"Absurd process to make NAT router work with modem (I will explain below)"

I've been using AT&T DSL service for about five years. The 1.5Mbps connection was good but the price was about $30.00 per month. I searched around for something cheaper and through Leo Laporte's website I found a link to DSL Extreme.

They were offering 3.0Mbps DSL service for $14.95 per month on a one year contract. Faster and cheaper. I signed up online and exactly three working days later the modem was delivered and the service was switched from AT&T to DSL Extreme. My total downtime with no connection was about two hours.

The modem that was shipped is a D-Link DSL-2320B. I plugged it in, connected it to the PC ethernet card, did 'ipconfig /renew' and I was connected. Very easy.

Then I tried to set up my Linksys-BEFSR41 NAT router with the modem and the hassle began.

Before the modem arrived I contacted DSL Extreme support via their online chat function and asked which modem would be delivered so I could research how to set it up ahead of time. They had no idea which modem would ship to me. No big deal I thought, a modem is a modem right?

Turns out the modem is set to 'bridge' mode which makes it just a straight DHCP connection without PPoE configuration. My thinking was that the modem would give an IP address to the router and the router would give an IP address to the computer like it worked before with my AT&T connection with a Speedstream modem. Standard setup right?

About five hours later I still couldn't make it work. I was baffled and frustrated. The router just wouldn't get an address from the modem. I contacted DSL Extreme support via chat again and they told me to contact the modem manufacturer or the router manufacturer for support! Wow. It's not like NAT routers are some kind of new, exotic hardware that an ISP support center should have trouble helping with.

I searched the web for help and discovered a post here on DSL Reports from 2008 where someone had the same problem and a general manager from DSL Extreme responded to them telling them how to set up their router with the bridged modem.

» Any special steps required use router w/ DSL Extreme modem?

Here is how you set up your NAT router to work with DSL Extreme and a bridged modem:
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Login to their site with your new ID and password. Click on the "Members" button. Under "Account Services" click on "Manage IP Addresses" Request a second IP address.

What is a better router? Linksys or D-Link? [linksys befsr41 ...

Q: The 4-port Dlink is $ 30 after rebate this week at BB, but I was under the impression that the Linksys is better. I currently have a Netgear rt314 and hate when it seems random dropping HTTP packets, I am often to reset the router several times a day. Moreover, it seems that the Dlink print server, a feature that would be nice is. Does the Linksys have this too? Im looking for the Linksys BEFSR41 and Dlink DL704P. I am curious what router performs better, and especially if features such as DMZ and MAC address spoofing. I play many games and file-sharing do, so I think a DMZ is crucial. My Netgear does not have this, and it is very difficult to get a good connection with most P2P software. Re:Another vote for Linksys here. I have a BEFSR41 as well, and have had nothing but good things to say about it. I also use same model in clients' homes, and have had good luck with their wireless products as well. A long time ago I bought some generic router,(didn't have a generic price), and immediately after installing it I had 3-5% PL on game servers I frequent. Took it out, went back to ICS…no packet loss. ROFL

-guy Re:<< Have you upgraded to the latest firmware? Honestly, if Netgear routers exhibited this problem, a lot of customers would be in an uproar. So either the problem is fixed by newer firmware, it is extremely obscure/rare, or it's not the router's fault. >>

I and many other RT314 users have experienced the exact same problems and the problem is niether obscure ore rare but Netgear refuses to admit that their product might have a problem. I have spent a few hours on tech support calls with Netgear and the problem still persisted. I have upgraded to the latest firmware and that was not the solution. The RT 314 made surfing the NET a painful experience with constant dropouts and lockups. I finally solved the problem by replacing the RT 314 with a DI-704 and for the last month my network and internet experience has been a pure pleasure. On Tuesday I replaced the DI-704 with a DI-704P and the print server function is great and this router looks alot better in my rack since the cables now exit the back.

Someday when I have some time I will play with the Netgear some more and continue to hound their tech support until this problem is solved or they send me a new unit, the only problem is that the D-Link routers work so well and are easy to setup that I am having a hard time getting motivated to plug that Netgear piece of crap back in to my network. Re:<< the port forwarding feature doesn't seem to make any difference, and either way, it still drops packets.

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