Asus RT-AC86u - What is the best VDSL2 Modem ?

[TUT]

Just purchased the Asus RT-AC86u router for better WiFi coverage, speed and VPN performance, I am planning to install the latest Merlin image on it.

I am on BT Infinity 2 with 80Mbps, my BT cabinet is Huawei cabinet, from your experience, which of the following modems in conjunction with the Asus AC86u router is best for speed, reliability and stability ( I currently have all 3 of them at home):

1- BT Bussiness Smart Hub 6 ( With Bridge Mode)
2- BT Huawei HG612 Modem (unlocked with the latest firmware)
3- DrayTek Vigor 130 Modem (with the latest BT firmware)

Thank you in advance

 

[JDB]

See my signature, I have an identical setup.

My 612 syncs at 90mbps (capped upstream to 80mbps).


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[JDB]

Haven’t looked for a while, it’s up to 107mbps available now!

It’s rock solid and I’ve not have any issues in over a year like this.

You can add an iptables rule to the router to allow direct access to the modem admin subnet too which is nice.


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[TUT]

Haven’t looked for a while, it’s up to 107mbps available now!

It’s rock solid and I’ve not have any issues in over a year like this.

You can add an iptables rule to the router to allow direct access to the modem admin subnet too which is nice.


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Thank you, may I ask what version your HG612 & Asus 86u are on?
Also what is the benefit of IP tables an how to do it?

 

[JDB]

Thank you, may I ask what version your HG612 & Asus 86u are on?
Also what is benefit of IP tables an how to do it?

HG612 is;
Hardware version VER.B
Software version V100R001C01B030SP08
Firmware version A2pv6C038m.d24j

86U is Firmware Version:384.8_2 (however I need to update to the latest 384.11_2 really, the below will all still work exactly the same).

When you unlock the HG612 you define a local subnet/IP for it's administration. Make this something different to your main LAN subnet!

Then you add a rule in the router to allow access to this modem admin subnet from your LAN (by adding a secondary IP to the WAN interface and an iptables rule to NAT to that IP for that specific subnet only).
Without this you would have to physically plug your computer into the modem every time you want to access it's admin page (admittedly not a common thing, but if you are diagnosing something the last thing you want to do is start unplugging/replugging stuff which may muddy the waters).

As for the how...
Install Merlin FW
Enable JFFS partition and scripts
I have in my /jffs/scripts/services-start the following lines. I'm not sure if it may be better to have it in firewall-start but it works for me where it is!

ifconfig $(nvram get wan_ifname):1 10.11.20.254 netmask 255.255.255.0
iptables -t nat -I POSTROUTING ! -s $(nvram get lan_ipaddr) -d 10.11.20.0/24 -j SNAT --to 10.11.20.254
logger Set routing to BT Openreach Modem

Make sure you make the script executable once it's created with;

chmod a+x /jffs/scripts/services-start

This assumes the subnet you put the modem in was 10.11.20.0/24.
So my setup is;
Router LAN = 10.11.12.0/24
Router LAN IP = 10.11.12.1

Modem Admin LAN = 10.11.20.0/24
Modem Admin IP = 10.11.20.1
Router WAN:1 IP = 10.11.20.254

Basically if you give the modem IP 10.11.20.1 you can use my script exactly as is (your Router LAN is not really relevant, just so long as it's not 10.11.20.0/24! So can use the default one if you wish).
Then, from any device in your Router LAN, put 10.11.20.1 into the browser and you'll be on the modem.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[TUT]

Many thanks JDB, really appreciate your help

 

[TUT]

Couple more questions please: which device would be the Gateway, modem or router, I would like to keep my existing setup & devices connected the same as they are now after swapping the BT Smart Hub.

My current IP range is 192.168.1.1/254, Gateway 192.168.1.1 (255.255.255.0) on the BT Smart Hub 6, what IP do I need to give to the modem and what IP to give to router to keep my existing setup unaffected?

What are the recommended settings for the HG612 modem and the Asus AC86U router to work reliably together with BT Infinity without a problem?

 

[JDB]

For the HG612, no config is required other than giving it the admin IP discussed above (recommend you use the same as me 10.11.20.1). The modem won't actually get a real/public IP from BT, it's just a bridge from the VDSL to Ethernet.

For the Router... For ease, I would give it LAN IP 192.168.1.1/255.255.255.0 and also set the WiFi SSID/Password to the same as your BTHub (that way all your devices won't need to learn a new WiFi SSID/Password ). In reality it won't matter what IP you give the router on the LAN side (unless you have any devices in your LAN not using DHCP, which would be unusual).

For the WAN side of the Router, I'm not 100% sure on the settings as I'm TalkTalk so I'll have slight differences. A quick google suggests it's as simple as;
Username = bthomehub@btbroadband.com
Password = BT
MTU = 1492

 

[TUT]

Perfect, many thanks JDB

 

[Hozz]

Just purchased the Asus RT-AC86u router for better WiFi coverage, speed and VPN performance, I am planning to install the latest Merlin image on it.

I am on BT Infinity 2 with 80Mbps, my BT cabinet is Huawei cabinet, from your experience, which of the following modems in conjunction with the Asus AC86u router is best for speed, reliability and stability ( I currently have all 3 of them at home):

1- BT Bussiness Smart Hub 6 ( With Bridge Mode)
2- BT Huawei HG612 Modem (unlocked with the latest firmware)
3- DrayTek Vigor 130 Modem (with the latest BT firmware)

Thank you in advance

I have a Draytek Vigor 130 which I use in bridge mode with an Asus RT-AC86U.
The connection is very stable but I do not think the speed is quite as good as a BT Smart Hub.
I suspect this is because I am on a Huawei cabinet and the Vigor 130 uses a Lantiq chipset.
The Huawei HG612 is no longer approved by BT as it does not have BT SIN 498 MCT approval see https://www.draytek.co.uk/information/our-technology/bt-sin-498
I am tempted to suggest that the BT Business Hub in bridge mode might be the best solution but I don't know how stable it is.

 

[TUT]

Thanks Hozz, I may try all 3 of them one by one for a few weeks and see which is faster and more stable

 

[Hozz]

Thanks Hozz, I may try all 3 of them one by one for a few weeks and see which is faster and more stable

There are additional firmware options available for the Vigor 130 available via this link ftp://ftp.draytek.com/Vigor130/Firmware/v3.8.4
Sign in as a guest. Numbers 1-4 are likely to be the most suitable as the others are for countries abroad.
I would be interested to know if the BT Business Hub proves to be faster than the Vigor 130.

Just to add that you must use the Vigor 130 in bridge mode if you are using a BT TV box.
You also need to set up IPTV on the router see attached screenshot.
Also under WAN make sure "Enable VPN & DHCP connection" is set to No

 

[ignade82]

BT Huawei HG612 Modem (unlocked with the latest firmware)

Do i need to unlock this modem ?I am waiting talktalk in my new flat this friday

 

[JDB]

BT Huawei HG612 Modem (unlocked with the latest firmware)

Do i need to unlock this modem ?I am waiting talktalk in my new flat this friday

You don’t need to unlock it. The advantage of doing so is you can monitor DSL statistics on it.


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