sichuan's profile

Teacher

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19 Messages

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014 9:21 PM

ANY ADVANTAGE WITH TWO ROUTERS VS. ONE ROUTER?

OK, here we go. aviewer and julywashere are familiar with my situation because they helped me just a few days ago.

 

I have AT&T Max Turbo Internet, AT&T U-verse Voice and a five line AT&T Mobile Share cell phone plan. I no longer have the U-verse 450 TV service but AT&T allowed me to keep the 3801HGV. I am getting italkbb, which is for Chinese HDTV channels and a VOIP phone, so in effect I will be using two different VOIP phone systems.

 

I simply want to determine if it is better to use the 3801 as my only modem/router connecting my existing AT&T home services AND my italkbb Chinese HDTV/Voip phone service or if I should use a second router, placed after my 3801, to handle the italkbb services alone, which would allow the 3801 to handle the AT&T services, although I realize that everything will ultimately go through the 3801. My concern is twofold; to ensure the best HDTV reception for the italkbb Chinese TV channels and to not overload the 3801HGV to the point where it degrades or interferes with my AT&T Voice service and my Max Turbo Internet speed. You'll have to excuse my ignorance. I know nothing about AT&T's bandwidth, packets or anything else associated with ISP services.

 

I have researched the italkbb services more thoroughly than before and I believe the only equipment I will receive from italkbb will be a Linksys SPA1001 IP box to connect to either my 3801 or a standalone router placed after the 3801. I have been informed by italkbb that the italkbb services will work only with the configured SPA1001 IP box they provide so I can't use something like the Cisco SPA3102 Voice Gateway with Router or the OBi202 VoIP Phone Adapter with Router 2-Phone Ports T.38 Fax but then again, I've seen so many different italkbb instructions and pictures of different italkbb boxes that I can't say for sure. I have asked for clarification but have not received a response as of yet.

 

I'm going to run an Ethernet cable from my 3801 (or the second router) through my crawl space to the HDTV in my living room, appx. forty feet away, or run the Ethernet cable from the 3801 through my crawl space to the second router placed next to the TV, so that I don't have to deal with a wireless signal. If placing the second router next to the TV will not gain me any benefits I will place it near the 3801. If using the second router will not provide me with a better HDTV signal or lessen the load or interference on my 3801 I won't use a second, standalone router at all. I'll simply use the 3801 for everything. I'm going to use a Cat6a Snagless Shielded (SSTP/SFTP) Ethernet cable from the 3801 to my living room. I know it's overkill and I'll be dead and gone long before it benefits me in any manner but I spent some time researching the matter and that's what I've decided to use.

 

If using a second, standalone router will be to my or AT&T's advantage I will do so. Do you have any recommendations for a good, reliable non-wireless router? Cost is not a problem. If there is no advantage then I will continue using only the 3801 I already have.

 

Thank you in advance for your time and any assistance provided.

 

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

Guru

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349 Messages

10 years ago

Basic descriptions (they're not entirely accurate, but are to help you get an idea of what they are.)

STB is Set-Top Box -- the box that deals with converting the internet data into a visual signal for your TV. 

UPnP is Universal Plug and Play -- it's basically a technology that makes other devices on the network aware of it's existence on the network. (In some configurations -- NAT dependency -- it will be able to open and close ports on the network.) 

DMZ+ is Demilitarized Zone (plus) -- it essentially removes your router from your home network and places it in touch with the public internet.

QoS is Quality of Service --in a way, it's a resource reservation system designed to give the user optimal performance. It kind of gives priority to more demanding and sensitive applications (such as gaming and VoIP). 

 

I couldn't find any particularly helpful information on italkbb's website, other than you'll be recieving a VoIP adapter (they don't specify which) and a Set-Top box (ditto). 

Expert

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10.1K Messages

10 years ago

sichuan - The 3801 will carry the fill capacity of your u-verse service. It has four network jacks. You can also distribute throughout the house via COAX/HPNA. The only reason for getting an additional router or switch is if you run out of physical connection points.

I thought you dropped U-verse TV altogether & were using satellite. If you still have any u-verse TV do not mix it on the same cat5 path back to the 3801 with any internet access.


If you need to add network connections, here is a switch that many use - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006RVPW/ref=asc_df_B00006RVPW1644937?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B00006RVPW

 

If you have a router that you want to use, you need to disable the DHCP. Only the 3801 hands out IP addresses. Set up the router as a dumb switch.

Guru

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349 Messages

10 years ago

@aviewer, he dropped TV, he's considering using chinese TV from italkbb (which apparently is IPTV), along with VoIP. It doesn't seem like they have any ports published anywhere, they're website pretty much states "you plug it in and it'll work."

 

@sichuan, It sounds like italkbb's STB and VoIP adapter may rely on UPnP. If this is the case, you would need a third party router in DMZ+ to allow UPnP. However, I can't find any information on whether this is true or not.

Your 3801 will handle all of your U-Verse services. From my understaning, QoS, or a form of, is used to ensure that U-Voice has primary access to U-Verse resources, followed by U-Verse TV, followed by U-Verse Internet. This means that U-Voice will get preference over other U-Verse Data. (The same was true when viewing multiple streams on U-Verse TV, depending on your set-up you would lose about ~6mbps from Internet bandwidth for each HD stream .)

Teacher

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19 Messages

10 years ago

Hey julywashere,

 

LOL. You've really got me now. I don't have a clue what STB, UPnP, DMZ+ or QoS mean. In any event, if you and aviewer tell me that the 3801HGV will handle everything I need without degradation of the Chinese TV channels on my HDTV then I will run everything off the 3801 and forget about getting a standalone router.

 

I did some more research and it seems that the equipment I receive from italkbb may depend on which services I receive from them. It seems that some subscribers use their VOIP telephone services only and that they will receive the Linksys SPA1001 because the instructions say:

 

1. Power off your cable or DSL modem, and router.   
2. Connect the provided Ethernet cable into the port labeled "LAN" on the phone adaptor and connect the other end to an available LAN port of router.   
3. Connect your phone cable into the "Phone " port of the phone adaptor.   
4. Power on your cable or DSL modem first. Wait for 1 to 3 minutes.   
5. Power on the router.   
6. Power on the phone adaptor, wait for about 1 minute.   
7. The phone is ready only light on is the yellow light and you hear a dial tone when picking up your phone set.   

However, there is a different unit mentioned, the Linksys SPA2102, that I believe is for those who subscribe to both the VOIP telephone services and Chinese TV because the instructions say:

 

1. Power off your cable or DSL modem, and router, if you have one.   
2. Connect the provided Ethernet cable into the port labeled "Internet" on the phone adaptor and connect the other end to the LAN port of modem.   
3. Connect your phone cable into the "Phone 1" port of the phone adaptor (not "Phone 2").   
4. Connect "Ethernet" port on the phone adaptor with your home PC's LAN port, or home router's WAN (Internet) port. Power on your cable or DSL modem first. Wait for 3 minutes.
5. Power on the phone adaptor and/or router. If you are DSL customer and need login to access your internet, go to 7.   
6. If you are not a DSL user who needs to set password for your router, after the phone adaptor is connected, it should be ready when the "Phone 1" light in front of the phone adaptor is on. You should hear a dial tone when you pick up your phone set.   
7. Special settings for DSL Customers who need Login to access Internet:   

    1. Connect PC to the "ETHERNET" port on the phone adaptor. Reboot PC.   
    2. Log into the phone adapter by opening an Internet browser, typing http://192.168.7.1:1980 in the     address line then hit Enter on your keyboard, enter user as user name and 1234 as password and click  Login.   
    3. Under WAN Setup tab, select PPPoE in Connection Type under Internet Connection Settings area of the web page Enter the user name and password provided by your internet service provider in the PPPoE Login Name and Login Password fields (this is your Internet login).   
    4. Select the Submit All Changes button to save the settings.   

 

I don't know why they make it so difficult to determine what a subscriber is getting. I'm just going to wait until the equipment arrives, try to hook it up using any instructions included and go from there. It seems to me that I will probably receive the Linksys SPA2102 since I will have both their VOIP phone services and the Chinese TV channels. It seems that the Linksys SPA2102 is both a VOIP phone adapter and a router, which is why you probably mentioned UPnP and DMZ+, which means I'll probably have to get into my 3801 configuration panel and make some changes or additions, which means I will be dragging myself back to this forum for more instructions/answers. If that is indeed the case should I simply ask my questions in this thread or should I start a new thread?

 

Again, I thank you and aviewer for your excellent assistance. I admire and respect both of you for you knowledge and your willingness to assist others in need.

 

EDIT: I can't stop laughing. I just received an email from AT&T that said I received the new rank of "Teacher" due to my contributions to the community. That's funny. Someone needs to do some serious tweaking to AT&T's automated system.

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