cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

allanfr
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎01-12-2020

Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

I'm considering upgrading to Plusnet Unlimited Fibre (VDSL) and have been quoted 20-29  Mbps download (18.2 guar) and 4-5 Mbps upload.  I've been on Plusnet's Unlimited Broadband for quite a few years now getting a stable 10 Mbps down / 1.5 Mbps up using a Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL combo modem/router.

FTTP is not available in my area just yet and in the meantime I'd like to get a bit more speed (wife has just signed-up to Netflix).

Would getting a TP-Link TD-W9970 and configuring as Modem and connecting to the DGND3700v2's WAN port via ethernet cable, be a workable interim solution?

I've read a few posts which suggest this should work but I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions.

Tags (3)
12 REPLIES 12
Baldrick1
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11,615
Thanks: 5,166
Fixes: 415
Registered: ‎30-06-2016

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@allanfr  Welcome to the forum.

You might find that the dual band Hub 1 that Plusnet will supply will do the job on it's own but if you want to continue using the Netgear for WiFi then simply configure the Netgear as an Access Point and connected it to one of the Hub One LAN ports. This will save you the cost ot another modem/router.

Moderator and Customer
If this helped - select the Thumb
If it fixed it,  help others - select 'This Fixed My Problem'

allanfr
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎01-12-2020

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

Baldrick1  That's a good point.

My original thought(s) was to place the TP-Link TD-W9970 (configured just as modem) close the BT master socket then connect to my Netgear DGND3700v2 upstairs via Ethernet cable, to hopefully give the best speed. I suppose I could even try this with my current ADSL setup?

Also I've got the Netgear configured with reserved IP addresses for specific iPad, phones and laptop that I use with another Wi-Fi router in various 'theatres' for stage lighting control. Not sure if the PN Hub 1 offers this, maybe just being lazy!

I would however set-up the PN Hub 1 and keep as a spare in case of any problems.

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,573
Thanks: 5,408
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@allanfr  if it helps, I've used the 9970 as a modem in front of a Draytek 2830 on Fibre. It works fine, is easy to set up and is a pretty good modem. AS a modem it's about on a par with the old HG612 BT modem. You can pick up the HG612 on ebay fro less than the 9970 but if you want new , then the 9970 is probably about the cheapest VDSL modem around.

 

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Baldrick1
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11,615
Thanks: 5,166
Fixes: 415
Registered: ‎30-06-2016

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@allanfr 

If you configure the Netgear as an Access Point you would not have to change any other settings. You just connect it to the hub one using an Ethernet cable between a LAN socket on each.

To convert the Netgear you simply go into the advanced settings, switch off DHCP and give it a fixed IP address in the range 192.168.1.2-63

Moderator and Customer
If this helped - select the Thumb
If it fixed it,  help others - select 'This Fixed My Problem'

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,573
Thanks: 5,408
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@Baldrick1 Also I've got the Netgear configured with reserved IP addresses for specific iPad, phones and laptop that I use with another Wi-Fi router in various 'theatres' for stage lighting control. Not sure if the PN Hub 1 offers this, maybe just being lazy!

but he's going to lose all those reserved settings because the Hub one will be the DHCP server. I'm not sure how good the Hub one is at reserving IP addresses , I've never used mine in anger as a router. Mainly because you can't override the DNS server configuration.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Baldrick1
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11,615
Thanks: 5,166
Fixes: 415
Registered: ‎30-06-2016

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@MisterW 

Thanks, I missed that. Sorry to muddy the waters @allanfr .

What's the difference between reserving an IP address and using a fixed IP address/letting the DHCP allocate one then telling the router to always use that address (I don't know about the Hub One but you can do this on a Smarthub).

Moderator and Customer
If this helped - select the Thumb
If it fixed it,  help others - select 'This Fixed My Problem'

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,573
Thanks: 5,408
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@Baldrick1  not a lot really the end result is that DHCP allocates the fixed address. Some routers, and I THINK the Hub one is one of these, will only allow you to fix the address to one that DHCP has initially allocated to the device, whereas others will allow you complete freedom to specify a mac address and a specific IP address to allocate to that device. The 2nd option is needed if you have already allocated a set of fixed addresses using one router and then want to change to a new router but retain the same set of IP addresses.

For example, coincidentally I've just used my spare Draytek to do exactly that. I'm testing a new Smart central heating contoller and had it connected to my active router and had fixed it's IP. It's configured using a Smartphone/Tablet but is supposed to work without an Internet connection. I wanted to test that it does work this way, so configured my spare router standalone with DHCP configured to allocate exactly the same IP address to the heating controller Mac address. Had I not had that ability before I connected the heating contoller to it, it would have likely allocated a different IP address since it had never seen that device before.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

allanfr
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎01-12-2020

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

MisterW said The 2nd option is needed if you have already allocated a set of fixed addresses using one router and then want to change to a new router but retain the same set of IP addresses.

Yes, this is exactly the situation I require/use.

Thanks for the positive note on the TD-W9970. I'll get one and give it a whirl.

Final question, should the Ethernet connection from the TD-W9970 (modem) go to the WLAN port on the Netgear DGND3700v2?  I already use the Netgear's 4 (yellow) LAN ports for PC connections.

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,573
Thanks: 5,408
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

Final question, should the Ethernet connection from the TD-W9970 (modem) go to the WLAN port on the Netgear 

I assume that's a typo and should have said WAN. The answer's yes, cable goes from a LAN port on the 9970(dont think it matters which) to the WAN port on the Netgear. Use the quick setup on the 9970, select Plusnet_VDSL and Bridge mode.  You may have to do some configuration on the Netgear  to tell it to use the WAN port rather than the DSL port OR it may auto detect. I can't seem to see for definite from the manual. Usually most routers give priority to the WAN port and so if they see a physical connection on it, will attempt the PPPoE connection via that instead of the DSL port.

TBH I did exactly what you're planning, when I upgraded to Fibre a few years ago. My Draytek 2830 only had an ADSL modem, so I put the 9970 in front of it, connected to the WAN port on the 2830. In my case I had to tell the Draytek to enable WAN2 (its ethernet WAN port) rather than WAN1 (the DSL port) for it's internet connection, but that was about all I had to do.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Baldrick1
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11,615
Thanks: 5,166
Fixes: 415
Registered: ‎30-06-2016

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970


@MisterW wrote:

@Baldrick1  not a lot really the end result is that DHCP allocates the fixed address. Some routers, and I THINK the Hub one is one of these, will only allow you to fix the address to one that DHCP has initially allocated to the device, whereas others will allow you complete freedom to specify a mac address and a specific IP address to allocate to that device. The 2nd option is needed if you have already allocated a set of fixed addresses using one router and then want to change to a new router but retain the same set of IP addresses.

For example, coincidentally I've just used my spare Draytek to do exactly that. I'm testing a new Smart central heating contoller and had it connected to my active router and had fixed it's IP. It's configured using a Smartphone/Tablet but is supposed to work without an Internet connection. I wanted to test that it does work this way, so configured my spare router standalone with DHCP configured to allocate exactly the same IP address to the heating controller Mac address. Had I not had that ability before I connected the heating contoller to it, it would have likely allocated a different IP address since it had never seen that device before.


Thanks, I think that I get it now.

1- A Fixed IP address is allocated and fixed in the connected device settings.

2: An Allocated IP address is allocated and fixed in the router settings.

3. A DHCP address is randomly allocated by the router but can be fixed at that address in the router.

Out of interest, taking @allanfr ‘s  non time critical application, where double NATing probably isn’t a problem, would the set up work if the Netgear was used as an AP but the Netgear DHCP was left switched on with no other changes made apart from setting the Netgear IP address to one in the new router address range? If so this would make a self contained sub system that could be used with any modem/router with only the one setting that might need changing if the Hub was changed or it needed to be connected to a different network?

 

Moderator and Customer
If this helped - select the Thumb
If it fixed it,  help others - select 'This Fixed My Problem'

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,573
Thanks: 5,408
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@Baldrick1 

Out of interest, taking @allanfr ‘s  non time critical application, where double NATing probably isn’t a problem, would the set up work if the Netgear was used as an AP but the Netgear DHCP was left switched on with no other changes made apart from setting the Netgear IP address to one in the new router address range? If so this would make a self contained sub system that could be used with any modem/router with only the one setting that might need changing if the Hub was changed or it needed to be connected to a different network?

If you wish to leave DHCP on, then you would need to use it in router mode, configure the WAN port  to get an IP address from the Hub one. You would need to change change the Hub one subnet to be different to that of the Netgear. As you say that would give a double NAT situation which may or may not be acceptable.

If you wanted to use it as an AP but with DHCP on i.e in the same subnet as the main router and connected LAN to LAN port. Then you would need to ensure that it's DHCP server gave out a default gateway of the primary router i.e the Hub one since that is still the only route to the internet. I'm not sure that is possible with most routers, they will usually give out their own address as the default gateway

 

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

allanfr
Hooked
Posts: 7
Thanks: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎01-12-2020

Re: Upgrade to Unlimited Fibre? Using Netgear DGND3700v2 ADSL2 with TP-Link TD-W9970

@MisterW wrote: I assume that's a typo and should have said WAN

Yes indeed, finger trouble.

I've taken the plunge and signed-up for the upgrade to Plusnet VDSL and also ordered a TP-Link TD-W9970.

Based on the good advice here, I'll initially use the PN Hub One, and once the connection is established I'll try the TD-W9970 and existing Netgear DGND3700v2 combination and hopefully keep the Hub One as a spare.

I'll report the outcome.


Thanks folks