thus far i did not see a generic combo that do not "Sux" big time.

Serious users should get a regular Modem/Bridge and buy their own Wireless Router.

I bought a 2wire 2700HG-B (combo DSL modem and 802.11g 4-port router) for $20 (refurb at the local store) and I'm really impressed at how well it works. The configuration software is very reliable, the firmware is rock solid, and the wireless 802.11g is very strong (and there is an option in the software too to change the transmission power). In fact, despite the fact the 2wire has no external antenna, it provides a stronger 802.11g signal than my Trendnet TEW-432BRP 802.11g router (which has an external antenna). As for the rock solid stability, I've had this thing for a couple of years now and let's just say it has been a very refreshing change from the old crapola Linksys, SMC, and Netgear routers I had which needed to be rebooted every few days if I was doing heavy file transfers or something.

I am in Canada on TekSavvy, but this refurb unit came pre-configured for AT&T. (Actually, it has the AT&T logo right on the case.) However, it was easy to change the settings to support TekSavvy.

BTW, I think the 2701 (posted by mojotooth) is the successor to my 2700. If the 2700 is any indication, then the 2701 is likely a winner.

Unfortunately, consumer routers tend to go in the opposite direction, with future derivatives becoming more and more anemic. The Linksys WRT54G is probably one of the biggest examples of this.

 

[Eug]

Hmmm... How bad is the WRT54G?

 

[cmetz]

mojotooth, things are better than they used to be, but it is still the case that you're really, REALLY better off getting the modem from your DSL ISP. There are still a lot of compatibility quirks to DSL, and if you don't get their modem and you have any problem at all... good luck! I would strongly urge you to buy the bare-bones DSL router from your ISP, it'll save you tons of headache someday. Check around and you might be able to find one used that a former customer of your ISP had, they can often be found very cheaply that way.

That said, the best G.DMT ADSL modems appear to be the Westells. You can get them used on eBay for very cheap. Some models have a built-in wired router that can also be disabled. I don't know of any with a built-in wireless router. I would strongly urge you to buy a no-frills DSL modem, and then attach via Ethernet a SOHO router of your choice. Let the DSL modem do the DSL stuff and let your router do everything else. I have never seen an all-in-one that I liked, and separate components can be replaced separately if they ever die on you.

If you're new to ADSL, I also strongly urge you to get an ADSL splitter and install it in the NID, if your ISP doesn't do this for you by default. It's easily worth the $15 it should cost you.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: Eug
I bought a 2wire 2700HG-B (combo DSL modem and 802.11g 4-port router) for $20 (refurb at the local store) and I'm really impressed at how well it works. The configuration software is very reliable, the firmware is rock solid, and the wireless 802.11g is very strong (and there is an option in the software too to change the transmission power). In fact, despite the fact the 2wire has no external antenna, it provides a stronger 802.11g signal than my Trendnet TEW-432BRP 802.11g router (which has an external antenna). As for the rock solid stability, I've had this thing for a couple of years now and let's just say it has been a very refreshing change from the old crapola Linksys, SMC, and Netgear routers I had which needed to be rebooted every few days if I was doing heavy file transfers or something.

I am in Canada on TekSavvy, but this refurb unit came pre-configured for AT&T. (Actually, it has the AT&T logo right on the case.) However, it was easy to change the settings to support TekSavvy.

Uh oh... Did I jinx myself? Over the last couple of days I've been having problems surfing to some sites. Rarely, things slow right down and it seems to be because it's taking a long time to get to a site. Then a few minutes later, everything is lightning fast. I was wondering if there was a DNS issue or something but I just tried pinging my router directly.

Even if I reboot the router, sometimes I get the same result. This is with both wired and wireless access.

I usually get 0% packet loss, but not always. I've gotten some packet loss just by pinging the 2wire directly, with the unit physically connected to my iMac.

Ping has started ...

PING gateway.2wire.net (192.168.1.254): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=1.191 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=0.529 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=1.483 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=0.992 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=6 ttl=255 time=0.531 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=7 ttl=255 time=1.375 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=8 ttl=255 time=0.679 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=9 ttl=255 time=0.509 ms

--- gateway.2wire.net ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 8 packets received, 20% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 0.509/0.911/1.483/0.376 ms


Is my 2wire DSL router dying?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I would recommend starting a new thread Eug, as this would be considered hijacking and most people consider this thread closed anyways

To help though, I would ask yourself the following.

Are you pinging on wireless or wired?

If on wireless, you may be too far from the router, or the wireless radio could be giving out in the router.

If on wired, replace the network cable and try again. It could have a break.