Suggest router to work with Rogers cable modem

[faqvideo]

Please help me with the choice of the right router for my configuration.

I have high speed connection via Rogers TV Cable as of now. My router is Linksys WRT54GL. Apparently not good enough, since the service with FPL ATA via router is intermittent. Seems to be fine when plugged directly into Rogers modem.

I have talked to a number of FPL tech support people. It probably cost them more than they charged me for their device and a config file. They have finally sent me to figure my problems out in this forum.

Nevertheless I'd like to invest a bit extra in a router that will definitely 100% work in between the ATA and the Rogers modem with the least tweaking possible - I am not very good at tweaking.

All the best to you all.

[OverDrive]

Please help me with the choice of the right router for my configuration.

I have high speed connection via Rogers TV Cable as of now. My router is Linksys WRT54GL. Apparently not good enough, since the service with FPL ATA via router is intermittent. Seems to be fine when plugged directly into Rogers modem.

I have talked to a number of FPL tech support people. It probably cost them more than they charged me for their device and a config file. They have finally sent me to figure my problems out in this forum.

Nevertheless I'd like to invest a bit extra in a router that will definitely 100% work in between the ATA and the Rogers modem with the least tweaking possible - I am not very good at tweaking.

All the best to you all.

I have the WRT54GL - it's one of the best out there because it can be flashed with a 3rd party router software (DD-WRT or Tomato being the top 2 choices)

The router itself is a great one, however the linksys software does a piss poor job of what it needs to do. I HIGHLY recommend flashing it with DD-WRT v24 and using the Generic or Voip version. (I'm using generic).

http://dd-wrt.com/site/index

http://dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database (type in wrt54gl)

Download the mini generic (dd-wrt.v24_mini_generic.bin)
Download the standard generic (dd-wrt.v24_std_generic.bin) or the VOIP generic (dd-wrt.v24_voip_generic.bin)

Make sure you're WIRED in, do not do this wirelessly.
go to your router's web console (ususally http://192.168.1.1), log in, and go to the administration area and firmware update section.
browse to where you downloaded the files above, and select THE MINI GENERIC. Press upgrade/flash

leave it a good 2-3 minutes.

Go back to http://192.168.1.1 and you should now have DD-WRT installed. Login (defautl user/pass is root/admin), go to administration area and firmware updates. Select the second file you downloaded (either standard generic or voip generic) and upgrade/flash that.

Wait another 2-3 minutes

Go back to http://192.168.1.1 and login - setup your router the way you want.


DD-WRT allows you to turn a 60 dollar router into a $300+ through software modifications. My home router has 2 wireless connections - 1 with network access, and 1 with interent only for those people who come over and want to use it. The internet only access can't see any systems on my network. you can also increas your transmit power for the wireless to get MORE range and better signal with your router.

[FONGO_steve]

I'll back the suggestion of a Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS with DD-WRT.

Just last week I purchased a WRT54GS and put DD-WRT Standard on it - it's been the best router I've ever had. I've sacrificed the gigabit/wireless N my old $200 router had in favor of the sheer power and stability that DD-WRT provides.. I'll get a gigabit switch in future for my NAS/primary systems.

[faqvideo]

Thanks a lot for your responses!

Will I be able to assign a static IP to my ATA from inside the router after flashing it? I believe that was the problem - I have assigned port forwarding for one IP, but there is no guarantee that the IP number for ATA is always the same. Actually shortly after installing the ATA I have received the "You've got IP conflict" on one of my computers after I turned it on from the Stand By mode.

[OverDrive]

Thanks a lot for your responses!

Will I be able to assign a static IP to my ATA from inside the router after flashing it? I believe that was the problem - I have assigned port forwarding for one IP, but there is no guarantee that the IP number for ATA is always the same. Actually shortly after installing the ATA I have received the "You've got IP conflict" on one of my computers after I turned it on from the Stand By mode.

You're talking about a DHCP Reservation - yes.

My network is 192.168.0.1/24
My router is 192.168.0.1
My VOIP is 192.168.0.2 (Dynamically obtaining it, but you can set it statically using the telephone's options/web console to be somewhere in your network)
My PC - 192.168.0.50 (Dynamically obtaining a reservation)
My Wife's PC - 192.168.0.51(Dynamically obtaining a reservation)
My XBox 360 - 192.168.0.52(Dynamically obtaining a reservation)
DHCP Range is 192.168.0.100-150
Any laptop I have is using 100-150 as I don't care for the IP's for my laptops.

[faqvideo]

Thank you all,

I've flashed my WRT54GL - the network is up and running again. I have also assigned static IP 192.168.1.2 to my Grandstream ATA in the router interface and in ATA admin area.

That's what I put in in the ATA admin area:

IP Address 192.168.1.2
Subnet mask 255.255.255.255
Default router 192.168.1.1
DNS servers - all zeroes

I tried to switch back to dynamic IP - it works intemittently. After setting static IP - all I can hear is "static" from the handset. When push *** - it says E103E.

Am I missing something?

[faqvideo]

Update on my adventures.

After flashing Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT as suggested above (special thanks for that!) I went to SERVICES=>SERVICES, and obtained Static IP Lease for my ATA:
- pushed ADD button
- in MAC address field entered 12-digit number with semicolons, previously obtained from ATA admin area, on the top of the STATUS window
- in HOST NAME field made up the name, i. e. FPL or MYFREEPHONE
- in IP ADDRESS field entered 192.168.1.2, that is assuming my router's IP is 192.168.1.1, can be checked under SETUP=>BASIC SETUP tab.

Then I went to ATA admin area and switched my BASIC SETTINGS back to "IP Address" - "dynamically obtained". I guess my previous setting to the "statically configured" caused conflict with the router, since the router was forcing it's own will on ATA.

Seems to be working again, at least for now. Does it make sense?

[FONGO_steve]

Update on my adventures.

After flashing Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT as suggested above (special thanks for that!) I went to SERVICES=>SERVICES, and obtained Static IP Lease for my ATA:
- pushed ADD button
- in MAC address field entered 12-digit number with semicolons, previously obtained from ATA admin area, on the top of the STATUS window
- in HOST NAME field made up the name, i. e. FPL or MYFREEPHONE
- in IP ADDRESS field entered 192.168.1.2, that is assuming my router's IP is 192.168.1.1, can be checked under SETUP=>BASIC SETUP tab.

Then I went to ATA admin area and switched my BASIC SETTINGS back to "IP Address" - "dynamically obtained". I guess my previous setting to the "statically configured" caused conflict with the router, since the router was forcing it's own will on ATA.

Seems to be working again, at least for now. Does it make sense?

Yep, that makes sense what you did.
If if it works now, I don't see why it would stop. DD-WRT is pretty stable when it comes to stuff like this - more so than the stock firmware on most consumer routers.

[zombie999]

Thank you all,

I've flashed my WRT54GL - the network is up and running again. I have also assigned static IP 192.168.1.2 to my Grandstream ATA in the router interface and in ATA admin area.

That's what I put in in the ATA admin area:

IP Address 192.168.1.2
Subnet mask 255.255.255.255
Default router 192.168.1.1
DNS servers - all zeroes

I tried to switch back to dynamic IP - it works intemittently. After setting static IP - all I can hear is "static" from the handset. When push *** - it says E103E.

Am I missing something?

Glad you fixed it. Just to point out why this didn't work. No DNS servers and subnetmask was wrong.

[faqvideo]

It's been working fine for last 2 weeks - not bad I guess. I am thinking of porting my existing Bell line to FPL now. Will I have to make more adjustments to the router in terms of port forwarding, etc.?

All the suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[laurent]

The only change required is to change your SIP username. FPL will replace it with your phone number, the one you port from Bell.

[faqvideo]

Sorry - I should have mentioned that I am planning on using both lines - what adjustments will I have to make to my router settings?

[laurent]

Running multiple SIP accounts/devices under the same internet connection is a bit trickier, but possible nonetheless.

What you do is, say you forwarded all ports necessary for your first ATA. You have ports 5060 and 5061 (and some more, but I'll use these two for the example). In your router, you have a forward rule for ports 5060 and 5061 to internal ip 1.1.1.1

Then for your second ATA adapter, at ip 1.1.1.2, you will do two things:
1) setup a forward rule for the next availble ports: 5062 and 5063 forwarded to ip 1.1.1.2
2) in the configuration the that second ATA, you will need to set it to bind to ports 5062 and 5063, instead of the usual onces.

This way, when ATA #2 registers, it will tell the server to contact it via ports that are forwarded to it.

This will depend, of course, on the ATA used.
i have not tested this info, just collected it.

[faqvideo]

Thank you, I will let you know if the theory works in real life.

[marginal]

Everyone's talking about DD-WRT and no one mentions Tomato ...

[tbrummell]

Everyone's talking about DD-WRT and no one mentions Tomato ...

I run Tomato 1.28, swapped out my Pix 501 for it. Tomato is just so much easier to use then the Pix.

[laurent]

I love Tomato!

[FONGO_kris]

I love Tomato!

Now now, we're not all vegetable people.

Anyways... For the average home user, Tomato is probably your best bet - I've not had much success running it over DD-WRT because my love-affair with Milkfish, but with my spare router at home it really does a nice job.

[tbrummell]

Tomato is technically a fruit.....it has seeds. Just say'in...

[FONGO_kris]

Tomato is technically a fruit.....it has seeds. Just say'in...

I actually edited my post and replaced 'fruit' with 'vegetable' ... seems that it was not a fruitful venture <-- Ha, I'm so punny.

[laurent]

Someone better lock this thread before it degenerates!