[WXC/VFX] New Xnet customer considering VFX requiring hardware advice

Forums › One NZ (including Farmside) › [WXC/VFX] New Xnet customer considering VFX requiring hardware advice

closetgeek

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Geek

#13551 16-May-2007 20:35

Hi

Today is my first day as an Xnet customer having plucked up the courage to change broadband suppliers from Telecom. I am now considering signing up for VFX but uncertain as to which hardware to consider purchasing.

I currently have a perfectly fine Dick Smith dsl modem/router which chugs along just fine, but I am looking to maybe kill 2 birds with one stone and find a wireless solution at the same time as a VoIP solution. I have been leaning toward the WAG54GP2v2 as it would seem to be a good one stop shop modem/router/wireless/VoIP box but am a little concerned with some of the posts in this forum about the reliability of this piece of equipment.

I have a few areas where I could do with some advice;

(1) On the DSE website it is hard to tell if the WAG54GP2 is version 1 or 2 and additionally following the link from Xnet's website to the product page on the Linksys website shows the WAG54GP2v2 as 'no longer shipping' . This makes me a little nervous about shelling out $300 on what might soon be a piece of history, even for the v2.

(2) A post in this forum seems to have ended suddenly when criticising the Linksys equipment. I have no issue with a service provider forming strategic alliances with hardware providers, but I do if it restricts my ability to make an informed choice of hardware reliability. Can a non Linksys solution (such as a Netgear) be correctly configured to use VFX without breaching Xnet's TOS? and if so is this a relatively straightforward task?

All help greatly appreciated

Thanks
Chris

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#70929 16-May-2007 21:46

Don't buy from DSE, expensive (even with my trade card!) and no technical knowledge. Go to www.pricespy.co.nz and you will find it for $235 including shipping and GST.

The only problem is heat, causing various symptoms. Mount it upright and you are good to go, much better for convection. There are no alternative hardware, it is only Linksys (as far as I know).

You can also go for the WRTP54G and add your existing modem, but getting all the settings right is not so easy. There are duplicated features and you have to turn them off on one device in the right places. Much easier with the WAG54GP2.

There should be no more version 1 hardware. Also, version 1 had no VFX sticker but version 2 had a VFX sticker on the box. Not sure if it was printed on the box or a sticker, but version 1 did not have it.

All the best, both XNet and VFX are great and I promote them everywhere.

You can never have enough Volvos!

closetgeek

39 posts

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#70945 17-May-2007 07:05

Thanks Niel for the recommendation. I think that's what I'll go for.

closetgeek

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#71043 17-May-2007 18:17

A final question on the Linksys WAG54GP2 before I plunge....

I've read that a polite request to Xnet will result in them unlocking the second line in the WAG54GP2. Can this second line then be easily configured to work with one with of the Betamax Voip providers (say Poivy.com) to allow a regular phone handset to be used rather than the PC software for making calls?

maverick

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WorldxChange

#71047 17-May-2007 18:32

closetgeek: A final question on the Linksys WAG54GP2 before I plunge....

I've read that a polite request to Xnet will result in them unlocking the second line in the WAG54GP2. Can this second line then be easily configured to work with one with of the Betamax Voip providers (say Poivy.com) to allow a regular phone handset to be used rather than the PC software for making calls?

The answer to that would be a polite yes

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closetgeek

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#71049 17-May-2007 18:40

Many thanks for the prompt reply.

closetgeek

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#71400 20-May-2007 15:47

Just an update for anyone that might be wondering, I purchased the WAG54GP2 from iFocus (picked up from their Newmarket branch and resisted the temptation to buy a grands worth of other tempting goodies whilst in their store) for $236 inc GST (thanks Niel for the recommendation to use pricespy, a saving of $60 from the DSE list price) and the DSL part of the setup was very straightfoward. A very intuitive browser interface made setting up the wireless network a breeze also. Steady speeds of around 36mbps around the home.

The Xnet broadband speeds still 'feel' a good nudge quicker than Xtra. Not sure if this is all in my mind as I was on a theoretical max download plan with Xtra, but none the less, that's how it seems.

An unexpected consequence of switching ISP's from Xtra, was that when trying to send email (from my email accounts that I manage via my hosting provider), I came up against a port 25 block. This was fixed by setting xnet as my SMTP server, however I'm hoping that this isn't going to bite me in the backside when I'm trying to send email when not connected to xnet, i.e. from my network at work or when travelling and on a T3G card (as I will be most of next week). I was informed a static IP (needed to unblock port 25) would be ten bucks a month, so I'm keen not to have to pay that as it negates some of the cost benefit I anticipated when switching.

I can't yet comment on the VoiP as am still waiting for my VFX account to go active. I called in the MAC address to Xnet on Friday afternoon but its probably going to be Monday before I get set up. I did put in a request on Sat morning to see if I could get activated over the weekend but it doesn't look like its going to happen.

Xnet's support staff are very courteous by the way and I was impressed that when I filled in an online request to be called within a certain time slot of an hour that I was indeed called within that one hour timeframe. Also refreshing was the staff member who talked me through setting up the account, started off by telling me that she was relatively new to VFX account set up procedures, so would i mind bearing with her if it took a little while. Xnet are attuned to the fact that customers generally respond well to honesty and frankness and I found the set up by phone a very painless process.

So far, I'm confident that I've made the right decision to switch from Xtra. I will add a few lines on my VoiP experience when I go 'live'.

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Niel

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#71415 20-May-2007 20:47

I've also signed up on a Friday, but only got connected around Tuesday. I believe they have to assign a phone number to you which takes a short while.

I got a static IP for free from XNet, they don't charge you (or are you a business customer?). I've switched from Clear and simply setup my e-mail account to forward everything to XNet. It cost me nothing, but that is with Clear. The e-mail accounts also cost nothing for 6 months, because it is dial-up usaged based accounts for which I'm only charged if I dial in.

I'm on the XNet slow 256kbps speed and connect to the exchange at about 5Mbps (not download speed, just connect speed). My father-in-law is with XTra and connects at 6Mbps and downloads at 1.5Mbps, but still when I'm visiting him it seems like it takes a bit longer before web pages start to appear even though his connection (and PC) is faster than mine. Probably an Xtra proxy server or something slowing things down.

You can never have enough Volvos!

closetgeek

39 posts

Geek

#71419 20-May-2007 21:10

Niel, did you have to do anything special to get a free static IP? I raised a support ticket regarding the port25 block and it was one of the support guys that told me it would be $10 a month. I'm not on a business user package (at least I didnt ask to be)

Niel

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#71433 20-May-2007 23:13

No, I filled in the on-line request for a static IP and I received an e-mail saying it is done. They reserve the right to revoke the static IP if they think you misuse it. But there is no charge. Maybe the $10 charge is for Telecom to allow you to send e-mails from another ISP?

You can never have enough Volvos!

closetgeek

39 posts

Geek

#71448 21-May-2007 08:51

Would someone from Xnet be able to confirm please. I have seen a few reports now that Static IP's are not charged, however as I said in my earleir post, the support guys at Xnet told me this would be $10 per month.

Wendy

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#71449 21-May-2007 08:57

Hi guys,

Just to clear this up. Static IP's are supposed to be $10 per month but are not currently being charged. I think this is where the confusion has stemmed from. Customers who are on static IP's at the moment are not being charged for them. I'm not sure how long this will be for but I am more than happy to advise anyone on a static when we do start charging that it's coming up to give them the opportunity to decide whether they want it or not.

Any questions please ask me :)

Regards,

Wendy

Service Co-ordinator
WorldxChange Communications

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closetgeek

39 posts

Geek

#71450 21-May-2007 09:02

Thanks Wendy,

Snikch

74 posts

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#71466 21-May-2007 10:30

closetgeek:
An unexpected consequence of switching ISP's from Xtra, was that when trying to send email (from my email accounts that I manage via my hosting provider), I came up against a port 25 block. This was fixed by setting xnet as my SMTP server, however I'm hoping that this isn't going to bite me in the backside when I'm trying to send email when not connected to xnet, i.e. from my network at work or when travelling and on a T3G card (as I will be most of next week). I was informed a static IP (needed to unblock port 25) would be ten bucks a month, so I'm keen not to have to pay that as it negates some of the cost benefit I anticipated when switching.

Hi Closetgeek,

Just to clarify, when you are sending email, you generally have to use the smtp server that belongs to your isp, or belongs to you. I am not sure if xnet allows relaying (sending of messages) from networks other than their own, but I imagine they wouldnt.

This means that you have two options, either change the smtp settings everytime you are on a different isp, or set up your own smtp server. The second option is the one I think you would need the static IP for, as that would be how you access your smtp server - with the ip. But this also adds the responsibility of configuring your smtp server to be secure, and it would have to be running all the time etc etc.

I don't know if xnet has a secure smtp offering? Xtra has an offer where you pay a monthly fee (around $3 i think) and you can use their network from another isp, but only using a secure login (go to your outlook accounts, edit, advanced, outgoing mail, tick secure authentication and put in your details etc, not sure how to do it in other email clients).

I just wanted to clarify that simply getting a static IP won't help, you will have to setup an smtp server.

Maybe another forum member could answer the question of whether windows mail profiles could help this problem? That might be another option, where you simply change the active profile depending on which isp you are currently on. I'm not sure how this would work with your recieved emails however.

closetgeek

39 posts

Geek

#71470 21-May-2007 10:45

Thanks for reply Snikch,

I'm hoping that there is also a third option, i.e. unblocking port 25 (now possible with a Static IP) will allow me to set my smtp server as mail.mydomain.com and therefore I will not need to either run myown mailserver or change settings depending on where I'm connecting from.

I have put in the request to Xnet so will advise outcome

Cheers
Chris

Snikch

74 posts

Master Geek

#71471 21-May-2007 10:50

closetgeek: Thanks for reply Snikch,

I'm hoping that there is also a third option, i.e. unblocking port 25 (now possible with a Static IP) will allow me to set my smtp server as mail.mydomain.com and therefore I will not need to either run myown mailserver or change settings depending on where I'm connecting from.

So you have a website hosted somewhere, and you are connecting to the hosts smtp server? I don't think that that is anything to do with port 25 being blocked, as when I signed up to xnet it was one of the things I checked before signing up, and xnet said they DO NOT block port 25...

I know that my web host used to allow smtp relay for my domains at mail.mydomain.com but nowadays do not, and I must use my ISP.

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