Questions before I switch my Internet service from ATT DSL to UVerse

[jopa131]

Hi, 

I have a few questions/concerns before I switch to U Verse. 

1.  I have the DSL modem and a Netgear WNR3500 Rangemax router which gives me a strong wireless signal throughout my house.  Prior to this my other router did not reach some areas of my house.  I need this same strength in a wireless signal after U Verse is installed.

2.  I have a Sirius Stiletto 100 radio which connects to a network.   I require that the wireless name be visible in order to connect to it.   I cannot have this name hidden.

3. I have a DSL modem - Netgear router - 2 hubs with up to 10 devices directly connected and around 12 devices connected wireless.  Will the UVerse modem support this?

4. Along with a wireless phrases, to enhance security I have every device (wired & wireless) set up by Mac Addr in the Netgear Access List.  No device can connect to my network unless the Mac Addr is entered in my access list.  I must maintain this type of security as I work from home with sensitive data.   I have about 2 dozen mac addresses in this list.  Will need soem type of equivalent security, not just a passphrase.

5.  I have 4 landline phones wired and need to maintain them but am willing to look at other options.

6.  As I mentioned I work from home and 100% of my time is on the internet using a company VPN.  How long does it take for the installer to complete the work?  I need to have a fallback plan (back to DSL) if there is an issue that will take more than a day to resolve.

7.  I currently have 6MB-DSL and plan to order 18/24MB-U Verse.  Really need the speed and am looking forward to the switch.

Thank you,

Jim    

[pbf888]

Before you change, make them tell you how far you are from the VRAM.

If you are near the distance limit - DON'T DO IT!

I am at the far end for the U-Verse,(INID bonded pair) 3400+ feet and I have been trying to get things fixed since Sept 2010.

So far they know there is a line issue but have been unable to fix it.

One I&R guy noted the problem in Oct. but did nothing was done about it.

Yes 5 months now.

Did they also tell you once you change you can't go back to DSL?

They did not tell me either. I was able to get a "override" in case I drop this U-Verse.

I have not tested this out yet I an still willing to let them get it fixed.

[spd2demun ACE - Master]

First, there is no way to tell how far a person is from the VRAD until the tech sets foot on your property. 

Wiring takes twists and turns and is not as-the-crow-flies in distance.

@pbf888--have you contacted David about your issues?  I'm guessing you have since they've been working on it for 5 mos.?

I see you have posted screenshots from UVRT, but your last post has not been analyzed yet.  Looks like so far, SomeJoe sees a possible grounding issue?

[Mentalfloss]

1. AT&T will give you a router with wireless access point. I don't know about everywhere but here it is a cheap poor quality Belkin, I think everything Belkin makes is horrible, we're on our third one in 14 months. Anyhow, you can put whatever WAP or router you want on the LAN but forgetaboutit if you used a site to site VPN in the past.

3. Not a problem, but if you use the Belkin wireless heavily expect it to burn out in 6 months. 

4. You can turn off the wireless on the equipment AT&T puts in, use your own WAPs.

5. No problem, the UVerse box converts your voice back to POTS.

6. Good luck with that. And if you were like me and used a router, such as a Cisco ASA to maintain site to site VPN connections forget about doing that now. I begged to put in my own modem, nope {Content Removed:Keep it Appropriate} they say, you can't touch a public IP address. Now I have to run VPN client on whatever I'm on at the moment and it is a PITA.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

First, you need to forget most of what mentalfloss said.  It's not accurate.

The best thing for you is to continue to use your NetGear router as the DMZ device behind the U-Verse router.  This will take care of your #1 - #4 requirements, as they're already met by the NetGear router you have.

To set that up, just do a search here in this forum for "router behind router" or "router DMZ".  It's fairly straightforward to set up, and your NetGear's WAN interface will get a publically routable IP address.

#5 is no problem, the output of the U-Verse router is a POTS FXO port, which will drive all of your phones as before.  The technician will wire this in to backfeed the POTS wiring in the house.

For #6 you will have to talk to your U-Verse tech.  Make sure he understands that if there's a problem, you need to be able to back out and go back to DSL.

The U-Verse router they will give you is made by 2Wire, not Belkin.  (Although the battery backup they give you for the U-Verse router is usually Belkin).

VPN from computers behind the U-Verse router is no problem using common VPN clients like the Microsoft PPTP VPN client or the Cisco IPSec VPN client.  If you need to do site-to-site VPN behind the U-Verse router, that is doable with the right equipment.  I currently have a site-to-site IPSec VPN set up behind my U-Verse router using a Cisco 2811.

[Mentalfloss]

Anything not accurate was based on B.inaccurateS. info given to me by script reading AT&T tech support. 

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

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Mentalfloss wrote:

Anything not accurate was based on B.inaccurateS. info given to me by script reading AT&T tech support. 

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I figured as much.  A lot of times you can't trust the tech support people at all.  Many of them have never actually seen the service in action.

[jopa131]

Thank you SomeJoe7777.

I have to say after reading this thread I am more concerned or less eager to jump into U Verse.

#1-4 I will review about "router behind router".  I guess I would turn off the UV modem's wireless.  I imagine the netgear can handle the faster speeds.

#5 - rewiring the landlines will be interesting since it currently enters the basement and exits as 4 seperate lines and my netgear router is located on the first floor.  I'll need a discussion on this.

#6 - I'll mention the need to backout.

My IT support provides two VPNs.  Something called OpenVPN and Cisco VPN client.