Moving to Be- use their router or get my own?

SiD the Turtle · 30 Oct 2007 at 13:36

I'm currently on Eclipse, which due to its general rubbishness I have asked for a MAC code to move to Be. Now they supply their own box and my current router will not support ADSL2.

How good is this router customisation wise? Do you have access to its settings? I want to be able to set up port-forwarding and other settings without having to phone them up. Also, how many of the Enternet-ports are actually usable?

As we have as many as four computers using the router at once buying an ADSL2 compatible router may be an option. If so which one? I used to have a Netgear DG834 which I thought was excellent until it was fried in a thunderstorm. Is their equipment still good? I've also had Linksys before but I wasn't happy with the quality of it as it would always overheat.

Stelly · 30 Oct 2007 at 14:12

I have moved from eclipse they have gotten worse after being taken over by Kingston Communication...

I thought that you had to use the Be There router?

Stelly

.Griff. · 30 Oct 2007 at 14:13

Some people hate the Bebox others find it perfectly adequate.

Having tried a DG834GT I ditched it and returned to the Bebox as it proved more stable for me.

Like any router you've got access to the settings, port forwarding is possible and you can use all four Ethernet ports on it (3 by default but the fourth can be enabled)

Ps - The Bebox was a Speedtouch 780 and it's now a 585.

gillywibble · 30 Oct 2007 at 14:25

Port forwarding is very easy on the Be Box. I found mine unstable however and now use a Netgear DG834PN.

You can't use any old ADSL2+ modem with Be because they don't use a username and password. You can find a list of compatible modems by browsing Be forums but the forums generally and search facilities are carp.

I suggest you give the Be Box a chance.

One word of warning - the Be Box responds to ping requests.

To disable this - telnet to 192.168.1.254 - username Administrator, no password and type the following:-

service system ifdelete name PING_RESPONDER group wan
saveall

Another bugbear of the Be Box is that the fourth port is set for bridge video (which isn't up and running yet).

If like me you are wired and want to use the fourth port, enter the following into telnet:-

eth bridge ifdetach intf=ethport4
eth bridge vlan ifdelete name=video_gr intf=ethport4
eth bridge ifattach intf=ethport4
saveall

tolien · 30 Oct 2007 at 14:38

Gillywibble said:
One word of warning - the Be Box responds to ping requests.

Unless you're a member of the Tinfoil Hat Brigade (in which case I'd suggest unplugging the router) or you're gullible enough to swallow the crap that sites like grc.com peddle, responding to ICMP Echo Requests is not a bad thing.

Van Diemen · 30 Oct 2007 at 17:32

I find the BeBox gives me the best speeds,

Note: I had to redo my phone cables and sockets in order to get my speed close to 24meg

SiD the Turtle · 30 Oct 2007 at 18:13

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll try the BeBox and if I don't like it I can always buy a router afterwards.

SiD the Turtle · 30 Oct 2007 at 18:14

tolien said:
Unless you're a member of the Tinfoil Hat Brigade (in which case I'd suggest unplugging the router) or you're gullible enough to swallow the crap that sites like grc.com peddle, responding to ICMP Echo Requests is not a bad thing.

Hmm if it responds to ping and you can telnet to it with no password, surely that is a VERY bad thing?*

*Note my knowledge on such subject matter is basic.

tolien · 30 Oct 2007 at 18:29

SiD the Turtle said:
Hmm if it responds to ping and you can telnet to it with no password, surely that is a VERY bad thing?*

The latter yes, the former's irrelevant. Pinging the router won't tell you that it's a Speedtouch, BeBox, or even if it's a router at all, and being able to telnet into it without a password is a Bad Thing whether you can ping it or not.
I'd hope you can switch telnet off, or at least block it from the outside world.