modem and router combined

[pgchimp]

Hi all

This is my first post here having just decided to go over to Virgin 10mg Broadband and Virgin phoneline after ditching BT and its empty promises and being fed up of 2 meg when i am paying for 8 meg

Anyway they are comming to install phone and fibreoptic 10meg on Tuesday but i have a few questions i need to ask the installer on the day and it would be helpful if i knew the answers first. assuming he does as well

1) At present on ASDL with Bt i feed both my laptop and desk top using a combined modem/router supplied by SKY. I have been informed by Virgin that if i intend to go wireless on cable they supply a seperate modem and router for wireless connection (All extra wires and boxes) which i am not happy about

If i were to purchase a combined modem/router for cable from the likes of ARGOS and do away with what is supplied by Virgin will this combination work

If it does work will anything be gained by purchasing a "N" wireless compatable router as opposed to a "G or G+" router in terms of speed reliability etc

When cable arrive what can i expect from the fitter, will it just be wiring in place and i do the rest myself or will broadband be installed on both machines with demos

thanks for your interest in reading this

Alan

[MovedGoalPosts]

If you have cable broadband you HAVE to use the Virgin Media supplied standalone modem.

You can use the router that VM supply, or you can buy your own. The router must not have a built in modem in order to be compatible with the standalone cable modem of Virgin Media.

[Aragorn]

There is no such thing as a combined cable modem/router on Virgin.
You can only use the CableModem supplied by VM and it only offers a single Ethernet port.
If you have already ordered the VM wireless router, then I would stick with that, otherwise, any 'Cable' or 'Broadband' router will do. Wireless speed will only be increase using an N router if you also upgrade the wireless adapter, but don't forget you only have a 10Mb connection to share, so a good G or G+ router should be able to max out the modem.

---------- Post added at 17:25 ---------- Previous post was at 17:25 ----------

<Must type quicker>

[pgchimp]

Thanks for the response, i have not received any hardware from Virgin yet as they are bringing it on Tuesaday. I obviously have not read Argos properly as i thought that cable routers could be combined like ASDL routers with modems

Both of my computers have "N" wireless capability so thats why i am considering buying a Stand Alone router with "N" but was wondering how significant the all round increase will be on performance and where it justifies the expense

I also use xbox 360 live a far amount and was looking to use that to its full potential

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by pgchimp

Thanks for the response, i have not received any hardware from Virgin yet as they are bringing it on Tuesaday. I obviously have not read Argos properly as i thought that cable routers could be combined like ASDL routers with modems

Both of my computers have "N" wireless capability so thats why i am considering buying a Stand Alone router with "N" but was wondering how significant the all round increase will be on performance and where it justifies the expense

I also use xbox 360 live a far amount and was looking to use that to its full potential

A wireless N router will futureproof your connection and provide the best wireless performance from your modem, to purchase one is your choice alone.

[SmartMart]

Originally Posted by pgchimp

When cable arrive what can i expect from the fitter, will it just be wiring in place and i do the rest myself or will broadband be installed on both machines with demos
Alan

I had TV and broadband installed yesterday but the cables were already there. Here's how it went:
The engineer tested the cable in my flat for a signal but there wasn't one so he went outside to conduct further tests at various points on the cable but there was no signal anywhere on the cable. However, instead of going to the green cabinet at the bottom of the road to test there, he spliced my cable into a cable belonging to one of the other flats!!?? Came back into the flat and uttered words to the effect that "this job is taking too long" and very quickly installed the V box and cable modem. Didn't check to see if broadband or TV was working properly, no demo or instructions given and I even had to ask him for my free wireless router. He made no offer to install the router and told me that "he wasn't trained to do that" and that I would have to do it myself. It came out during the conversation that "we get paid by the job" so I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that.

Hope you have a better experience.

Regards .....

[Maverick1968]

Well, here's my experience of Virgin.
Recently had engineer arrive to install V+. He hooked up my DVD recorder and Surrround Sound system too, sorted the HD cable for me, and then gave an excellent demo. Top quality. Also had the Broadband Wireless and upgraded to 10MB, and even with the free Wireless Router they threw in I'm well happy with the increase in speed. We run two Laptops, an X Box 360 and two PSP's with no problems. For service they get top marks. Been with Virgin Broadband for a number of years, and experienced very little down time and good speed. Only gripe is the Router given free has an issue with a VPN connection to the office if more than one Laptop is logged onto internet Wireless, got round this by using ethenet for office work, given the Router was thrown into the deal I'm not fussed.

[DaggaDagga]

I think I understand what the confusion is. Argos and others describe routers as being for cable or ADSL. The ADSL version contains a modem, but the cable version does not contain a modem at all. All routers that are (mis)sold as being for cable are actually a pure network router, i.e. they are designed to connect to the network port of the modem supplied by your cable ISP.

I hope this clarifies things. And I agree that it's odd that VM didn't start including a router in their modem years ago as all the ADSLs do routinely. Give them another five years and they might catch up.

It seems a bit mad that they give you a free modem and router, separately. I'm sure that their supplier of either part could add the rest of the hardware for 50p extra, saving them money and saving us customers having an extra box.

Welcome to the wacky world of VM! It is a good service though, despite the quirks.

i would never use a combined modem/router even if vm supplied one.It's a lot easier to nail down down a problem if the hardware is seperate and usually a lot more reliable

[DaggaDagga]

Originally Posted by martyh

i would never use a combined modem/router even if vm supplied one.It's a lot easier to nail down down a problem if the hardware is seperate and usually a lot more reliable

It's the norm for ADSL. They could basically combine two boxes into one, but keep their functions separate. The user gets to configure the router as normal, and VM can configure and reset the modem side as at present.

I wouldn't have thought many people would use just a modem these days, and putting a router in wouldn't cause any harm and would give them a NAT firewall as a bonus. It would also give VM a common interface to their network, so tech support could instruct the user to perform tests from the router config page and ensure it works. This would isolate whether problems are at their end or with the user's PC.

[pritchardavid]

actually there are some comined cable modem and wireless ones about, not easy to get one through

here is one i have found, there are other ones too! there is even a linksys on about

http://www.motorola.com/consumers/v/...008406b00aRCRD

once virgin media did offer this one on their site