New Fibre install coming up - what can I do and expect?

[#1]

My fibre broadband is getting installed on 1st March so fingers crossed! The PN supplied router has arrived - Technicolor so looking good so far 
I am currently with O2 on ADSL which I have been very pleased with but they don't offer fibre. According to PN, I should get a broadband speed of 54 Mbps so time will tell. I have my work router currently connected to my O2 router and an IP phone connected to my work router. I have had no problems or disconnections with O2 and I will be looking to have the same setup with the PN router.
I've been read this forum with real interest and it appears many people have been experiencing issues with their fibre broadband. I am hoping this is only a minority number of users but it does not appear to be that way. Is there anything I should do now for testing my line, profile, etc so that I can compare it tests following the fibre installation?
I've heard very bad reviews about the PN supplied router especially with its wireless range. I will have laptops, an iPad and iPhones connected wirelessly to the router so I am really contemplating purchasing the ASUS RT-N56U router which has had great reviews but I should give the Technicolor a chance (I'm not holding out much hope though based on other peoples' feedback).
Once my fibre broadband is connected, what should I do to ensure I am getting my full broadband speed and reliability? Do I have to wait for up to a day for the fibre broadband to get connected after the installation? Are there tests I should carry out on my profile, speed, connectivity, pings, etc? Is there a period I should be running these tests and should I be updating the firmware on the router?
What upload and download speed can I expect? I have also gone for the home phone too but for some reason this will not get connected until 2 weeks after the broadband installation.
I would be really grateful if you can provide me with as much information (and links to webpages) to help me get setup and verify the connection. I will be more than happy to provide feedback so that it can help others who plan to join PN.

[#2]

Bear in mind that very few customers log on to these forums in order to tell everyone that their broadband is working absolutely fine. They are a place where people with problems and questions can get support from other Plusnet customers and Plusnet support staff. So the chances are your migration will go fine and you'll be very happy.
Unless you have specific needs from your router that you know won't be met by the TG582n, why not try it out and see if it is good enough for what you want to do? I'm not a big fan of this router and have replaced mine with an Asus router, but I also live in a house that is very difficult to cover adequately with wifi and I need remote vpn access. The TG582n might work for you. If not, then it seems you've already identified an excellent replacement. I'm not aware that there are any firmware updates available for the TG582n - bear in mind it's a Plusnet-specific version of firmware it runs.
As for testing the performance of the line after it's activated, the obvious places to check performance are speedtest.net, pingtest.net and the BTW speed checker, which will tell you your BT IP Profile if you click the "Further Diagnostics" button after the first test. The IP profile is 0.9679 of your actual VDSL2 sync rate (on downstream. On upstream it's usually fixed at your upstream product speed eg if you are on 80/20 then it will be 20Mbps for upstream). Actual throughput will be lower than the IP profile rate, as there are also the overheads of the TCP/IP protocol to account for. Run all these tests using a computer connected directly to the router with an ethernet cable. Probably worth running a few tests at different times of day over the few days after installation just to check performance is stable.
BTW is there some reason why you have two routers daisy-chained together? Or have I misunderstood...

[#3]

Quote from: Bright

BTW is there some reason why you have two routers daisy-chained together? Or have I misunderstood...

I was wondering that too.  Was with Be (almost the same company I know) before and had a similar set-up as the Be supplied router for ADSL was lets say challenged.  To get site-to-site vpn with work I needed to run the router in bridged mode and forward everything.  Worked a dream.  However now I am on fibre I have moved back to a single router and that works just as well here.

[#4]

Thanks Bright. I have my work router cabled to my O2 router right now so that I can VPN to my work network. I also have an IP phone that is connected to my work router. Fro my laptop I can connect wirelessly to my work wireless/network whilst my wife and kids can connect wirelessly to the O2 router.
This is how I intend to get setup when I'm connected on the fibre broadband next week. Is there anything wrong with this setup?

[#5]

@windsortg
Presumably your PC and IP phone both connect to your work network over the VPN...? If it works OK, then it's probably fine! Ideally the 2nd router should either be set up in bridge mode, or in routing mode on a separate sub-net with NAT disabled (double NAT can cause problems with some applications). But give it a try and see if it works. If not, I'm sure there will be no shortage of people here who can help sort it out.

[#6]

Hi windsortg,
I've had a look over yout account and can see that everything is on track for you.
This <a href="http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/hardware/technicolor-582n-fibre-setup-guide.shtml">guide</a> will help if you're stuck on the setup at all.
If you've any questions let us know.
Chris