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Fiber internet and routers

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by danrok, Jan 7, 2015.

  1. danrok

    danrok Administrator Staff Member

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    Anyone familiar with this?

    I now have FTTH, but the free router is a Technicolour tg582n and the Wi-Fi is fairly crap.

    I could install ethernet cables in the house, or buy a better router.

    Will any ethernet router work?
  2. ThunderRd

    ThunderRd Irreverent Query Chairman Staff Member

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    One of my shops has a fiber entry into the building. The FO cable goes into some kind of black box, a fiber optic converter, and from there into a standard router.

    I'm guessing if I had a proper FO-capable router I would just bypass the converter.
  3. danrok

    danrok Administrator Staff Member

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    Well, where I live they're replacing the entire copper network phone system with fiber optics.

    They came and installed the ONT box in the house, which is where the fiber terminates. The ONT box has an ethernet port for Internet. There is no manual for this box.

    My ISP sent me a free cheap router, but the wifi is pretty hopeless on that.

    I'm now certain that any router with a WAN port will work.

    Even the tech guy at my ISP said make sure it's a fiber router, which is nonsense. The router doesn't need to "know" anything about fiber optics. Not sure that there are any consumer routers which have fiber connections.

    I could have my connection upgraded to a gigabit connection, but I don't really need it, and it would mean having to fit ethernet cables around the house to actually get close to 1000Mbs.
  4. Gizmo

    Gizmo Chief Site Administrator Staff Member

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    I've always used an external router hooked up to my ISP's modem/router, because I don't trust their security. In fact, I had a conversation with AT&T once several years ago. I was having trouble with my DSL Internet. AT&T sent a tech out. Our conversation went something like this:

    "You know your TOS doesn't allow you to have a router connected to our modem, right?"

    "Yes, but I don't trust your security measures."

    "But you aren't allowed to have a router connected to our modem"

    "Fine. Disconnect your modem and take it back, and I'll get cable. There's no way I'm hooking my computer directly to your modem without a firewall between them."

    That pretty much ended that conversation. The modems and routers they use now all have basic firewalls built into them, but everyone I've looked at either had a crap firewall or crap wifi, or both, so I still use an external router of my own. Right now I'm using an Asus router running dd-wrt.
  5. danrok

    danrok Administrator Staff Member

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    Yup, their idea of security is pretty poor.

    The router sent to me by the ISP is completely preconfigured including my username and password for the Internet. So, just a case of plug it in.

    There is no admin password by default, and the router config is accessible over wi-fi.

    The default wi-fi password is printed on a sticker under the router.

    So, any visitor to the house only has to look at that sticker, and could then have admin access to my network and data from outside the house.

    Obviously I have changed all these passwords, etc. but many people won't, and won't even realise that they should do so.
  6. Aryvandaar

    Aryvandaar Active Member

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    You should get a Mikrotik ruter. :D

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