OpenVPN

[#1]

I am still waiting to commence BB with PlusNet. In the mean time I thought I would try and sort things out. I have a  Linksys WRT 1900 ACS Router, set up with an OpenVPN. Can I connect this router to the PlusNet Hub 1?

[#2]

Welcome to the forum.

If you set it up as a Wireless Access Point (WAP) you can connect it to the Hub One. Connect the Ethernet cable to a LAN (not WAN) socket at both ends, You may choose to turn the Hubs wireless off.

[#3]

Thanks Baldrick. What I really want to do is use the Netgear as my router. But from what I read, this cannot be done using the Plusnet Hub 1 as a modem. So can I use an Openreach fibre modem in place of the Hub1 to connect to Plusnet fibre broadband and set up my Netgear from the modem? I really am a novice at this broadband business.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): All caps title/text edited as per Forum rules.

[#4]

Yes

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): All caps title/text edited as per Forum rules.

[#5]

That Netgear I was talking about is a Linksys WRT1900ACS AC1900 Dual-Band Wireless Router. Hope there has not been any problems connecting these.  Dohhhh!

[#6]

Right, let's start with a bit of an explanation then move on to your options:

The Linksys is a router, which requires a modem to interface it with the incoming VDSL data. The Plusnet Hub One is a combined modem router. Unlike some you cannot use it as just a modem, so if you try to couple this to your Linksys then you end up with two routers and potentially loads of problems. The answer to this is to convert the Linksys into a WAP, which simply means that it provides a second set of Ethernet output connections plus a second set of wireless transmissions. To do this you need to effectively slave the Linksys off the Hub One. If you look at the linksys manual (http://downloads.linksys.com/downloads/userguide/1224701614608/MAN_WRT1900AC_8820-01897_RevA00_EN_FR...), look at page 34. However if you follow this leave the IP address of the Linksys at 192.168.1.1.

In my view a better (and easier) solution would be to go onto Ebay and buy a compatible modem and not use the Hub One. My recommendation is a Huawei Echolife HG612 Model 3B. These are 'plug and play' and can also be unlocked should you wish to monitor your WAN statistics. I see that they are currently available for a 'Buy me Now' price of £12.50 including postage. I would not bother to pay extra for an unlocked version. In my opinion if you are not capable of unlocking one using the simple instructions available from Kitz then you are unlikely to gain much from the reams of information this makes available.

If you take the HG612 path then these instructions should help: http://fixhomenetwork.com/blog/linksys-wrt1900acs-router-setup/. Go to the 'For DSL ISP' section. The data you need to enter into the Linksys is: Connection Type - PPPoE, Username - yourusername@plusdsl.net, Password - your account password. Note that the account name and password are the ones you use to log into your Plusnet Account in the Member Centre. You make no changes to the Huawei modem.

[#7]

Baldrick1, thank you for all that info: I have an openreach fibre modem. Is that ok?

[#8 · Accepted solution]

Yes, either my recommended Huawei version or the ECI equivalent can be labelled Openreach and can be used. Both will work OK but if your fibre cabinet was manufactured by Huawei you may get better performance using a Huawei modem .