Considering Draytek Vigor 120, Airport Extreme and Linksys PAP2T combo for Xnet

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Considering Draytek Vigor 120, Airport Extreme and Linksys PAP2T combo for Xnet

durq

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Topic # 82639 3-May-2011 15:45

Hi all (strap in- its a long one, but I've tried to provide all info in the first instance!)

I am an Xnet Fusion user with a Linksys WAG310a and I'm not really happy with my set-up. The WAG310 crashes at least a couple of times a week, requiring it to be turned off & on to restore connectivity.
I also can't get good quality Skype calls no matter what I do. UDP Status stays BAD no matter what I try (port forwarding, firewall exceptions, even DMZ). Both issues are a mystery to me

My current set up is as follows:

WAG310a -> Belkin Powerline 85mbps -> Airport Extreme

-wired to the AEBS are a WD Mybook Ethernet NAS, and a WDTV Live
-wireless n clients are an iMac, iPad2, and an Airport Express
-wireless g clients are an iPhone and a PC laptop
-calls go via VOIP with a cordless phone connected to the WAG310

-The WAG310 is the modem and DHCP server, wireless is turned off
-The AEBS is in bridge mode, but creates the wireless network
-No static IP addresses set up for any clients (i have tried this to solve the Skype issues but it made no difference to the UDP status)

-Due to the location of the ADSL line, and the location of the living room in my (rented) house I can't run a cable from the WAG310 to the AEBS. Just not happening
-Putting the AEBS in the same room as the WAG310 means the wireless signal in the living room is too weak and file transfer speeds fall off a cliff
-So the Powerline is really the only option, and seems to a solid job, but I'm not sure if its creating a bottleneck (I figured there was no point getting a 200mbps Powerline since the WAG310 doesn't have gigabit anyway)

Aside from usual internet traffic i stream video a lot from the Mybook NAS to the WDTV, the laptop, and the iMac, and also to the iPad via the iMac (using Airvideo server and/or Plex to convert it on the fly) Mostly SD files, very little HD material. The Airport Express is only there as a client to stream audio to my speakers. This all works fine, the AEBS seems very stable, even if two or three devices are streaming at the same time. I've noticed no correlation between video streaming peaks and the WAG310 crashing. It seems to be random

I don't really want to spend $400 on a Cisco SRP527, and I've found mixed reviews of them anyway. I figure I can connect a modem via the powerline to the AEBS with a VoIP adapter wired to that and hopefully simplify things and get it more stable

I'm thinking of buying a Draytek Vigor 120 and a Linksys PAP2t and selling the WAG310 to achieve the following:

DV120 -> Powerline 85mbps -> AEBS -> PAP2T

-I'd use the DV120 as a PPPoA to PPPoE bridge
-The AEBS would take over as router, DHCP server, firewall etc
-I know AEBS doesn't have QoS for the VOIP traffic from the PAP2T but we use the phone very rarely, for receiving the odd call only and its bottom of the list of priorities

My questions are:

-Any ideas why the router crashes so often?
-Do I have resolvable issues/conflicts within my existing setup?
-Am I just stretching it too far and I need a modem/router with more grunt?
-Anyone have any idea what could be causing the Skype UDP status to be bad. I'm convinced its a hardware issue, network conflict, or something upstream of me as i've been trying for a year to resolve it

-Is the 85mbps powerline a bottleneck?
-Does ALL the video traffic have to go via the powerline back to the WAG310 if it is the DHCP server?
-Or does it just hop from the NAS via the AEBS to the client devices?

-Anyone have experience using the Draytek Vigor 120 with Xnet fusion?
-Any set-up issues to be aware of using it as a PPPoA to PPPoE bridge?
-Can i connect the DV120 to the AEBS (as a PPPoA to PPPoE bridge) with the Powerlines that I have in place of an ethernet cable
-Am I right in thinking that even though the DV120 has gigabit there's no point getting 200mbps powerlines as the 85mbps is a fat enough pipe for just the internet traffic?
-Anyone have experience with the DV 120 / AEBS / PAPt2 combo or similar?

-Do I have much future proofing in what I'm planning? My network load will only go up in the future
-I know the DV120 and AEBS are supposed to support IPv6, and that XNet have a trial program, is this worth getting involved in?
-Will the phone be usable with the PAP2t hanging off the AEBS, providing the network load isn't ridiculous?

Thanks in advance for any help. I've googled all of this as much as i can but can't find definitive answers that match my situation.
FYI I am fairly tech-savvy (I'm a professional video editor) but my networking knowledge is all self-learned

Cheers
Dave

theEd

341 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 26

Trusted

Reply # 464912 3-May-2011 16:31

Anyone have experience using the Draytek Vigor 120 with Xnet fusion?
Works fine

Any set-up issues to be aware of using it as a PPPoA to PPPoE bridge?
Generally I've found it just works.

Is the 85mbps powerline a bottleneck?
As I understand, it's only the internet going over it. Unless you're ridiculously lucky and have an over 85Mbps internet connection, no. However that 85Mbps will be a maximum.

Can i connect the DV120 to the AEBS (as a PPPoA to PPPoE bridge) with the Powerlines that I have in place of an ethernet cable
I haven't personally used Powerlines, but as long as they act as a normal Ethernet cable that should work fine.

Am I right in thinking that even though the DV120 has gigabit there's no point getting 200mbps powerlines as the 85mbps is a fat enough pipe for just the internet traffic?
The DV120 has a 10/100 Mbps LAN port, not Gigabit - there wouldn't be any point having anything above 100 Mbps as ADSL2+ doesn't go that fast.

RunningMan

4843 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1504

Reply # 464921 3-May-2011 16:56

In no particular order, a few random thoughts!

The WAG310
I've seen up times of several months (before power failures etc. have forced restarts), so they can be very reliable. I'd suggest grabbing the latest firmware, and also doing a factory reset, and put your settings back in again (don't just restore them from a backup).

Proposed Setup
If you make the move to your new setup, I'd use a SPA2102 rather than the PAP2T - long story short, it's a newer design with better codec support. I wouldn't be inclined to hang an ATA off the end of the powerline adaptor though - can it be plugged directly in to the modem instead?

To cut out the powerline, could you use the WiFi in the WAG310 to connect to the Airport Express (WAG310 creates a network, then the Airport Extreme ) then run an ethernet cable to the Airport Extreme for the remainder of your network...

coffeebaron

5198 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2219

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 464951 3-May-2011 18:24

I'd suggest instead of PAP2T / SPA2102, use the WAG310G for voice only. Change the WAG310G into WAN mode, so it uses the WAN port instead of DSL, and plug into your proposed setup above instead of PAP2T / SPA2102.

Chorus has spent $1.4 billion on making their xDSL broadband network faster. If your still stuck on ADSL or VDSL, why not spend from $150 on a master filter install to make sure you are getting the most out of your connection?
I install - Naked DSL, DSL Master Splitters, VoIP, data cabling and general computer support for home and small business.
Rural Broadband RBI installer for Ultimate Broadband and Full Flavour

Need help in Auckland, Waikato or BoP? Click my email button, or email me direct: [my user name] at geekzonemail dot com

durq

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 465004 3-May-2011 20:45

Thanks everyone!

@ theEd

I think I'll stick with my 85 mbps Powerlines then and order a DV120 -cheers!

@ RunningMan

The wag310 used to be reliable, but not so recently, and I've made no changes to my setup. It has the most recent firmware i think 1.00.03(100701-1727)-AU
But I have other issues with it (no gigabit and is only wireless g), I don't like the configuration menu, and i suspect it of being the cause of my skype issues. I'd rather have my AEBS in charge and recoup some money on the 310

My choice of PAP2T is based on price alone. As i said the 'landline' is rarely used and low on my priority list. Unless you think the SPA2102 will give me dramatically better call quality I'll stick with the cheapest option

What is your concern with the powerline? The Draytek Vigor 120 only has one port, which would have to go to the AEBS. The powerline has perfomed brilliantly, and unless anyone thinks it could be causing my 'UDP Status:Bad" in Skype and its fast enough I'm more than happy to keep using it

@coffeebaron

Thanks for the suggestion , but I was planning to sell the WAG310 to recoup a chunk of the cost of the new modem and the VOIP adaptor

RunningMan

4843 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1504

Reply # 465022 3-May-2011 21:41

durq: The wag310 used to be reliable, but not so recently, and I've made no changes to my setup.

Faulty power supply perhaps?

durq: My choice of PAP2T is based on price alone. As i said the 'landline' is rarely used and low on my priority list. Unless you think the SPA2102 will give me dramatically better call quality I'll stick with the cheapest option

Fair call!

durq: What is your concern with the powerline?

I have not personally used one, however anecdotally have heard people complain of jitter/latency/interference, and thought this may affect time critical stuff like VOIP / Skype...