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ttiiggy
Premium Member
join:2001-03-27
Bozeman, MT

ttiiggy

Premium Member

Linksys router on internet connection

I hesitate to say "router on fiber optic internet connection" because I don't think it is really a fiber optic network after their interface box outside the house.

I got fiber optic internet provider service through Montana Opticom. They bring fiber to the interface box on the outside of the house and then a single Cat5 cable comes into the house. There is no log-in required and no modem that I have access to. Plug in one Cat5 patch cable from the 'biscuit' to one computer and it works.

The installer said I can use my router but he didn't set it up and I can't figure out the settings. Installer said I should be able to just hard reset the router and plug it in and it should work. It is not working so easy.

I was previously using a DSL connection through CenturyLink. Still using it except for the one computer that I can plug directly into the new Opticom connection.
Most computers that I use have Win XP on them, at least one has Vista or 8. They all work fine together.

I am trying to use a Linksys BEFW11S4 ver.2 on this new connection.
I have a WRT54G that I can use if necessary, but I think they will be pretty much the same.

I think that I should have the incoming Cat5 plugged into the uplink port of the router.
I think that I should have DHCP turned on.
I don't know what to select for WAN Connection Type. I think "Obtain an IP automatically". I have tried other selections. It is not working.

I get connected to the router but the message "This connection has limited or no connectivity" keeps popping up.

Suggestions?
ttiiggy

ttiiggy

Premium Member

I got it to work. I don't know what made it different.

I was looking at settings and clicked the Status tab and then clicked the DHCP release button and then DHCP renew and it said 'OK, fine, I will work now.
I thought I did that before.

It seems like unplugging power should make it renew DHCP.

It works now. I want to reset it again and see if it is still hard next time.
I'm still open to suggestions for why it didn't work without manually resetting the DHCP.
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen to ttiiggy

Premium Member

to ttiiggy
Possibly, the router hadn't been hard reset. Just performing a power off/on isn't going to reset the previous setup, which would most likely include the routers WAN port DHCP lease timeout value. Also, you didn't mention what speed your new connection is providing? Both of those routers you mentioned are pretty old and don't really provide great Wan to Lan thruput/speed. If your fiber connection is providing anything faster than ~40 Mbs, you won't really see an increase in speed.

ttiiggy
Premium Member
join:2001-03-27
Bozeman, MT

ttiiggy

Premium Member

I know that the router was hard reset. I held in the reset button for the 10 seconds that it needs to reset. The name was changed and all the settings were reset.

I thought I heard the speed was supposed to be 77 Mbs, but it looks like it is may be 44.



This is through the router connected to the fiber line. ~6 down and ~6 up.



Sucketh pretty bad.



This is connected directly to the fiber line. ~40 down and ~35 up.





This is on the DSL line through CenturyLink Q1000 modem/router. ~20 and ~1 up.





Any suggestions for a newer router to share the fiber line?

aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen to ttiiggy

Premium Member

to ttiiggy
Depending on your budget and what, if any kind of wifi connectivity you might want to use, you could check out any of the "asus rt-ac66u" and other similar routers. Basically anything manufactured in this decade of this century. You will also get the potential benefit of Gb ethernet LAN ports on these newer routers as well.

ttiiggy
Premium Member
join:2001-03-27
Bozeman, MT

ttiiggy

Premium Member

What specs do I need to look for that tell me if the router will be fast enough?

Not much of a budget. I would like to use wifi some. It has been intermittent on whether I can connect or not. The CenturyLink Qwest Modem Actiontec Q1000 router box has some wifi capability but I haven't gotten it to work. I have a Netgear MA521 and a Linksys WUSB11 that I have been trying off and on to get to connect. Works sometimes with the Q1000 and sometimes with the Linksys router. Not consistent. That is another discussion...
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

1 recommendation

aguen to ttiiggy

Premium Member

to ttiiggy
The key points/specs you want to consider in order to maximize the speed of your fiber connection to be shared within your home/devices, is the WAN to LAN thruput of the router you use. This would be the greatest bottle neck as you are currently experiencing.

Next, as I previously mentioned, is the router lan ports should support up to 1Gbs speed. Lastly, if you want to do wifi, the "G" will be ok, but won't really deliver full speed. If you have any wireless "N" devices, then you will obviously need a router that supports that as well.
phantom99b
join:2008-08-04
Chillicothe, IL

1 recommendation

phantom99b to ttiiggy

Member

to ttiiggy
BEFW11S4 version 2 router, has a 10 Mbps WAN port.

What version of the WRT54G do you have ?

In my experience the faster the speed on your router the more throughput it can handle, if you have a spare computer with 2 network cards you can turn that spare computer in to a router using any of the routing programs out there and use the BEFW11S4 and WRT54G as access points.

ClearOS, IPCop, m0n0wall, pfSense, Smoothwall, Untangle, are just a few to choose from.

With pfSense
20-50 Mb Throughput --To achieve 20-50 Mb throughput, you generally need a system between 400-600 MHz.
100 Mb Wire Speed -- In order to achieve 100 Mb wire speed throughput, you typically need a system between 700 MHz and 1 GHz.
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

1 recommendation

HELLFIRE to ttiiggy

MVM

to ttiiggy
said by ttiiggy:

They bring fiber to the interface box on the outside of the house and then a single Cat5 cable comes into the house.

Fiber to the home/premise may be the term you're looking for.

You also do realize that the BEFW11S4 is a Wireless-B device dating from the early 2000s, right? The WRT54G isn't that
much newer, either. If your service is supposed to be 77Mbps, for the love of the IT Gods, GET NEwER GEAR!! May
I suggest looking at the router speed charts on smallnetbuilder as a starting point?

If you're techie / DIY and have a spare PC and two 100Mbps / GigE NICs lying around, a *nix router distro may be an option.
Vyatta, Untangle, and Astaros Security Gateway is also an option to load.

There's also Prosumer / enterprise gear you can troll around to get if you're REALLY looking to go all out on this.

Regards

Fraoch
join:2003-08-01
Cambridge, ON

Fraoch to ttiiggy

Member

to ttiiggy
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