Verizon FiOS → Torrents crashing network

I'm having a persistent problem where my entire network crashes while downloading torrent files. When this happens, the Internet light on mi424wr rev. e router turns orange and a simple reset of the router does not fix the problem. I have to physically pull the battery from the ONT to reconnect to the internet.

I have a basic understanding of networking. I wanted to keep all cable box features so I can't get rid of the Actiontec. I connected my Linksys WRT400N router running DD-wrt firmware to the Actiontec using a LAN-to-LAN connection. This was simply to provide 802.11n connectivity. I turned DHCP off on the Linksys and set its ip as 192.168.1.2.

My computer is connected to the wireless n connection from the Linksys. At first I thought that my torrent program was creating too many connections and crashing the network. However, after trying a number of settings, including limiting total connections to as low as 30 total, my network still crashes. It takes between 5-15 minutes before it completely dies and it forced me to recycle the ONT.

I think my problem has to be connected to how I've connected my linksys router. What am I missing here? Can someone offer me some assistance? Thanks!

It's the router. The REV E Router from Verizon has a very small NAT table that tends to get flooded with Torrent traffic. You'll want to get it replaced. I am not sure that even hiding your torrenting behind your Linksys will make a difference as the swarm is still going to end up hitting the Actiontec.

you'll want to see if you can get a replacement

Thanks for your response. If I call in for a replacement, is there a specific model router that verizon provides which would be more beneficial?

Verizon sells one model of Actiontec, the Rev I. The new "Quantum" router is available in some markets.

You can purchase the Actiontec here:
»teleproducts.verizon.com ··· ShowCart

Note the "WPA2" upgrade offer. It will get you a Rev F or newer for the cost of shipping ($5.99 or so) . Some folks have gotten Rev I's, but it's not guaranteed.

If you want the Quantum router, it is reported to cost $149.99. It is supposed to be available through the "my Verizon" web page. Others have reported it can be ordered by talking to a rep. Here's the thread that discusses it:
»Quantum Gateway Router

Good Luck.

And when you've fixed the router problem you might crash the ONT.

Just warning you.

Here I host 2-4 game servers, have up to 3 PCs torrenting, run a Yacy crawler, email and RDP servers while watching Netflix, etc.
With all that I still get a flawless VoIP (SIP) connection.

Obviously the first thing is to keep heavy, multi-threaded traffic (ie:bittorrent, Yacy) off WiFi and on Ethernet.

The real key is a router capable of QoS. Traditionally, consumer devices suck at QoS, even the ones that advertise QoS as a feature.

pfSense handles QoS for me now but 10 years ago I was having the same problem you are. Torrenting would kill my VoIP (and sometimes everything else) and the QoS built into DD-WRT just didn't work.
D-Link's had just released the DGL-4300 GameFuel router. I bought one, config'd it for VoIP (instead of online gaming) and it worked great.

sidenote: I bricked the D-Link later on and found this Hawking Tech HBB1 "Broadband Booster" in a marked-down bin for $5.

it's adorable

If you don't want to try to get a replacement from Verizon, you can also set up the actiontec as a bridge so that it does not handle any of the routing and everything is handled through your linksys. Instructions are available in the FAQ in the forum.

Was able to crash my previous ONT at will with Bittorrent. Crank up the number of connections and blammo. Don't know if my newer GPON ONT would fail the same way. Never tried.

Honestly the REV I is crap as well, in my experience. The wireless interface can't even take 10 or more devices without sporadic cuts to the internet.

Sounds like a defective ONT or more likely a bad router, a normally functioning ONT can easily handle the biggest torrent load you can come up with. I have gotten 32,000 packets per second at 300Mbps on a pfsense router and the ONT handled it fine. This is an artificial load and no torrent will come anywhere near that type of test.

Agreed, never crashed an ONT while on FIOS despite some serious traffic for a residential account.

Most home routers can only do 10,000 to 50,000 packets per second. The next limitation is the NAT table size.

But as for testing purposes, I was able to push 338,000 packets per second at one point on a 150Mbit connection with a pFsense router. No packet loss, no increased ping times and web pages still loaded quickly. The ONT was not a limitation at all, at least not at that speed. But I am sure that everything has its limitation.

The ONT simply converts fiber to wire (coax or Cat 5) (a physical medium change), so would there be a limit? Your testing shows if there is, it's very high.

Pretty sure they are a lot more complicated than that.

What other functions do they perform, except monitoring and fault reporting to Verizon?

However true, your statement is an oversimplification.
Besides adhering to protocols, I'm sure there's capability to upgrade ONT firmware.

I do not reject out of hand the notion the ONT can be crashed by heavy traffic, but question if it was the ONT and not one of the other components in the delivery system. The ONT is addressable from the CO, it must maintain time-slice synchronization. OP did hint it was an earlier model.

This is a sheet drawn at random from the FAQ table. I imagine all VZ ONTs to have the same general capabilities.

Specs from Motorola ONT1000GT2 datasheet:

quote:

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Interface Configuration
Telephony Interface:
• 2 POTS: 4 IDC terminals (Tip and Ring) per line
• 2 RJ-11 gel-filled test point connections
• 5 REN (maximum) per line
• 10 REN (maximum) across all lines
Data Interface:
• MoCA port with F-type connector
• Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T port
• RJ-45 gel-filled connector
Power Interface:
• 7 position 5mm header with remove-able IDC
connector
Video Interface:
• 75-ohm F-type connector +18dBmV
Optical Interface:
• SC or OptiFit® connector

Protocols
• ITU-T G.984.1, G.984.2, G.984.3, G.984.4, as amended
• IGMP v2 (RFC 2236) and IGMP v3 (RFC 3376)
multicast group management including snooping
support
• IEEE 802.1D bridging
• IEEE 802.1Q Virtual LAN
• RFC 1886, RFC 2460, RFC 2463, RFC 2464,
RFC 2474, RFC 3513, RFC 3587, RFC 3261, RFC 3262, RFC 3263,
RFC 3264, RFC 3265, RFC 3311, RFC 3325, RFC 3515, RFC 3840,
RFC 3842, RFC 3891, RFC 3911, RFC 3959, RFC 3966, RFC
4028, RFC 4235, RFC 4412
• H.248 and SIP-enabled VoIP
• GR-303, GR-08
• IEEE 802.3i, IEEE802.3u, 802.3ab
• IEEE 802.1ad Provider Bridges
• IEEE 802.3ad link aggregation
• MoCA

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