DSL Modems Question

[Ancient_Dragon]

I'm new to posting but have been reading the site and forums for a little while. My question is, what is the best dsl modem out to buy right now?

I'm currently a cable subscriber myself, however I'm trying to help speed up my girlfriends verizon dsl subscription. I just built her a computer and installed a wireless pci card. She was running on a Westell Wireless Gateway Model 327W1 and the connection was fairly slow. So I bought her a D-Link WBR-2310 wireless router to improve upon speed. Being that the Westell is a modem and a wireless router in one, I decided to see if it would work to just use it as a modem and use the d-link as the wireless router. However there seems to be connection problems doing it this way. I guess maybe the all in one, doesn't work at just being a modem, since it is built to be a total gateway.

So is there any advice you can give me to improve upon the current setup? Or can anyone point me in the direction of a good dsl modem? I'm guessing the Westell isn't the best out there to begin with, so it might be worth it to just go straight to buying another modem, so any help in finding a good dsl modem is appreciated.

 

[Coldtronius]

I'm new to posting but have been reading the site and forums for a little while. My question is, what is the best dsl modem out to buy right now?

I'm currently a cable subscriber myself, however I'm trying to help speed up my girlfriends verizon dsl subscription. I just built her a computer and installed a wireless pci card. She was running on a Westell Wireless Gateway Model 327W1 and the connection was fairly slow. So I bought her a D-Link WBR-2310 wireless router to improve upon speed. Being that the Westell is a modem and a wireless router in one, I decided to see if it would work to just use it as a modem and use the d-link as the wireless router. However there seems to be connection problems doing it this way. I guess maybe the all in one, doesn't work at just being a modem, since it is built to be a total gateway.

So is there any advice you can give me to improve upon the current setup? Or can anyone point me in the direction of a good dsl modem? I'm guessing the Westell isn't the best out there to begin with, so it might be worth it to just go straight to buying another modem, so any help in finding a good dsl modem is appreciated.

Depending on the ISP, you may or may not have a choice in the matter of which DSL modem/router to use. Alot of companies purchase specialy designed modems with special firmware that that allows only them to work on their network. You may wanna look into that before you go very far with this.

My previous DSL provider Qwest only gave you crappy ass Actiontec modems no matter what. My new cable service I had a couple of choices so I went and bought a Motorola Surfboard 5150 that has had exellent reviews an so far, narry a problem. My Actiontec I had on the other hand ugghh...I had to deal with them at my previous job also, they are pure utter shit for businesses who rely on their interweb to stay running.

 

[stevewm]

The modem will work just fine as a standalone modem, you just need to configure it for everything to work....

The modem needs to be set to Bridge mode and you have to disable its internal DHCP server. You do this by logging into the modem's interface. Specific instructions for Westell modems are located here: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/vz/4.+Hardware#9265

Once you have this done, log in to your Routers interface. Set it to aquire a IP via DHCP (typically the default for most routers!) And then set it to authenticate via PPPoE. Input your Verizon username and password. You may also have to configure the router's own DHCP server so that your computer will be served an internal IP address. Some routers default to DHCP being turned on, some don't.

Connect the router to the modem's Ethernet port and then connect your computer to the router. If everything was done correctly, it should start working immediately.


BTW, You should be able to use ANY DSL modem with Verizon's service, as long as you copy the line settings from your Westell....