What QoS modem router for BeThere?

[MarcLister]

Hi all. Wanting to move from BT Broadband to BeThere. Normally I'd get the Netgear DG834N modem router but I share my connection with my little brother and because he games online frequently we'd need a modem router with QoS so we can both happily co-exist.

So can anyone suggest a good, reliable and sub £100 modem router with QoS? Or if not how else could we get QoS on a broadband connection with say the DG834N?

[MadduckUK]

DG834N RangeMax NEXT ADSL2+ Modem Router
Firmware Version 1.02.08

Added support for Wi-Fi Multimedia Quality of Service (WMM QoS) to prioritize wireless voice and video traffic. WMM QoS is a feature that provides prioritization of wireless data packets from different applications based on four access categories: voice, video, best effort, and background. For an application to receive the benefits of WMM QoS, both it and the client running that application must be WMM-enabled. Legacy applications that do not support WMM, and applications that do not require QoS, are assigned to the best-effort category, which receives a lower priority than voice and video. WMM QoS is enabled automatically.

that what your after?

[MarcLister]

Hi MadduckUK. Thanks for replying.

I saw that but as I understand it that would be wireless. My brother won't accept this as he's in the basement room and I'm on the first floor of an old house with thick walls. We have a CAT5 cable running from my room down the stairs, through the dining room and down the stairs to his basement room.

So I don't think WMM QoS would be enough, he certainly wouldn't want to test it out as he's mega, mega sensitive about pings and only super duper equipment that reduces his ping from 10-15 to 0-1 is allowed to be bought.

We do use a DG834PN atm and use its wireless stuff for a laptop but that is mainly my Mum surfing for her work stuff.

[MadduckUK]

how is this going to work? him on a wire, all the rest on wireless?

[MarcLister]

The router/modem would be in my room and I'd be connected by a CAT5 cable. He'd be on a CAT5 cable as well and then we would need wireless for the laptop yes.

[MadduckUK]

riiight.. god, lol. this is going to be a hack job.

forget the 834n, save yourself some money and get an 834gt.
so you now have an 834gt connected to the internet. turn its WIFI off.

into that plug: ZyXEL ES-105A 5 Port 10/100 Switch with QoS
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

plug his comp into one of the QoS ports, and the other QoS port into your 834gt.

plug 834pn into normal ethernet port on ZyXEL, disable DHCP on 834pn so it is assigned by 834gt. its now basically an access point that is going through the QoS capable ZyXEL.

plug your comp into normal ethernet port..

hmm..

so you end up with QOS, fastest BeThere connection possible, reuse the old kit.. tada!

if someone could confirm this would actually work? i think it would but y'know.. messy

[smargh]

Put m0n0wall on a CF card on any old PC with three network cards, placed inbetween the clients (including the access point) and the DSL router. I use it on the equivalent of probably a P150 (Lex Light VIA-based book PC) with about 2% CPU usage.

Works great.

[MarcLister]

Lol I've had to read that several times and still not entirely sure.

So the new DG834GT connects to the Internet? Turn WiFi off on that.

The CAT5 cable from my brother's PC goes into the Zyxel QoS switch. The Zyxel switch and DG834GT are connected via another QoS port?

Then I plug the DG834PN we have now into a normal Ethernet port on the Zyxel switch and disable its DHCP?

[MadduckUK]

yes

[MarcLister]

Put m0n0wall on a CF card on any old PC with three network cards, placed inbetween the clients (including the access point) and the DSL router. I use it on the equivalent of probably a P150 (Lex Light VIA-based book PC) with about 2% CPU usage.

Works great.

Guessing m0n0wall is some kind of Linux build? And a CompactFlash card? Could you perhaps explain a little more? I have some spare components that I'm planning to build into a spare PC to run Ubuntu to experience Linux and perhaps also Mythbuntu to show TV from a 2nd Virgin Media box I want to get in my room so I can watch TV up here without forcing Mum to watch what I want to watch. So could I run m0n0wall at the same time?

yes

Ta muchly. Is there absolutely no other way of doing this?

Do we need QoS on the modem router itself or just on the switches? I don't entirely understand what we'd need QoS applying to, traffic from the Internet and out or just internal network data?

[MadduckUK]

like that basically

you cannot QoS web traffic, only internal network traffic - so as long as all sources of data on the network pass through the QoS box on the way to the router that will be fine

[MarcLister]

Lovely thanks. The pic helps.

Does the DG834GT have Annexe.M? I think I'd need that for the Upload+ on BeThere.

[MadduckUK]

Does the DG834GT have Annexe.M? I think I'd need that for the Upload+ on BeThere.

fussy bugger

DG834GT Super Wireless ADSL Router Firmware Version 1.02.14

yep latest firmware adds it

[MarcLister]

fussy bugger

DG834GT Super Wireless ADSL Router Firmware Version 1.02.14

yep latest firmware adds it

Excellente.

[MarcLister]

I've been doing some research and I've worked out that I could buy a Linksys AM200 ethernet modem for about £25 and connect it to a Linksys WRT54GL for about £45 and use the Tomato firmware to get QoS.

Would cost me about £70 I think. All I need to be sure is that the AM200 has Annexe.M for Be's Upload+ service. However the AM200 spec pdf on the Linksys UK doesn't exist it seems and I can't even find a mention of the AM200 on the Linksys US site at all. So I've no idea if the AM200 has Annexe.M at all.

[Carnagerover]

Hi,

I had the Linksys AM200, officially it only supports A and B although the chipset is apparently capable of annex m, however some have suggested that putting the router into multimode would work, but i wouldn't take this as gospel and would confirm the Annex M with Linksys first.