Anyone Using an Asus DSL-AC68U

I'm waiting for Zen to install the Zen Fibre 2 package here at work, a TG589n is the provided router but this looks pants to me tbh so I'm thinking to get a DSL-AC68U which will mean I can configure now with the existing adsl connection and then just swap over when the work is done on the new connection (which will actually be on a different phone line)
This sound ok? Has this routers firmware come of age now?

I'm currently running a DSL-N14U and its taken hours of tinkering to get all the static IP's assigned correctly and the setting for the network working correctly, I have zero confidence that the standard Zen router will be up to the job and I'd rather stick with an interface that i'm familiar with :)
 
peige said:
I'm waiting for Zen to install the Zen Fibre 2 package here at work, a TG589n is the provided router but this looks pants to me tbh
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The Thomson devices are not too bad to be honest, basic with no bells and whistles but normally reliable. Id personally would give it a go for a couple of weeks first.
peige said:
so I'm thinking to get a DSL-AC68U which will mean I can configure now with the existing adsl connection and then just swap over when the work is done on the new connection (which will actually be on a different phone line)
This sound ok?
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Id personally wait until you are hooked up and i personally would NOT just instantly disconnect the supplied gear and plug in the Asus (assuming its an engineer install). Any type of disconnects within the first couple of days will make the DLM system go mental.

peige said:
Has this routers firmware come of age now?
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NO, some ADSL users say they still have issues, ive yet to see a single user report without doubt (IE physical telnet stats) what i would deem marked improvements with regards to it handling DLM (i suspect many that have increased it is the work of the G.INP ability it now has, typical 10% improvement or decrease dependant on line). Not seen a single user go from a banded or heavily DLM'd connection back to fastpath and FULL speed. Oh and its still up in the air if it does or does not support G.INP properly, based on the little stats i have seen and weird figures it reports and Ixels latest experience id say NO its not in any way "come of age". Buy a Zyxel or a Billion if you want reliability.

peige said:
I'm currently running a DSL-N14U and its taken hours of tinkering to get all the static IP's assigned correctly and the setting for the network working correctly, I have zero confidence that the standard Zen router will be up to the job and I'd rather stick with an interface that i'm familiar with :)
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How many static IPs are you using?? And in what manner, configuring them should not be an issue or take hours. If the basic DSL-N14U can do what you want i have NO doubt the TG589 will.
 
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Thanks for your post.

I think I will hold off ordering for the moment, in actual fact I could run the zen system in parallel for a time before I bring it on to the main network.

It takes hours not only because I have to assign certain stuff static IP's (like print servers and a network backup stuff) but I tend to be in a situation where its all live while i'm doing it so it involves lots of reboots of pc's (that have nabbed the ip's I need) The whole setup doesn't tend to settle until all the hardware has been turned on after the ip's have been alocated by the new router, put it down to a mixture of incantations of windows and lots of odd stuff connected.
 
Code: 
tc>tcapi get Info_Adsl lineState;wan vdsl2 show mgcnt;tcapi show Info_Adsl
up
near-end path0 fec:     14491547(14491533)
near-end path0 crc:     127(127)
near-end fec sec:       211627(211627)
near-end err sec:       36(36)
near-end ses sec:       0(0)
near-end los sec:       0(0)
near-end ua  sec:       0(0)
far-end path0 fec:      1415(111420)
far-end path0 crc:      91(646)
far-end fec sec:        530(6920)
far-end err sec:        88(305)
far-end ses sec:        0(0)
far-end los sec:        0(558)
far-end ua  sec:        0(42595)
outDiscards=195414
inDiscards=57
outBytes=3839302381
inBytes=3218620660
outPkts=83698895
inPkts=285011447
fwVer= FwVer:5.5.1.128_B_A60901 HwVer:T14.F7_0.1

lineState=up
Opmode=ITU G.993.2(VDSL2)
SNRMarginDown=5.9 dB
AttenDown=9.8 dB
SNRMarginUp=9.3 dB
AttenUp=0.1 dB
DataRateDown=68174 kbps
DataRateUp=20000 kbps
WanListMode=1
FECDown=14491547
FECUp=1415
CRCDown=127
CRCUp=91
HECDown=0
HECUp=0
ADSLUpTime=12 days,  1:34, 52 secs
ADSLActiveTime=0 min, 19 secs
PowerDown=12.5 dbm
PowerUp=5.4 dbm
ATURID=26005443434e0000
ATUCID=b5004946544eb204
AttainUp=24787
AttainDown=98592
ShowtimeStart=19
TotalStart=19
ATURANSIRev=0
ATUCANSIRev=0
ATURANSIStd=0
ATUCANSIStd=0
InterleaveDepth=987
AdslStandard=VDSL2
AdslType=ANNEX_B
mtenStandard=G.dmt.bisplus (Annex L)
tc>

So far not looking like its going to give me back fastpath. the depth at the moment is is giving me a ping of 17-18ms
 
I got this Router about 2weeks ago after the BT HH5 gave up and started flashing green. Ive got around 20 devices connected onto this router and i think its working just fine. Ive read everyones concerns on here but i am on fastpath and i get 70mb Download and 20mb upload.

My only concern is CRC Errors. Its been online 8days now and ive had 10500 CRC Down and 1070 Up. Does anyone have any advice they could offer on this???
 
peige said:
Thanks for your post.

I think I will hold off ordering for the moment, in actual fact I could run the zen system in parallel for a time before I bring it on to the main network.

It takes hours not only because I have to assign certain stuff static IP's (like print servers and a network backup stuff) but I tend to be in a situation where its all live while i'm doing it so it involves lots of reboots of pc's (that have nabbed the ip's I need) The whole setup doesn't tend to settle until all the hardware has been turned on after the ip's have been alocated by the new router, put it down to a mixture of incantations of windows and lots of odd stuff connected.
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Manually disconnect each device from the network where possible first, either by disconnecting network cables or disabling network/connection at the PC (right click internet icon on desktop and choose disconnect/disable). You could also where possible assign at the device the IP address you wish to use like so...
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/change-tcp-ip-settings#1TC=windows-7
Then just restart devices after.
That should cut down on some of the headaches ;)
 
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peige said:
Thanks for your post.

I think I will hold off ordering for the moment, in actual fact I could run the zen system in parallel for a time before I bring it on to the main network.

It takes hours not only because I have to assign certain stuff static IP's (like print servers and a network backup stuff) but I tend to be in a situation where its all live while i'm doing it so it involves lots of reboots of pc's (that have nabbed the ip's I need) The whole setup doesn't tend to settle until all the hardware has been turned on after the ip's have been alocated by the new router, put it down to a mixture of incantations of windows and lots of odd stuff connected.
Click to expand...
I think I'd run a primary domain controller from the sound of your setup. Then you can do everything centrally...
 
Guess so, what's happening with the testing of the most recent firmware, is the asus rep, jim, still here. Has everyone just given up?
 
If other people are finding the same as me, the 5007 firmware (and possibly the 2187 beta) is working well now. The issues I had with CRC spikes higher than my HG612 have gone and if anything the ASUS is reporting less CRCs than the Huawei. No disconnections in 13 days of use and remain on fastpath - the only change I made to default DSL settings was to set ESNP to Stable.

And others who are hoping to come off interleaving onto fastpath are on the waiting game to see what happens - probably nothing exciting to report meantime.
 
I've been on the ESNP beta for 39 days now. In that time I've recovered about 80% of the previous DLM intervention and about 8 MB sync off my previous max with the HH5. The modem is reporting that I've moved back from Interleaved to Fastpath and Im just waiting for that final DLM correction.

All in all the modem is functioning perfectly well for my purposes. Its stable and my sync hasnt been crippled. I dont really care about pings and interleaving depth so not looking into that. As I said, it seems to be functioning perfectly adequate for my use now. I dont think Im going to bother to move off this beta firmware though. Ive found one that works, Im sticking with it.
 
Ok guys and thanks for all your updates. Is it sounding promising enough for me to go back and use the Asus as a single box solution?
 
chriscatt said:
Guess so, what's happening with the testing of the most recent firmware, is the asus rep, jim, still here. Has everyone just given up?
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I'm still here - as far as I can gather, testing seems positive and ESNP has made a massive difference. Admittedly it's going to take a while perhaps to see whether we can gain full recovery from those who were heavily DLM'd etc, but I'm optimistic based on what I've seen.
 
Ayahuasca said:
So buying this now would be a good idea then as it's unlikely to cause your line to be heavily DLM'd with the new firmware?
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Jim - ASUS said:
I've not seen any reports of VDSL lines becoming DLM'd with ESNP activated on the new firmware.
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Technically all lines be they using this modem/router or any other device are DLM'd if you have FTTC and MOST if you have ADSL (with the exception of a very few LLU providers which are left for some ADSL services).

DLM stands for Digital Line Management and whether you have it or not is nothing to do with the device but the network.

DLM constantly manages your line and intervenes to check line stats every 24 hours, some of the changes it can make are so minor you will not even notice unless you specifically go looking for them.

For example on BT it can intervene and adjust the DNS servers your connection uses (assuming you are using BTs own DNS servers and have not manually set things to google DNS or similar). Other things it can handle is IP lease renewal (unlikely you will ever see that unless you have a very short or very long lease time set).

DLM does not always equate to massive speed reductions, in fact DLM is also what gives you back your speed you may have previously lost. For an ISP its a good thing being able to monitor and adjust lines, less call outs for minor things that can be fixed remotely. For us more nerdy customer types though it normally is just a PITA where we would sooner control the line profiling lol ;)

While things seem to either be a bit better (or maybe everyone has just given up) is questionable.

The fact the device still does not report correct OPMODE when a line has had G.INP applied to it is IMO a cause for concern for 2 reasons...
A. If the device can not report correctly to the DSLAM it has G.INP applied then there is no way DLM can remove it as it does not know its even there.
B. If it does not know if it is or is not enabled it may also continually try applying it.

Thers no doubt progress has been made, progress to what i would deem the device is STABLE though...... NOPE!
 
Its actually called dynamic line management, but that would be picky:o Mine is working fine now best router I've had multiple devices streaming at the same time without problems. I'd recommend it NOW
 
HaydnExport said:
Its actually called dynamic line management, but that would be picky:o Mine is working fine now best router I've had multiple devices streaming at the same time without problems. I'd recommend it NOW
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Opps dunno why i said digital :o Glad it is working well for you, however if people just want to buy a router for good wifi theres plenty of ways to go that will do wifi around your home just as good if not better and cost less. I personally would go the powerline route before resorting to wifi, if i really had to and could not hardwire my home. Asus devices are IMO price wise at the high end of the spectrum, when you are paying close to £200 everything should IMO work, without issue. They have done a great job with there ROUTER ONLY gear their stuff with modems built in though seem to be another story. I guess with all the G.INP etc changes this year time will tell. I hope from this new beta they continue to tweak and make things better, reporting of more stats like ES in addition to the current stats being more accurate and getting the device to report G.INP properly would be a few next stage items i will be hoping for. Be nice to see if they continue suport for the device throughout this year and quash all the still niggly bugs.
 
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