router of choice

[hobbesotr]

while waiting for things to be processed, shipped, ported and all that, i've been sauntering about the forum taking in the sites. it's interesting to note the prob's which have - and have not - been encountered by various users. i already have a network in place, running off a netgear wgu624. it's been quite satisfactory up until recently. that is, until adding a laptop w/vista home premium. for whatever reason, the two of them don't always play well and can be a royal pain. so, i'm in the position of looking to replace the netgear router w/something which will play a little bit better w/the wireless vista laptop. from the standpoint of vt, is there any particular modem that seems to be the most compatible/trouble free? as long as i'm upgrading the router for the laptop, might as well shoot for the one w/which vt will best play w/. what is the consensus as to which is the most vt compatible wireless router? thanking you...:D

[Brian188]

Most any router will be compatible with VT; it is the firewall that the router is running that may be an issue. I use a Belkin N-1 router. You can't beat the speed and range of N (as apposed to wireless a,b and g that is.) But the firewall on this router is a VoIP nightmare. Putting the adapter in the DMZ takes care of that.

I have heard good things about Linksys WRT54G. If you're looking for a wireless router, this is a wireless G router. If I were you I'd stay away from Netgear. Every piece of Netgear networking equipment I have ever used has been crap whether it was router (wired or wireless), wireless card, etc.

[voxabox]

Hi,

I'd recommend the linksys WRT54GL with 3rd party firmware
I'm using the linksys WRT54GL with tomato fw, and very happy with it

Cheers,
v

[Reiper]

I second Voxabox's recommendation...

Linksys WRT54GL (Note the "L"!)
3rd party firmware, Tomato!

[taylor2767]

ditto ditto.Started with Belkin and now the wrt54gl. No issues what so ever.l

[voxabox]

FWIW, I read that tomato will also work with certain router versions/models from buffalo tech

the advantage is that they are easier to find and more affordable than the WRT54GL

cheers,
v

[fareal]

I've used both the Linksys WRT54G v3 (not available in retail anymore) and the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54. Both with Tomato firmware..

download it>> http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato
talk about it>> http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=160

Highly recommend Tomato firmware if you are comfortable playing with 3rd party firmware.

Looks like the Linksys WRT54GL and Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 are both $64.99 at Amazon right now (free ship). Or you can also go with the Buffalo WHR-G54S for $46.99 which is the same as the WHR-HP-G54 except it doesn't have the built-in amplifier which increases wireless strength.

[Brian188]

I second Voxabox's recommendation...

Linksys WRT54GL (Note the "L"!)
3rd party firmware, Tomato!

Whoops, sorry, YES I left out the "L" that is the one I shooting for. WRT54GL.

[hobbesotr]

hmmm, that's interesting. my experience has been just the opposite. mof, i've had several wrt54<fib>. the first one died a premature death, tho out of warranty. replaced it w/another and it was doa. no problem, a factory rebuild replacement was linksys' answer. worked great for about 15 min's, then it'd die. as time progressed, as in several days, it was failing w/increasing frequency. finally concluded that it was a thermal prob. assuming i was a non-technical toad and problem source (yeah, right - at the time i was the sys admin for a novell 50+ node international lan/wan), linksys refused to replace it as it'd been replaced once. i've had several other linksys products which performed marginally. the one thing i've noticed in particular w/linksys, and has been echoed by collegues, is the quality decline since bought by cisco. other then the vista laptop wireless issues, the 3 networks i've set up w/the netgear wgu624 have performed flawlessly. i guess i'll have to keep digging and talking. at some point, the netgear plug will be pulled and a <fib> will take over. another thing about the 54gl, is it seems to be an old model w/old technology. there are newer models which 'should' do just as good, if not better. in the security area in particular. thanx to all for the comments.

Most any router will be compatible with VT; it is the firewall that the router is running that may be an issue. I use a Belkin N-1 router. You can't beat the speed and range of N (as apposed to wireless a,b and g that is.) But the firewall on this router is a VoIP nightmare. Putting the adapter in the DMZ takes care of that.

I have heard good things about Linksys WRT54G. If you're looking for a wireless router, this is a wireless G router. If I were you I'd stay away from Netgear. Every piece of Netgear networking equipment I have ever used has been crap whether it was router (wired or wireless), wireless card, etc.

[Brian188]

Cool, let us know what you decide and how it works out for you.

[hobbesotr]

Cool, let us know what you decide and how it works out for you.

Well, it seems as tho I stumbled upon the Vista wireless connection prob's. It was easily resolved by going from WPA-Personal, to WPA2-Personal. For whatever reason, the WPA on the laptop was timing out VERY quickly. There are still a couple quirks, but for now it's resolved. I just received my phone adapter. Likely this weekend I'll set it up, forward the Vonage phone number to the temporary VT number and see how things go. This seemed to be the best way to make the chg as seamless as possible. Hopefully there'll be no adverse interaction between the phone adapter and Netgear wireless router. If there are some issues, then what I'll do is try to put a little distance between the adapter and router. Might help keep them from stepping on eachother.

In the meantime, I've been dealing w/V's techless support. They made some system chg's which have affected the outgoing call history. In doing so, they've managed to kill the call history advanced search feature. For my records, I wanted to capture all the call data. I got the incoming w/out a prob. The outgoing has timed out every time. Techless support keeps skirting the issue and giving me totally unrelated options to try. They're blatantly ignoring what's being said to them and responding w/usual canned responses. Whether, or not, it is applicable to the prob. Like many others, I'm not going to miss that. As it is, come Sat, unless they get an injunction, I believe Vonage is under a court order to shutdown service. I don't think Vonage is long for this world. So, it's time to move on to something better. :)

[iampedro]

What about the DD-WRT firmware has anybody had any luck with that firmware?

[fareal]

I tried DD-WRT before I found Tomato. DD-WRT offers more features, but I didn't really need any of them. Although Tomato did offer some things that DD-WRT did not.. great bandwidth monitoring interface and great QOS details come to mind. Also the Tomato interface was noticeably faster for me and the navigation of it is more intuitive.

[hobbesotr]

well, i installed the adapter today and got nowhere fast. in a nutshell, after connecting the cables, on pwr up only the inet and pwr lites come on. the inet lite will flicker a little and go to a steady on state. the pwr lite will flicker a bit like it's doing something and then go into a repetative 3 quick flashes followed by about a 2 sec lite out before constantly repeating the cycle. the phone lite never comes on. if i ck the router for attached devices, the inet lite will show the activity. however, the mac address is not in the list of connected devices. obviously the adapter is not pulling an ip from the router dhcp. before i go out and replace the netgear router w/linksys, i just want to make certain that the adapter is not doa. any thoughts on how to figure that out? also, has anyone heard any feedback about the newer linksys routers? the draft n models in particular. back to combing all the bits and bytes floating around out in the wonderful world of the internet... thanx!

[Brian188]

To check the adapter, you can bypass the router completely. Plug the ATA directly into your modem.

Also, when you are connected to the router pick up the phone attached to the PAP2 and dial ****, then 110# and see if in fact it is not getting an IP address. This will work even without a dial tone. If you are not getting an IP it should say 0.0.0.0.

[hobbesotr]

To check the adapter, you can bypass the router completely. Plug the ATA directly into your modem.

Also, when you are connected to the router pick up the phone attached to the PAP2 and dial ****, then 110# and see if in fact it is not getting an IP address. This will work even without a dial tone. If you are not getting an IP it should say 0.0.0.0.

interesting, very interesting. the first time i ran it, the result was 0.0.0.0. as i wasn't expecting to hear anything i was just able to catch part of the 0.0... however, i ran it again and it returned an ip address. the interesting part is the address comes back to 'HostRocket Web Services'. so it is pulling an ip address, but i'ts not pulling it from the router. what the hey? :eek: i'm suspecting a linksys wrt54 is going to become a part of the network quite soon.

[Brian188]

Does it work plugged directly into the modem? If so then it most likely is a problem or setting in your router. If not then it is most likely a bad adapter.

[hobbesotr]

Does it work plugged directly into the modem? If so then it most likely is a problem or setting in your router. If not then it is most likely a bad adapter.

Tech support is telling me to put it in the dmz. I'm against any device on the network being in the dmz and open to the world. It has an external IP address which is in the HostRocket.com (ViaTalk) domain. According to the PAP2T codes, DHCP is enabled, the static gateway is (of course) in the HostRocket domain, subnet mask is 255.255.255.128 and it's firmware version 31.1.15. The question of the day is why shouldn't I be able to chg the gateway and subnet to my network? That way it would remain in network and grab an IP address from my network DHCP pool. It would also have protection from the router and its security features. The Vonage PAP2 adapter is grabbing an IP from my router as I'd expect. One thing I also noted was that the PAP2T was slow to, or didn't, respond to all commands. On the other hand, the Vonage PAP2 was quick and snappy. Which, makes me all the more concerned. :mad:

Oh, and btw, the answer to your question is no. Nothing changes.

[hobbesotr]

Tech support is telling me to put it in the dmz. I'm against any device on the network being in the dmz and open to the world. It has an external IP address which is in the HostRocket.com (ViaTalk) domain. According to the PAP2T codes, DHCP is enabled, the static gateway is (of course) in the HostRocket domain, subnet mask is 255.255.255.128 and it's firmware version 31.1.15. The question of the day is why shouldn't I be able to chg the gateway and subnet to my network? That way it would remain in network and grab an IP address from my network DHCP pool. It would also have protection from the router and its security features. The Vonage PAP2 adapter is grabbing an IP from my router as I'd expect. One thing I also noted was that the PAP2T was slow to, or didn't, respond to all commands. On the other hand, the Vonage PAP2 was quick and snappy. Which, makes me all the more concerned. :mad:

Oh, and btw, the answer to your question is no. Nothing changes.

i don't know how, but the adapter has reset itself to the lan config. i put it in the dmz port and entered the address as ts requested. of course the router objected because it didn't have a lan ip address. after clearing that, a pc showed an ip conflict. sure enough, the adapter had reset itself and was configured to the lan. somehow it had finally gotten smart and let the borg assimilate it. so, for now, it's a mystery and we have vt phone service. :D if nothing else, this prompted me to dig around the net and find the manual which contained the 'interactive voice response menu' (aka known as the configuration menu). now, off to forward the vonage number to the temporary viatalk number. and, w/that, the changeover for us should be relatively transparent. thanx to all for the info and suggestions!

[niteskies]

Another vote for the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 with Tomato firmware. The Tomato QOS is very good and the WHR-HP-G54 has better wireless range. This combination is very stable which to me is one of the most important considerations.

[Kelsin]

I use a linksys WRT54G (from a long time ago) with Open-WRT on it. I installed a qos script and now I can torrent while talking on the phone with no issues what-so-ever. It's great stuff :)

[connervt]

I currently am using the Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT version 23 SP2 (std) loaded on it. Works like a champ, QoS keeps my Comcast 4000/384 call quality sounding fine.

Haven't needed to put the PAP2T in the DMZ, just opening up the ports has worked fine.

[mslaga]

I've had very good luck with a Cisco PIX 501. I will note that I have my PAP2 outside the firewall with it's own outside IP address. Easy to configure and rock solid.

[mike770]

Count me in for the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 with dd WRT v 23. The wireless range that I am geting with router is the best out of all router I have ever purchased. It was reasonably priced too.

I have given the ATA a static ip and set into DMZ.

[jepolito]

I've had great results with my wrt54g.v5 and dd-wrt. It is has been rock solid for over a year esp. compared to the standard linksys firmware when it would drop connections like a butter fingers.

[jnuzzi]

I agree on the wrt54g with dd-wrt. It works great for me!

[IronHelix]

wrt54GL with DDwrt v23-SP2. Works great every time.

[fareal]

You DD-WRT (http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/ddwrt.php) users should try some To (http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato)mato (http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=160)

[jnuzzi]

You DD-WRT (http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/ddwrt.php) users should try some To (http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato)mato (http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=160)

Would you care to explain why?

[fareal]

A good thread on that topic..
http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49583

[mike770]

You DD-WRT (http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/ddwrt.php) users should try some To (http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato)mato (http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=160)

I would like to try Tomato. Is it easy to install. Do I just use the Firmware Upgrade link or do I need to telnet. If I need to telnet I might as well just leave it as is. Telnet can be a big pain.

[jnuzzi]

A good thread on that topic..
http://www.linksysinfo.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49583

I will read up on this tonight.

Is Tomato supposed to be better, faster, more stable than DD-WRT?

[fareal]

Yes just use the firmware upgrade link. You may want to reset your dd-wrt to defaults and clear nvram before you update and then after you update as well since you are coming from different firmware. Read the Tomato readme as well which is in the file you download containing the firmware.

[fareal]

I will read up on this tonight.

Is Tomato supposed to be better, faster, more stable than DD-WRT?

In my opinion and for my type of use, yes, yes, and yes. Click on that thread, its a quick read.

[mike770]

Yes just use the firmware upgrade link. You may want to reset your dd-wrt to defaults and clear nvram before you update and then after you update as well since you are coming from different firmware. Read the Tomato readme as well which is in the file you download containing the firmware.

Thanks, I will install Tomato tonight and report back.

I have been meaning to give Tomato a try because DD-WRT seems a bit to complex for my needs ( Mainly just for QOS for my ViaTalk :D ). And from what I have been reading Tomato is perfect for people like me.

[jepolito]

Note that Tomato won't work on wrt54g.v5+.

[connervt]

I might need to give Tomato a test drive.

Figures... I just thought my network was locked down and settled, configuration wise... :eek:

[GregM]

Note that Tomato won't work on wrt54g.v5+.Wouldn't you know, I'm curious to give the Tomato FW a go and my WRT54G is a v5. Bummer.:rolleyes:

[mike770]

Well I didn't update to Tomato. I tried but I wasn't sure which one to use. Since I had already updated my Buffalo router with DD-WRT, the firmware that was specific to said routers didn't work.

I was going to try to update to one of the firmware made for Linksys but I wasn't sure which one. So I figured since all was running good with DD-WRT why run the risk of bricking my router.

I still would like to try Tomato I am just a bit gun shy.

Any suggestion on how to upgrade to Tomato on a Buffalo Tech WHRHPG54 with DD-WRT firmware.

PS: The wireless range on this router is great. I have tried them all (Linksys, Netgear, DLink & Belkin) and this router sends the signal farthest of them all. I was never able to use my laptop in my backard. With this router I can. :D

[fareal]

With the Buffalo router since you already have a 3rd party firmware on it you can use the upgrade method in the web interface and use any of the Tomato firmware files except for the one specifically made for a first time Buffalo install. But before and after the upgrade do the reset and clear nvram.

[mike770]

Sorry but I am a noob to all this 3rd party firmware stuff.

How do I clear the nvram or can you point me to a website that shows me how.

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

[fareal]

It should be an option in the web interface of DD-WRT. Probably same place in the interface where you can reset the router to it's default settings.

[IronHelix]

to clear the NVRAM the option is usually under web interface (which is often http://192.168.1.1 ), then go to the administration tab, and look for something to the effect of 'factory defaults'.

When upgrading to a new type of firmware it is a good idea to do a factory reset as above before you flash it, and after you flash, power cycle the router and do factory defaults again.

[mike770]

Thanks to everyone! I updated to Tomato successfully. So far I do notice that the GUI is alot faster. Thanks again.

[iampedro]

I am looking at DD-WRT firmware because they said that they probably will release a new version near june...

[chuckl]

Zxyel 550 has the Stream engine QOS, and can usually be found cheap with coupon and or rebate.

I switch to that after using a WRT54g with DD-WRT.

[abaldish]

I am using a WRTP54G from linksys. Of course i live by linksys, have two of them one is being used right now for vonage till my number gets ported, the other is using VT, Once the porting is done going to take the first one and open it up and put the same firmware i am using on the 2nd one on there, and config for VT. then i have 3 open lines to play with lol.

still new to me, and no manuals around to tell you what all the commands are for in the unit so it is play with the settings at this point.

Dialplans are the fun one tried the default one that VT has listed but took notice that when calling some number don't work correctly as in needed the 1 or 1+area code. so now trying this one.

(*xx|[3469]11S0|0|00|<:1814>xxxxxxx|[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxxS0|1[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxxS0|011xxxxxxxxxx|011xxxxxxxxxx.|1900xxxxxxx!|1976xxxxxxx!|976xxxxxxx!)

Even tho 900 or 976 numbers are never used here, figure i would leave them in there. Unless someone has a better dial plan!!!!!!

Still tweaking settings from what i see here and there off the net for the pap2's as this is as close to a pap2.

[Agrajag]

I've got a strange situation. I own a D-Link DGL-4300 router. A number of people have commented their thinking that the router is junk and should be replaced. One of the modems many people recommend is the ZyXEL X-550. I grabbed one on ebay and it's here now. I'm getting it set up.

The first irony is that it's EXACTLY the same size as the D-Link, EXACTLY.

The second irony is that the back layout is almost identical except that the ZyXEL has two antennas and the D-Link has one. Otherwise everything is laid out the same and I started suspecting they use the same manufacturer for the core board.

Then I went into the ZyXEL user interface and it's clearly from the same company as the interface on the D-Link. While the menus are different colors, the buttons, layout and setup are nearly the same.

Wow, it's even more obvious that these are essentially the same routers. The QOS that everyone raves about on this router is EXACTLY the same thing as the DGL-4300 uses. It's not QOS as Linksys users know it. It's a prioritizer. What D-Link calls "GameFuel", ZyXEL is calling "StreamEngine"

I can't see any reason to bother with this router given all this experience. How can the one provide better QOS when it's the same exact QOS engine underneath? I suspect D-Link decided that, for their high-end gaming router, they'd just go ahead and OEM a known product out there and use it. The one thing that's interesting is that my D-Link is listed as a Gigabit device while the ZyXEL doesn't say it is.

Anyone know what's up with that? Given this I suspect I'm going to find these two reacting exactly the same.

[hobbesotr]

Well, things rolled along smoothly for just under 3 weeks. Then it struck. Strange things started to happen. Just little things, like there's a power and internet lite, but no phone lite. Thru trial and error it appeared that the router was acting in a less than perfect manner. What it came down to is, more often than not, power cycle of the router would return the phone connection and dial tone. In spite of my previous Linksys WRT prob's, I went out and got a 54GS based on all the recommendations. Tomorrow I'll be installing/configuring it. First of all, anything special (or landmines) in any of the config's to watch for? And, I note there are a couple 3rd party firmwares out there. What are the pro's and con's for each? While I've been handling these things for quite a while, some of the port config's and 3rd party firmware are new areas to me. I'll reread this thread very closely. Last thing I want to do is make a wrong move and 'kablooie'. Therefore, any and all advice is appreciated. Now, w/my eyes closed, hands over my ears and a foot extended out in front w/a toe quite gently probing the path ahead...:eek:

[Agrajag]

Tomato seems to be the big one for the 54's. Thibor's was considered at the top of the heap but that was a long time ago. DD-WRT is a top player there but I never used it. My big use on my WRT (back about a year or so ago) was to get more port forward entries. Thibor did that with no trouble so I didn't need to look any further.

[Agrajag]

Well, seems I did a bunch of jumping around for nothing.... I just did some searching and it turns out that the D-link DGL-4300 (my router), the Trendnet TEW-611BRP and the Zyxel X-550 all are basic clones of each other. They use the same QoS engine as well.

Oh well. Guess it's nice to have a spare on-hand.

[fareal]

If they have the WDS feature maybe you can use them to expand the coverage of your wireless network.

[Agrajag]

What exactly is WDS? The D-Link is in a 4th bedroom that acts as my office. It's on the far side of the house. My family room is on the other side and I'd been wondering what would happen if I set up the ZyXEL next to the Xbox and Wii that are down there. I was thinking of putting it in switch mode and wondered if it could essentially act as a WAP or extender.

[Brian188]

What exactly is WDS? The D-Link is in a 4th bedroom that acts as my office. It's on the far side of the house. My family room is on the other side and I'd been wondering what would happen if I set up the ZyXEL next to the Xbox and Wii that are down there. I was thinking of putting it in switch mode and wondered if it could essentially act as a WAP or extender.

WDS = Wireless Distribution System - It allows you to set up a completely wireless network. Normally your access points would need to connected via Ethernets. With WDS, all access points are connected wirelessly.

I don't know your D-link specifically, but is there an option for WDS or 'Use as and access point'? If you set it up to use as an access point normally you would need to set an IP address (within the range of your gateway) then PC, XBOX, etc. could connect to the internet through the D-link (access point). It would increase the range of your network dramatically. This is the typical set up you find in... oh say a hotel, hospital, etc.

[Agrajag]

Yes, both of these seem to have that option. I'll have to look into this more. I wonder if I can use the ZyXEL as an access point plus a switch. If so it might come in handy.

[Brian188]

I wonder if I can use the ZyXEL as an access point plus a switch. If so it might come in handy.

My first guess would be no. It is usually one or the other. Even if you could the wireless cards you try to connect with would probably give you some trouble. Let us know if you have any luck.

[clarkovsaturn]

Are any of these routers extended range?

I currently have the Netgear wgt624- v3 and it works perfectly with Viatalk, but wanted to upgrade to the Belkin Pre-N for the extended range it offers, because the Netgear doesn't reach some parts of the house.

Well the Belkin delivers the extended range very well, but it won't seem to work well with the ViaTalk service....

Any idears for extended range routers?

Even my mac seemed to pick up the Pre-N much better, probably because it has 3 antennas?

thanks

[fareal]

Buffalo WHR-HP-G54. Buffalo Technology calls it MIMO Performance, not necessarily MIMO.

[Brian188]

I run a netgear wgt624v2 with a Vonage adapter and VT Adapter attached to it as well as my belkin n-1. No wired clients to the belkin used only for wireless. And the netgear I turned off the wireless and use it only to connect the ATA's. Works great.

[novavoiper]

I'm on the Zyxel and it has been fantastic with ViaTalk and the rest of my network. Couldn't be happier.