Will an Eircom router work with UPC?

WYSIWYG · 06-03-2012 1:40pm #1

I'm ordering UPC TV and Broadband in my apartment and I was wondering if an Eircom router (1 year old) that my friend gave me would work with UPC? The UPC router costs 51 euros, I know it's not much but just thought it worth looking into seeing as I have the Eircom router already. Any help advice greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Nothingbetter2d · 06-03-2012 1:48pm

no UPC routers are cable not dsl

Eircom uses adsl.

order at least 25mb/s & use the free upc router they give ya.

WYSIWYG · 06-03-2012 1:51pm

I'll just get the UPC router then

Thanks a mill for your help.

lucernarian · 06-03-2012 5:15pm

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

no UPC routers are cable not dsl

Eircom uses adsl.

order at least 25mb/s & use the free upc router they give ya.

DSL routers can also work as cable routers nowadays so do check your facts on this before recommending more expensive or needless options. So long as the UPC modem or device can assign IP addresses, it should work fine if a cable's plugged in from the modem to an ethernet port of the eircom router. In the case of the Zyxels eircom use, they all have an "ethernet WAN" setting where the UPC modem is plugged into ethernet port 1 and that's pretty much all that needs to be done.

Netopia 2247s (the silver modem) have that option in firmware upgrades and older firmwares can be made to work with cable/other modems with ethernet if the DCHP server is turned off the Netopia. However that means the modem must also have some "gateway" or routing function and devices like the scientific atlanta 2203 modem won't work in that case.

coylemj · 06-03-2012 8:04pm

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

DSL routers can also work as cable routers nowadays so do check your facts on this before recommending more expensive or needless options. So long as the UPC modem or device can assign IP addresses, it should work fine if a cable's plugged in from the modem to an ethernet port of the eircom router. In the case of the Zyxels eircom use, they all have an "ethernet WAN" setting where the UPC modem is plugged into ethernet port 1 and that's pretty much all that needs to be done.

Netopia 2247s (the silver modem) have that option in firmware upgrades and older firmwares can be made to work with cable/other modems with ethernet if the DCHP server is turned off the Netopia. However that means the modem must also have some "gateway" or routing function and devices like the scientific atlanta 2203 modem won't work in that case.

So are you saying the OP doesn't need a UPC router? You refer several times above to a 'modem' and a 'UPC modem' - where is the OP supposed to get this box if he to avoid 'more expensive or needless options'?

lucernarian · 06-03-2012 8:13pm

coylemj wrote: »

So are you saying the OP doesn't need a UPC router? You refer several times above to a 'modem' and a 'UPC modem' - where is the OP supposed to get this box if he to avoid 'more expensive or needless options'?

Yes, I am saying that, depending on what eircom modem he or she has. If you order the entry level broadband from UPC then a wifi router is optional and costs the extra €50. Otherwise you get a the EPC2203 I think. I.e. rather than going to the 25 Meg bundle which is more expensive just to get an included router, I got 20Mbs and the basic phone package and then used a leftover Zyxel wireless router with it. Set to Ethernet WAN, not G.dmt WAN.

johnciall · 07-03-2012 3:21am

To Be confirmed
I hate to be a complete pedant [kinda] your mostly right but not quite,

Any DSL router is capable of what your discribing you just need to disable the DHCP on it, However it's no longer working as a router it becomes a Switch with a wireless AP

mark17j · 07-03-2012 10:15am

just use there's less complicated. They're even disabling bridge mode on all their routers now, except the epc2203 which is just a modem, but it's old, I wouldn't want it. it can't handle super fast speeds.

jor el · 07-03-2012 10:51am

ftp://ftp2.zyxel.com/P-660HW-D3/user_guide/P-660HW-D3_3.40_Ed1.pdf
The P660HW user manual makes no mention of this "Ethernet WAN" capability, so perhaps you could explain a bit more about it. I've never seen a DSL modem/router with the capability to route on the Ethernet port, only ever have I seen them route from the DSL port to the Ethernet/Wifi ports. If such a possibility exists, then more information is needed. Otherwise it would appear that the DSL modem is just a switch when you disable and bypass it's DSL interface, in which case it's not really suited to being used as a "router".

If your modem has a router built in, then you could use the P660 as a wireless switch to add Wifi access to your home network, assuming there's no wireless feature on your modem/router already.

lucernarian · 07-03-2012 12:42pm

johnciall wrote: »

To Be confirmed
I hate to be a complete pedant [kinda] your mostly right but not quite,

Any DSL router is capable of what your discribing you just need to disable the DHCP on it, However it's no longer working as a router it becomes a Switch with a wireless AP

I did point out the issue with DCHP already. That applies to DSL routers which don't have an option to behave entirely as a router (sending WAN data through ethernet). E.g. where they behave like a switch, DCHP is turned off and the ISP-provided modem-router is to handle DCHP. That method is useful to get a second router and use it as an access point to extend range for example. Or give wireless capability to an old Zyxel modem with DCHP which doesn't have wifi etc..

jor el wrote:

I've never seen a DSL modem/router with the capability to route on the Ethernet port, only ever have I seen them route from the DSL port to the Ethernet/Wifi ports. If such a possibility exists, then more information is needed. Otherwise it would appear that the DSL modem is just a switch when you disable and bypass it's DSL interface, in which case it's not really suited to being used as a "router".

The Zyxel P660-HW3 or whatever the exact model eircom provide for DSL nowadays, has such a mode and acts as a genuine ethernet router except with only 3 available ethernet ports for LAN. The EPC2203 has no DCHP capability and I'm not sure what would happen if the Zyxel was used as a switch but possibly only one device would work at a time?? I have two machines working simultaneously off the current setup. I can also provide photographs of this if required.

On the WAN menu of the Zyxel, the type has to be changed to Ethernet(ETH1) and the encapsulation changed to Ethernet in most cases, e.g. with using UPC.

Nothingbetter2d · 13-03-2012 5:14pm

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

DSL routers can also work as cable routers nowadays so do check your facts on this before recommending more expensive or needless options. So long as the UPC modem or device can assign IP addresses, it should work fine if a cable's plugged in from the modem to an ethernet port of the eircom router. In the case of the Zyxels eircom use, they all have an "ethernet WAN" setting where the UPC modem is plugged into ethernet port 1 and that's pretty much all that needs to be done.

Netopia 2247s (the silver modem) have that option in firmware upgrades and older firmwares can be made to work with cable/other modems with ethernet if the DCHP server is turned off the Netopia. However that means the modem must also have some "gateway" or routing function and devices like the scientific atlanta 2203 modem won't work in that case.

upc's router comes free with 25mb/s or better connection

the 20mb/s is pointless cos it has such a low cap limit compared to the 25mb/s option. and you only save about €4 a month on the 20mb/s.

your option only makes more configuring work for the OP than he probably needs to and a higher likelihood that he will cross his cap limit and get charged a fortune. if he sticks with the cheapest package.

for the sake of less hassle in setup and not have to worry about crossing the cap limit... the €4 extra for the 25mb/s with FREE router & much larger cap limit is the better option.

colm_mcm · 13-03-2012 10:13pm

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

upc's router comes free with 25mb/s or better connection

the 20mb/s is pointless cos it has such a low cap limit compared to the 25mb/s option. and you only save about €4 a month on the 20mb/s.

your option only makes more configuring work for the OP than he probably needs to and a higher likelihood that he will cross his cap limit and get charged a fortune. if he sticks with the cheapest package.

for the sake of less hassle in setup and not have to worry about crossing the cap limit... the €4 extra for the 25mb/s with FREE router & much larger cap limit is the better option.

The cap is the same on all speeds, outside of a bundle there's €10 a month between 20 and 25mb

lucernarian · 15-03-2012 12:48pm

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

upc's router comes free with 25mb/s or better connection

the 20mb/s is pointless cos it has such a low cap limit compared to the 25mb/s option. and you only save about €4 a month on the 20mb/s.

your option only makes more configuring work for the OP than he probably needs to and a higher likelihood that he will cross his cap limit and get charged a fortune. if he sticks with the cheapest package.

for the sake of less hassle in setup and not have to worry about crossing the cap limit... the €4 extra for the 25mb/s with FREE router & much larger cap limit is the better option.

I've the 20mb package and the T&Cs say the cap is 500GB. And the amount of configuring work to make the Zyxel work was minimal. 5 minutes work and an ethernet cable to save €50?? Yes please. Anyway you've already said that eircom's routers are DSL-only when that's not true. You should double-check your facts before posting them...

Will an Eircom router work with UPC?

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