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New UPC 100mb Thomson TWG870UIR Router

  • 14-05-2011 10:16pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 13,727 ✭✭✭✭Inquitus


    I have searched this forum and seen alot of people have alot of grief with the Docsis 2.0 combined router / cable modem.

    I am finding it impossible to get this docsis 3.0 version to play nice and just stay in its box and be a cable modem, and let my existing infrastructure do the rest. Is it possible? am I wasting my time? 100Mb is great and all but if you are forced to use an intransigent PoS cable modem router combo that's just being a bollox for the sake of being a bollox.

    Atm my interwebs works fine throughout the house, but no port forwarding will work at all.

    All help gladly received.
    Tagged:


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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Sam the Sham


    This was my fear. I'm afraid that if the Thomson can't be made to act as a simple modem, that's a dealbreaker for me.

    Have you tried logging in as "admin" with a blank password?


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,727 ✭✭✭✭Inquitus


    This was my fear. I'm afraid that if the Thomson can't be made to act as a simple modem, that's a dealbreaker for me.

    Have you tried logging in as "admin" with a blank password?

    I have logged in, am very tech savvy and can't for the life of me make it work as a cable modem alone. :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 413 ✭✭Skittle


    The Thomson doesn't have a bridge mode (ignore what the manual says about the Wireless Bridge functionality). The best you can do is to see what IP address that you current router gets when plugged into the Thomson and then add that IP address as the DMZ IP address on the Thomson and it should pass everything through.

    There is no way you'll be able to get 50Mb or 100Mb broadband from UPC without using the Thomson.


  • Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Sam the Sham


    Skittle wrote: »
    There is no way you'll be able to get 50Mb or 100Mb broadband from UPC without using the Thomson.

    I'll stick with 30Mb then. Does UPC not realise that a big part of the market for high-end broadband will be technically savvy people who will have their own routers they'd like to keep using? At the very least they should pick a router that can be used in bridge mode (or allow this one to be used in that way if it can).


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 413 ✭✭The Left Hand Of God


    I'll stick with 30Mb then. Does UPC not realise that a big part of the market for high-end broadband will be technically savvy people who will have their own routers they'd like to keep using? At the very least they should pick a router that can be used in bridge mode (or allow this one to be used in that way if it can).

    I intend to ask the engineer when here is in my gaff next week if there is a stand alone modem available, no wireless/router etc. That is what I always got before. Have you asked UPC if there is one?

    So far though using that DMZ thing my port forwarding seems to be working fine for the like of uTorrent.


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 18,548 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    I got my 100mb installed on Thursday and have not touched any settings on it and utorrent is flying at up to 8mb/sec, think I'll leave as is if all working well


  • Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Sam the Sham


    slave1 wrote: »
    I got my 100mb installed on Thursday and have not touched any settings on it and utorrent is flying at up to 8mb/sec, think I'll leave as is if all working well

    With all due respect, that's missing the point. There's no reason general internet use shouldn't be grand with the new modem/router even if you have your own router, since all it's adding is an extra hop. But for any actual routing (NAT or QoS setups), having two routers is not ideal. It complicates setup.

    For example, I have an Airport Extreme router with several hard drives attached to it that function as NAS drives. I need to be able to get to mount these drives when I'm at work or abroad. With Back-to-my-mac, I can do that very reliably. If I have another router between the Airport Extreme and the internet, I have no confidence that this will still be possible or, if it is, reliable.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 18,548 Mod ✭✭✭✭slave1


    I was replying directly to The Left Hand Of God's utorrent comment, not a general comment;)


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    i'm actually having the same issues. at first i thought i was doing okay as everything seemed to work fine, but i hadn't looked at the port forwards to my NAS etc. and they're not working since i got the thompson in.

    i have my router in the dmz of the thompson, but they still aren't working at all.

    i even tried a blanket port forward for everything directly to the dmz host, but that made no difference either.

    if i have to manually replicate every port forward on both routers every time i want to set one up it's going to be a major PITA, even if it actually works. :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Sam the Sham


    One thing I'd like to see clarified:

    Is it that the Thomson cannot be made to function as a mere modem (i.e., in bridge mode) or is it that UPC has disabled that capability?

    Also, can someone explain why we can't buy our own docsis 3.0 modems?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,727 ✭✭✭✭Inquitus


    How are people setting this up? Atm I have internet at all PCs, PS3s etc, but no ability to access stuff from the web as the port forwarding is FUBAR, and I can't stream from my PC to my PS3 using PS3 media server.

    Do you have DHCP on on the Thompson?
    What local IP etc do you assign to the Thompson?

    Atm I have my netgear doing DHCP on a 192.168.1.2-xxxx range with its own ip as 192.168.1.1

    The Thompson is on 192.168.11.7 set manually

    If I try to put the Thompson in the 192.168.1.xxx range I get no internets and obv I can only set my netgear to be on the DMZ if they are both in the same ip range.

    Doing my head in tbh.

    Inq


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    Heres a small tut that I wrote about this a few months ago. This should sort you out. :)

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=71665694&postcount=452

    -Mick.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,031 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    roast wrote: »
    Heres a small tut that I wrote about this a few months ago. This should sort you out. :)

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=71665694&postcount=452

    -Mick.
    Does doing that still let you use the phone service?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    Does doing that still let you use the phone service?

    I don't have the phone service myself, but from other reports, I believe that the phone service works fine.
    I'll be getting a phone next week.... so I can confirm then.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,031 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Please do. I might look into getting the 50Mb or 100Mb during the summer but I'd need the phone working and I spent a lot of money on my router so I don't want to get rid of it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    Please do. I might look into getting the 50Mb or 100Mb during the summer but I'd need the phone working and I spent a lot of money on my router so I don't want to get rid of it.

    Will do. :)
    While I can't say for definite, I don't see how the phone wouldn't work with the Thomson modem. DMZ mode is a very different type of config as opposed to the bridge mode on the previous Cisco EPC2425. It doesn't actually limit any functions on the Thomson - it merely allows port forwarding rules to be managed by another device (router). The phone should work fine.

    I must also say, the Thomson router is pretty damn good. I've had little or no issues since the teething problems I had initially, a few months ago. the Cisco would always randomly reset itself.... throwing out all my config settings. The Thomson however, has never done that, and is happily plodding away with my TP-Link router managing all the traffic and forwarding rules. Happy days.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    Hi Mick.

    that's pretty much exactly how i've got mine set up, but my port forwarding rules aren't working at all.

    can you confirm that yours definitely are?

    i.e. that you can browse to your external IP / dyndns hostname from any internet connection outside of your own and access stuff on your LAN behind your router via port forwards set up on that router alone, not on the thompson?

    also if it helps, i can confirm 100% that the phone works fine with it set up like this. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    vibe666 wrote: »
    Hi Mick.

    that's pretty much exactly how i've got mine set up, but my port forwarding rules aren't working at all.

    can you confirm that yours definitely are?

    i.e. that you can browse to your external IP / dyndns hostname from any internet connection outside of your own and access stuff on your LAN behind your router via port forwards set up on that router alone, not on the thompson?

    also if it helps, i can confirm 100% that the phone works fine with it set up like this. :)

    Smashing info about the phone Vibe, good to know!

    Yes indeed, all my forwarding rules are working perfectly fine.
    I had a dyndns account which I used to set up a webpage running from my own PC here - which worked perfectly fine. The only reason its not running anymore is due to a fault with the server machine that it was set up on.
    The other current forwarding rule which is always on, and always accessible is a simple Unreal Tournament game server - which is working perfectly, and viewable from Gamespys master list also. To confirm (if you have the game installed) feel free to PM me for the IP address of the server.

    EDIT: What router are you using?


  • Registered Users Posts: 45 arden


    Has anyone been able to log on remotely to this router via the wan? I've set it up, get the login prompt, but the login details I use when on the lan don't work, is there something I'm missing or another option needs to be set?

    I ran UPC about this a while ago, needless to say they hadn't got a clue about what I was on about, I was promised a call back which never came!


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    good to know, i think i'll take another look at my config then, maybe i missed something.

    until recently (i.e. when i knew for sure when the 100mbps was actually coming out), i've been using a linksys wrt54gs (directly connected to a gigabit switch with ethernet running outside to the upstairs computer room where there is another gb switch) running the tomato firmware for the last couple of years, but although it's served me well, i knew it wouldn't be up to the task of fully utilising the 100mbps and as i didn't want to lose my bandwidth monitoring and other great features of tomato, i had to find something to take it's place that would fit the bill.

    so i'm now running a linksys e3000 (full 2.4ghz & 5hz dual band + gigabit ethernet) with a modified version of tomato v1.28 with a few extra features and it's been great so far, until i had my port forwarding issues with the new router.

    it meant i could remove one of the switches from the equation and still keep gigabit speeds throughout my LAN, although I'd be a lot happier with a nice dinky little standalone docsis3 modem rather than the ruddy great surfboard of a thing that the thompson router is. seriously, could it BE any bigger??? :eek:

    thing is, when all is said and done, with the way it's set up now i was working from home via vpn all day (and night:() yesterday doing some quite intensive work and at the same time, another PC was torrenting at 30mbps and at one point my wife was on a skype video call to a friend in tenerife and you really couldn't tell that anything was going on on the network at all. :D

    so it's a pretty minor issue that i have really. :)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    vibe666 wrote: »
    good to know, i think i'll take another look at my config then, maybe i missed something.

    until recently (i.e. when i knew for sure when the 100mbps was actually coming out), i've been using a linksys wrt54gs (directly connected to a gigabit switch with ethernet running outside to the upstairs computer room where there is another gb switch) running the tomato firmware for the last couple of years, but although it's served me well, i knew it wouldn't be up to the task of fully utilising the 100mbps and as i didn't want to lose my bandwidth monitoring and other great features of tomato, i had to find something to take it's place that would fit the bill.

    so i'm now running a linksys e3000 (full 2.4ghz & 5hz dual band + gigabit ethernet) with a modified version of tomato v1.28 with a few extra features and it's been great so far, until i had my port forwarding issues with the new router.

    it meant i could remove one of the switches from the equation and still keep gigabit speeds throughout my LAN, although I'd be a lot happier with a nice dinky little standalone docsis3 modem rather than the ruddy great surfboard of a thing that the thompson router is. seriously, could it BE any bigger??? :eek:

    thing is, when all is said and done, with the way it's set up now i was working from home via vpn all day (and night:() yesterday doing some quite intensive work and at the same time, another PC was torrenting at 30mbps and at one point my wife was on a skype video call to a friend in tenerife and you really couldn't tell that anything was going on on the network at all. :D

    so it's a pretty minor issue that i have really. :)


    A fairly similar set up to my own actually! :p With the exception of the Tomato firmware. I'm planning on buying two (more) of the TP-Link router I have, and install Tomato on one, and DD-WRT on the other, and keep the original at stock. Just for testing and messing about with really. What modded version of v1.28 are you using? :)

    Totally agree on the size of the modem - I didn't want it tbh. Cisco have some lovely dinky DOCSIS3 modems which have pretty much the same features as the thomson, but still the same size as the Cisco SA2203. UPC NL supply them to customers who don't require wireless, but UPC Ireland dont. :( Ah well. I'll have to get over it.

    Check out your config again. Feel free to PM if ya need anything, but I'm sure you'll get it sorted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Sam the Sham


    roast wrote: »
    UPC NL supply them to customers who don't require wireless, but UPC Ireland dont. :( Ah well. I'll have to get over it.

    The question is: why don't they? There is clearly demand for it. Some people have invested quite a lot in their own LAN hardware and don't want UPC screwing it up with third-rate equipment that can't be configured properly.

    In the past, UPC offered the Cisco (POS) combined modem/router but also a Scientific Atlanta modem only for those who wanted it. It's what I have on my line right now. I'd like to go to 100Mb, but I'm not prepared to put another router I don't need on my LAN.

    Also, can someone explain why we can't buy our own modems and install them?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,320 ✭✭✭roast


    The question is: why don't they? There is clearly demand for it. Some people have invested quite a lot in their own LAN hardware and don't want UPC screwing it up with third-rate equipment that can't be configured properly.

    In the past, UPC offered the Cisco (POS) combined modem/router but also a Scientific Atlanta modem only for those who wanted it. It's what I have on my line right now. I'd like to go to 100Mb, but I'm not prepared to put another router I don't need on my LAN.

    Also, can someone explain why we can't buy our own modems and install them?

    There is a very small demand for just ethernet modems, such as you and me. But most consumers wouldn't require them. Its extra cost for UPC to maintain more contracts to supply a small number of non-wifi modems.
    Compare the number of people who don't want a Wifi modem to the number of subscribers that UPC have - its very small. And miniscule compared to UPC's network in the Netherlands, whose infrastructure is far greater - thus allowing extra options for modems.


    UPC (normally*) don't allow customers to use their own modems due to issues with support. UPC don't want to have to deal with the extra hassle of denying support (or providing limited support) to customers who have issues with LAN configuration of their own devices - which I believe is fair enough.

    Anyway - the Thomson works fine. Check my post above for further info on using your own router with the Thomson, by using the DMZ mode. Of course, its not ideal for some, but its not too much hassle to switch the settings, and is perfectly stable once done.


    *Saying that, when I had issues with the EPC2425, I requested UPC to provision my own modem on the network, to bypass the hassle and cost involved with replacing my faulty modem. They did it, and I had no further issues.

    Apologies if I'm not explaining my points very well. Haven't slept in about 2 days. I'll check back again later. :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭Sam the Sham


    roast wrote: »
    *Saying that, when I had issues with the EPC2425, I requested UPC to provision my own modem on the network, to bypass the hassle and cost involved with replacing my faulty modem. They did it, and I had no further issues.

    I'd be interested to hear what magic words :) you said to them. Cable modems are relatively cheap. I'd sign up to their 100Mb service and an extra 12 months in a heartbeat if I could have my own modem on the line.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    roast wrote: »
    What modded version of v1.28 are you using? :)
    its the E3000 VPN build of tomatoUSB, there's some great features of it and once i pointed the new router to the bandwidth logs from my old router that i have saved on my NAS, it uses them as if it generated them itself, so i still have all my old usage logs going back to 2009. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 450 ✭✭beanian


    has anyone tried to max out their 100mb connection using a usenet provider? I'm on astraweb and my speed varies from 40-55mb.
    Astraweb claim they can max out a 100mb connection and I have seen this confirmed by users.
    My speedtest always range from 100-124mb so it's not an issue with UPC.
    I'm beginning to suspect it's something with the modem.
    I was previously on a 30mb line and i got a solid 30mb from astraweb 24/7.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,016 ✭✭✭✭vibe666


    beanian wrote: »
    has anyone tried to max out their 100mb connection using a usenet provider? I'm on astraweb and my speed varies from 40-55mb.
    Astraweb claim they can max out a 100mb connection and I have seen this confirmed by users.
    i'd be happy to test it for you if you want to hand over your login details! :p

    on the plus side, i just checked my dyndns url for my NAS & router and they both seem to be working now, so it appears to have sorted itself out. maybe it just took time to update the routing table or something like that.

    all sorted anyway, so i can confirm that the instructions in roast's guide do indeed work (not sure why there was a delay with mine) to give you (more or less) the same results as the old bridge mode in the cisco epc2425, BUT that the phone ports still work.


  • Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭losttheplot


    I just signed up for the 100mb broadband but my laptop is only b/g. I cant confirm if the Thompson TWG870 comes with a wireless usb 'n' adapter or not. A page on the UPC site says UPC supply one

    http://support.upc.ie/app/answers/detail/a_id/266/~/top-wireless-speeds-on-100mb

    But the person I spoke to at UPC said I would have to purchase an adapter separately.

    Can anyone confirm the situation? Thanks


  • Registered Users Posts: 450 ✭✭beanian


    I can confirm the router does come with a USB wireless N adapter ;)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,727 ✭✭✭✭Inquitus


    I just signed up for the 100mb broadband but my laptop is only b/g. I cant confirm if the Thompson TWG870 comes with a wireless usb 'n' adapter or not. A page on the UPC site says UPC supply one

    http://support.upc.ie/app/answers/detail/a_id/266/~/top-wireless-speeds-on-100mb

    But the person I spoke to at UPC said I would have to purchase an adapter separately.

    Can anyone confirm the situation? Thanks

    The router is backwards compatible with a/b/g as well as n. It also comes with one USB dongle and driver CD.

    Inq


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