D-Link DSL 2540B modem/router and connection speed

[canooten]

Have 6mbps ATT DSL and have had fairly consistent speeds between 6 and 6.5mbps with the supplied ISP modem (Motorola 2210-02). My original modem was a version 1006 and had a pretty good UI that gave basic firewall/NAT options and was fine for my needs. This modem went out and was replaced by ATT as defective. I received another 2210-02...this time a version 1022 and this modem has crippled firmware. No options at all...only allows one DHCP client and the only way to use NAT is via DHCP. Static connections are pretty well locked down with no way to adjust.
This doesn't work for my setup so I bought a D-Link 2540B modem/router. It's working fairly well, but I consistently get 2-3mbps speeds through this modem. I can't seem to get my purchased speed, even though the status page of the modem shows my attainable rate of 8760 down and current rate of of 7655kbps.

Couple of questions with this....does anyone have suggestions of settings on the D-Link that would open my connection up?
Also, anyone know of a way to 'downgrade' the Motorola firmware of the 1022 to the 1006 model? I'm fine using the ISP modem as long as I have basic firewall/NAT options.

 

[Teh Solution]

Hi Canooten,
I wouldn't recommend changing the firmware of the modem to the 1006, good chance it could turn your modem into a paper weight. Try setting your IP to public from the connection configuration screen. This turns off DHCP and will pass the public IP through the modem to the router, instead of giving the router a local ip.

 

[canooten]

I'm not sure if I can use the 2540 as just a router....if so I will set the Motorola up as a gateway and try that. I just assumed since the D-Link is a modem/router combo it was all or nothing. I have not seen a way to disable the modem section of the unit.

As for bricking the Motorola...I'm not really concerned with that. I'm not currently using it anyway. Just thought that if there were a way to revert it to the older firmware and get some basic functionality out of it, I'd give it a shot and go back to using the ISP modem exclusively.

 

[Teh Solution]

it may be possible to telnet into the 1022 and change the DHCP pool to include more than one address, and use the 2540 as a switch then. I'm not 100% sure if this will work, but heres the info.

Here is what you need to do in the telnet interface. cut and pasted from source.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


dcs-gwm> config
Config Mode v1.3
dcs-gwm (top)>> dhcp
dcs-gwm (dhcp)>> view
===============================================
dhcp
option server
start-address 192.168.8.1
end-address 192.168.8.31
lease-time 03:00:00:00
default-option-group ""
filterset
assigned-filterset "none"
reserved
ip-address 192.168.8.1
mac-address 00-16-b6-86-e8-f0
ip-address 192.168.8.2
mac-address 00-40-f4-e7-ff-27
gen-option
option-group
dcs-gwm (dhcp)>> set end-address
end-address (192.168.8.31): 192.168.8.31
dcs-gwm (dhcp)>> save
WARNING: System-bridge has been turned ON!
WARNING: 'dns domain-name' is null, indicating no domain name is available.
WARNING: 'dns primary-address [0.0.0.0]' and 'dns secondary-address [0.0.0.0]'indicate no nameserver is available.
WARNING: 'dhcp start/end-address [192.168.8.1, 192.168.8.31]' provide a maximumof 31 lease addresses
Configuration data saved.
dcs-gwm (dhcp)>> exit
dcs-gwm>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The commands you enter are shown in bold. In my case, I did not change the end-address, but you should change it to whatever you like.

here is the link to the source: [Home Network] Motorola 2210-02-1022 LAN setup - dslreports.com

 

[Ethereal_Dragon]

Can you describe your network topology? From the sound of it, you have a hub or a switch that connects to the modem which isn't capable of doing DHCP or NAT.

When I had DSL (and Cable for that matter also), I had the modem set up as just a pass-through. My personal router's WAN port had the public IP address from the ISP on it, and then performed NAT and DHCP for the hosts on my network. The BENEFIT of this is that you can use the SAME router for a variety of different services should you switch, and only minimal config changes are needed.

 

[Teh Solution]

The 2210-02-1022 has NAT and DHCP but the DHCP is only set up to hand out one single lan address. this makes it dificult to use it with a switch.

 

[canooten]

Can you describe your network topology? From the sound of it, you have a hub or a switch that connects to the modem which isn't capable of doing DHCP or NAT.

When I had DSL (and Cable for that matter also), I had the modem set up as just a pass-through. My personal router's WAN port had the public IP address from the ISP on it, and then performed NAT and DHCP for the hosts on my network. The BENEFIT of this is that you can use the SAME router for a variety of different services should you switch, and only minimal config changes are needed.

At the moment I am patched directly in to my ISP supplied modem and am getting my purchased speed. Usually my setup is Phone line to DSL2540B modem, out to an 8 port switch then on to my various devices. The switch is not an issue....have had it in my network for a good while and it simply passes the signal (10/100).

The speed issue is definitely with the DLink modem. I just patched directly into the DLink and over a few speed tests was able to get 1.6mb tops. Hooked up my ISP modem and got 6.7mb. This is connected directly to each modem with no other devices connected.

Going to see if this DLink can function as a router without also performing the modem duties.....

 

[canooten]

The 2210-02-1022 has NAT and DHCP but the DHCP is only set up to hand out one single lan address. this makes it dificult to use it with a switch.

True if you use DHCP, but you can connect more if you use static settings on all devices. Problem is that it puts strict NAT on all devices....if you have multiple game consoles on the network, or need to open/forward ports etc, you are out of luck. The single DHCP address is the only address that gets any options (and they are limited at that).

Come to find out, the DLink modem/router can not be used just as a router. Tried to bridge the ISP modem and use the DLink just for routing with no luck.

Guess I will have to shell out for another router and sell the DLink.