Good standalone ADSL modem

[Praemon]

I'm currently looking to replace my faulty Linksys WRT54GL router and Netgear DG834 modem with a new setup (lightning damage to both), and I've decided to go with the Asus RT-N56U as the router replacement. The problem is that I'm not sure what ADSL modem to combine with this router. It just needs to be a basic wired ADSL modem, with no other additional features, but it needs to provide solid ADSL stability as I'm pretty far away from the exchange, so I don't want cheap and nasty (but it needs to be reasonably priced). The Netgear was a solid modem, but it's pretty old now, and seems to be retailing at a fairly high price of around R900, which seems far too expensive for what I need it for.

Can anyone recommend a good standalone ADSL modem? Is the D-link 2500U still a good buy?

Thanks!

 

[Pada]

There are other options such as the TP-Link TD-8817 ADLS2+ Router @ R195 (excl VAT), but I'm really not sure how well it compares to the D-Link DSL-2500U.

I'm also busy looking for a new decent standalone ADSL modem that I can use to replace my ancient Telkom 5100 modem, which disconnects every now and then for no reason.

I think I may just go for the D-Link DSL-2500U, because it has served me well in the past...

 

[MickZA]

I think I may just go for the D-Link DSL-2500U, because it has served me well in the past...

^This

We've had quite a few running in bridged mode connected to IPCop firewalls for years, only had one failure and I'm pretty sure that was due to lightning - I was surprised they (Pinnacle?, can't remember) swapped it out.

 

[Ecco]

Any reason you still want to go with a standalone modem and not just go with a built in router modem combo?

I find tech support from ISP's and Telkom are useless when you have a setup like that - personal experience these last couple of weeks.

Also try find a stand alone unit at a bricks an mortar store - also very difficult.

 

[Praemon]

Any reason you still want to go with a standalone modem and not just go with a built in router modem combo?

I find tech support from ISP's and Telkom are useless when you have a setup like that - personal experience these last couple of weeks.

Also try find a stand alone unit at a bricks an mortar store - also very difficult.

I never tell the ISP I'm running a bridged modem to a router - confuses the hell out of them

I did look at getting the ASUS all-in-one unit (I think it's the 55U), but in the end decided against it as having them separate does offer a bit of protection against lightning damage (hopefully just the cheaper modem will go, and not the router). Also, should technology change and/or I need to use a different type of modem (such as 3G or even VDSL), I can just slot in the new modem and my network will remain unchanged.

 

[RoganDawes]

Any reason you still want to go with a standalone modem and not just go with a built in router modem combo?

I find tech support from ISP's and Telkom are useless when you have a setup like that - personal experience these last couple of weeks.

Also try find a stand alone unit at a bricks an mortar store - also very difficult.

The main reason to go standalone is that you get a degree of lightning protection.

The other reason is that you have a lot more choice about WAN routers vs ADSL routers, given the US cable modem + WAN router typical configuration.

Further, if you want to run OpenWRT firmware on your router, it is very difficult to find support for routers with ADSL hardware, as this all seems to be implemented using binary modules, with source not available. The exception to this rule appears to be a recent ADSL router from Buffalo, but I have not tested this in any way.

The main headache with using separate devices is that you can lose access to the ADSL modem's stats/web interface, typically. The router knows how to get to the internet via PPPoE, but doesn't realise/make allowances for the fact that there is a modem reachable over the WAN Ethernet port. I have worked around this in my particular configuration by installing OpenWRT on my WAN router, and configuring routing and port forwarding rules to allow my LAN to reach the ADSL modem. It was a bit of a pain to get right, though. One thing to keep in mind is that the DLink 2500U by default will reject connections from routed networks (i.e. not using an address issued by the 2500U, or in the same network), hence the port forwards on the router (masquerading connections from the LAN to the ADSL segment to come from the router itself).

Rogan

 

[Praemon]

@Pada @MickZA Thanks. Gonna pick up the 2500U. Can't really go that wrong with a R250 modem anyways

 

[F1 Fan]

Currently using a Netgear n300 router/modem. Works well. Not sure why you get so much lightning damage though...

 

[Pada]

I have just placed an order for my DSL-2500U with Wootware

 

[grok]

D-Link DSL-2500U

I've been using them as lightning arrestors, saved my expensive wireless router on a few occations and at ~R200 a pop well worth it.