Upgrade Netgear DGND3700v1, Telstra Gateway Max or both for NBN HFC?

General discussion about Gargoyle, OpenWrt or anything else even remotely related to the project

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
wizardryinc
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:13 pm

Upgrade Netgear DGND3700v1, Telstra Gateway Max or both for NBN HFC?

Post by wizardryinc »

OK, here is the situation.

I have an ADSL2+ connection with Telstra. Currently using Netgear N600 DGND3700v1 modem/router with OpenDNS which is just satisfactory. According to ADSL2Exchanges, I'm about 2.6km direct distance from the exchange or 3.2km in cable length. My downstream connection speed according to my Netgear modem is 5219 kbps and upstream 1053 kbps. When I'm downloading I can generally sustain download speeds of around 400kB/s and peak at about 450 which is better than my previous provider.

Now that my 3 teenage kids and wife all have phones and laptops, throw in a tablet, playstation, smartTV or two to boot, its Netflix, Playstation and YouTube galore over here most times and I can't get bandwidth to access my work server over VPN. I mean I cant even sensibly use a small MS Word document! I use Wifi too in the house sometimes but probably am the one who uses the LAN primarily for work.

So, Telstra have advised we are moving to NBN (HFC) sometime in the next 1-2 months and have given me a new Gateway Max NBN-ready modem/router (Model TG799vac). I've read that its 1900ac capable but some reckon its only 1750ac in reality. Max downstream bandwidth on my phone line is 5.67Mbps down and 1.07Mbps up according to this modem when connected so there is a slight improvement over the Netgear. Problem with Gateway Max is there is no capacity for OpenDNS or now that kids have found they can change their own DNS addresses, Gargoyle.

I've visited the OpenWRT and Gargoyle forums, and at least a year or two ago, DGND3700 was not supported by OpenWRT. Apparently it is now in the Chaos Chalmer version but the N600 modem will never be. What to do?

Option 1: Bridge the Gateway and connect the N600 into the WAN and install Gargoyle onto the DGND3700 if this is possible. I'm not exactly sure which GG files to flash since I cant see files for the Broadcom 6368 chip or any files for Netgear DGND3700v1 to flash with and I would lose the slight speed advantage of AC wifi (one of the few the Gateway has) by going back to N600.

Option 2: Flog one or both the DGND and the Gateway on eBay and update to something faster, compatible with Gargoyle and hopefully NBN-proof. In that case I will need a modem or something to connect to NBN HFC and a router which can be Gargoyled.

I've read that Archer C7v2, Netgear WNDR3800 and Linksys WRT1900AC/s are compatible with Gargoyle. Is the WRT1900ACS much preferred over the 1900AC? Is there much difference in the others than price point either?

Seems to me unless the Netgear is sufficiently future-proof and can be Gargoyled (with help from users) I need to go out and get myself some new tech - one or possibly more devices.

Appreciate some advice on these options or other options still. I kind of like the thought of making use of what I have if at all possible, but not afraid of starting over either.

Lantis
Moderator
Posts: 6735
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:33 am
Location: Australia

Re: Upgrade Netgear DGND3700v1, Telstra Gateway Max or both for NBN HFC?

Post by Lantis »

You won't find an image for the DGND because it is a modem. Gargoyle does not support modems.

My advice is to keep the gateway max from Telstra. Cable modems are a bit finicky and if something goes wrong, having your providers hardware in place can go a long way to getting help.

If you want to run Gargoyle you'll need to put a router on the LAN side of the gateway and as you say, lose the wireless advantage.

The 1900AC vs ACS is a processor speed bump and passive rather than active cooling.
At 100mbps (max of current nbn hfc) either one would suffice.
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

Post Reply