Poking around the Fibe Modem

[Dioneo]

I have my home LAN pretty customized. Since I have to use the Fibe modem/router I decided it would be much easier to change the Fibe modem/router's configuration than the settings on all my network enabled devices. So, here's a few things I noticed...

• The modem/router didn't have any password protection for the web administration interface. At least the default wireless passwords Bell uses are fairly secure. Still, it would be a good idea to set up some kind of administrative credentials.

• Most changes to the wireless network properties are applied right away. So, making changes if you are connected wirelessly will take a while.

• Most changes to the LAN settings (including LAN IP and DHCP parameters) are applied only after a reboot of the modem. That is a nice touch, as I did want to change the LAN subnet it was using and the DHCP settings.

• I found the connection to be sluggish at times, with most of the delay seeming to happen while trying to look up host names. So, I disabled the DNS relay option and have the OpenDNS servers set to be assigned via DHCP. That seems to have helped.

• UPnP is supported, so PS3 gamers won't have to worry about opening ports to be able to use the PSN or play online - If UPnP is enabled in the PS3's network settings. That should also make the router bit torrent client friendly.

• My 360 didn't like the NAT it saw with respect to XBox Live. Not a big deal for me, as it didn't like my old router either so it was already using a static IP address. The Fibe modem/router has a very easy to use Port Forwarding section, so it didn't take long to get XBL working again.