[sclug] DSL modem

[Alex Butcher]

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007, John Stumbles wrote:

> I'm after a DSL modem/router. [Can anyone] recommend a make & model
> (wireless-less-less)?

I've used a (now-obsolete) ZyXEL Prestige 643 for about 4.5 years now, from
my initial 500Kbps connection upto my current 8Mbps connection (it's
currently at 7616Kbps/448Kbps over a line that's allegedly 4-5 miles from
the exchange). It's been pretty reliable; generally it only gets rebooted or
power cycled when the mains flickers.

The downsides to it have been:

a) the wacky IP ACL/filtering, which bends your brain if you've dealt with
any of iptables/ipchains/Firewall-1/PIX/FWSM.

b) the few months shortly after regrading to 8Mbps where its Ethernet LAN
interface would stop listening every couple of days. My hypothesis was that
it was caused by something on the ADSL WAN side, probably being done by BT.
Eventually, it stopped happening altogether, with no changes at my end,
which is a good job, because...

c) ZyXEL were completely unhelpful when I provided them with debugging
output and asked if this was indicative of a hardware fault, problem with
BT's ADSL implementation/current settings, known bug, or incompatibility
with 8Mbps ADSL. Their recommendation was to buy a current device from them,
which they would support. I don't expect a manufacturer to continue to
produce firmware updates for years after a device goes out of production,
but I do expect them to be able and willing to analyse debug output and
provide useful diagnosis. In fact, I was so offended, that I swore if I did
end up buying a new router, I *wouldn't* be buying another ZyXEL ever (SMC's
ADSL2+ models were cheap enough to take a gamble on) but now I find myself
giving a cautious recommendation based on the remaining 4.25 years of
flawless operation...

That said, you might find it easiest to just buy the router your ISP
recommends/sells as then you have a one-stop-shop for support. Needless to
say, Eclipse weren't any more helpful with their responses to the debugging
information I sent either (but I wouldn't particularly *expect* them to be!)
but they might have been if it was equivalent information generated by one
of their supported routers.

Best Regards,
Alex.
-- 
Alex Butcher, Bristol UK.                           PGP/GnuPG ID:0x5010dbff

"[T]he whole point about the reason why I think it is important we go for
identity cards and an identity database today is that identity fraud and
abuse is a major, major problem. Now the civil liberties aspect of it, look
it is a view, I don't personally think it matters very much."
  - Tony Blair, 6 June 2006 <http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page9566.asp>