Upgrading to Fiber tuesday, Router questions, etc.

[Ddm5]

Currently upgrading to a large fiber package in the U.k on tuesday now, around 65-75 Down and 20Ish up, router has been provided but I was thinking to myself, would it be beneficial upgrading to a better router such as the ASUS line of routers?, bearing in mind I'm not exactly great with routers / connections per say.

[_ASSASSIN_]

not sure about asus, but a router upgrade would definitely help when it comes to those speeds

[Ddm5]

not sure about asus, but a router upgrade would definitely help when it comes to those speeds

I was merely throwing that in there, just wondering what the gains would be over a provided router from the ISP.

[_ASSASSIN_]

I was merely throwing that in there, just wondering what the gains would be over a provided router from the ISP.

don't get those speeds, I wouldn't know :L

[tp95112]

Really hard to know because some Ips give pretty nice routers and some dont

[Ddm5]

don't get those speeds, I wouldn't know :L

I'll be watching the speeds throughout the week so don't worry. 

 

Really hard to know because some Ips give pretty nice routers and some dont

OEM for the current ISP with is Huawei, seems decent enough but I'm not entirely sure. 

[Judahnator]

Make sure you know the different types of fiber, and the different standards.

 

If you know much about all that, get something from Cisco. Even their older stuff is good. I have used Cisco routers and switches all my life, and i have nothing to complain about.

[Ddm5]

Make sure you know the different types of fiber, and the different standards.

 

If you know much about all that, get something from Cisco. Even their older stuff is good. I have used Cisco routers and switches all my life, and i have nothing to complain about.

Not entirely sure about the standard of the said fiber I'll be recieving, can you elaborate?

[Judahnator]

Not entirely sure about the standard of the said fiber I'll be recieving, can you elaborate?

 

There are different "Standards" in fiber data transmission. Two common ones are SX and LX (short and long waves), and multi-mode vs single-mode.

 

Give these a read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabit_Ethernet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_physical_layer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber-optic_communication

 

Long story short, figure out which of the varieties (listed in first link) your ISP provides, and make sure your router supports it

[rufee]

He doesn't need to worry about wavelengths and getting his own SFP/Converter. If you are getting FTTH (Fiber to the home) where you get fiber right where you live the ISP 99% of the time will provide a fiber -> ethernet converter (something like http://salestores.com/stores/images/images_747/TFC2000S20.jpg just in a more pretty box) there is an off chance that they will give you a router that has an SFP slot and a module, then provide us the model of the router. In any other FTTx instance you will get a normal ethernet cable to plug into your existing router or do as you see fit.

[tom564]

Make sure you know the different types of fiber, and the different standards.

 

If you know much about all that, get something from Cisco. Even their older stuff is good. I have used Cisco routers and switches all my life, and i have nothing to complain about.

I would't get cisco routers and switches for home use, you would be much better off with a high end home router. And the different standards are irrelevant as it sounds like it is sky or BT and they only offer FTTC. 

 

You may have to keep the ISP supplied router and place it in modem mode as some ISP's lock the authentication information into the firmware. 

[Alibaladin]

I'll be watching the speeds throughout the week so don't worry. 

 

OEM for the current ISP with is Huawei, seems decent enough but I'm not entirely sure. 

I used Huawei router before. Its a piece of shyt. After I upgraded my internet, my ISP changed the router to Asus. Working in perfect condition. Just remember to use good Ethernet cable.

[LAwLz]

Don't listen to Judahnator. You don't need to read about gigabit Ethernet (even FastEthernet is enough to not bottleneck him, and he doesn't need to know about the history or the different version either), he won't need to know about layer 1 stuff nor does he need to know what kind of cables the ISP uses or how they work. Like rufee said, you will most likely just get a regular Ethernet port somewhere in your house and you plug in your router into that. That's it.

 

OP it's pretty hard to recommend a router without knowing what you already have. If you use wired connections then chances are you won't get any benefit from upgrading your router. If you want good wireless and the router the ISP provides you with has crappy wireless then you might benefit from a new one, but again it's hard to recommend anything without knowing what you already got.

[Ddm5]

Don't listen to Judahnator. You don't need to read about gigabit Ethernet (even FastEthernet is enough to not bottleneck him, and he doesn't need to know about the history or the different version either), he won't need to know about layer 1 stuff nor does he need to know what kind of cables the ISP uses or how they work. Like rufee said, you will most likely just get a regular Ethernet port somewhere in your house and you plug in your router into that. That's it.

 

OP it's pretty hard to recommend a router without knowing what you already have. If you use wired connections then chances are you won't get any benefit from upgrading your router. If you want good wireless and the router the ISP provides you with has crappy wireless then you might benefit from a new one, but again it's hard to recommend anything without knowing what you already got.

Fair enough then, the only thing that has semi confused me is the fact that the router comes with a fiber in, I may or may not sound like a bellend but since I've never dealt with fiber I have no idea, and this is coming from a 6/0.8 connection, around 2 things will be used max with maybe 4 things, even then the distance between said router and the devices (Mostly tablets and 1 laptop) will be in the region of 5M's, back on point, most of the time I'll be using the connection directly to my PC through the hole in the walls, through the living room, out the outside wall, up the wall and through into my bedroom using a 20M-30M cable, the cable is old so I'm not entirely sure if if it will make a difference, and I shall provide specific router here: Huawei HG533.

[tom564]

Fair enough then, the only thing that has semi confused me is the fact that the router comes with a fiber in, I may or may not sound like a bellend but since I've never dealt with fiber I have no idea, and this is coming from a 6/0.8 connection, around 2 things will be used max with maybe 4 things, even then the distance between said router and the devices (Mostly tablets and 1 laptop) will be in the region of 5M's, back on point, most of the time I'll be using the connection directly to my PC through the hole in the walls, through the living room, out the outside wall, up the wall and through into my bedroom using a 20M-30M cable, the cable is old so I'm not entirely sure if if it will make a difference, and I shall provide specific router here: Huawei HG533.

That router does  not look like it has fibre in, What ISP are you using? 

[Ddm5]

That router does  not look like it has fibre in, What ISP are you using? 

[sperkowsky]

just use a lan cable.

 

 

But if you really need to use a router, an upgrade is never a bad thing

[tom564]

Ahh, none of those connectors are specifically for fibre so you don't need to worry, you should be able to just plug in the cable they give you to most routers and it work. 

[SOUTHwarrior]

Make sure you know the different types of fiber, and the different standards.

 

If you know much about all that, get something from Cisco. Even their older stuff is good. I have used Cisco routers and switches all my life, and i have nothing to complain about.

Cisco is great... Just cost is a killer when it comes to enterprise equipment.

[tom564]

Cisco is great... Just cost is a killer when it comes to enterprise equipment.

You don't want to be working with Cisco stuff when it comes to home use, not only because of the cost but they are a pain to configure sometimes and most of the features are useless in a home environment. 

[SOUTHwarrior]

You don't want to be working with Cisco stuff when it comes to home use, not only because of the cost but they are a pain to configure sometimes and most of the features are useless in a home environment. 

Are you kidding? Cisco stuff is a dream to configure. Just as long as you know your CLI and a bit of networking its a breeze. Cisco does produce home wifi routers, so I dont see the problem when using them with home.

[tom564]

Are you kidding? Cisco stuff is a dream to configure. Just as long as you know your CLI and a bit of networking its a breeze. Cisco does produce home wifi routers, so I dont see the problem when using them with home.

I think you may be thinking of linksys that used to be owned by cisco that produced home routers, the average home user will have trouble properly configuring a cisco router as many of them screw up the GUI config. 

[SOUTHwarrior]

I think you may be thinking of linksys that used to be owned by cisco that produced home routers, the average home user will have trouble properly configuring a cisco router as many of them screw up the GUI config. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833150130&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Firewalls+%2f+Security+Appliances-_-N82E16833150130&gclid=CLCkqpCOz7oCFWho7Aod7FwAww

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/cisco-srp521w-wireless-router-54mbps/233063525.html?listingId=285740693

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Cisco-WRVS4400N-Wireless-Security-Router-Refurbished-IEEE-802.11n/7457462/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&ef_id=Um2ptAAAAJvqeWVM:20131106022853:s

Nope cisco makes their own home routers too.

[LAwLz]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833150130&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Firewalls+%2f+Security+Appliances-_-N82E16833150130&gclid=CLCkqpCOz7oCFWho7Aod7FwAww

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/cisco-srp521w-wireless-router-54mbps/233063525.html?listingId=285740693

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Cisco-WRVS4400N-Wireless-Security-Router-Refurbished-IEEE-802.11n/7457462/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&ef_id=Um2ptAAAAJvqeWVM:20131106022853:s

Nope cisco makes their own home routers too.

Those are all really really bad for home usage at those prices. It makes absolutely no sense to but any of those.