Use Virgin Hub (not Modem Mode) AND 7800N?

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slikvik
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:50 pm

Use Virgin Hub (not Modem Mode) AND 7800N?

Post by slikvik »

Hi,

I've just moved to Virgin and realised two things: I don't have enough Ethernet ports on the Superhub and the Wifi signal where the hub is located does not reach a certain part of the house.

Rather than putting the Virgin Hub in modem mode can I just connect the Billion to it, disable the 7800N DHCP and then use both routers for wired Ethernet connections and the 7800N for Wifi?

I currently have a cheap gigabit switch connected to the Virgin Hub and this works but I'd rather swap it with the 7800N and gain the added benefit of using its wifi facility to cover the whole house like it used to when I was with Sky.

Also, if I can't just connect the two together via gigabit ports and I instead have to enable the use of the EWAN mode (with "Obtain IP Address Automatically") how do I get access to the Billion Web Admin in the future? The Virgin DHCP runs on a different subnet (192.168.0.X) and if the 7800N is getting an IP address assigned to it presumably it will no longer be 192.168.1.254.
billion_fan
Posts: 5374
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:30 pm

Re: Use Virgin Hub (not Modem Mode) AND 7800N?

Post by billion_fan »

slikvik wrote:Hi,

I've just moved to Virgin and realised two things: I don't have enough Ethernet ports on the Superhub and the Wifi signal where the hub is located does not reach a certain part of the house.

Rather than putting the Virgin Hub in modem mode can I just connect the Billion to it, disable the 7800N DHCP and then use both routers for wired Ethernet connections and the 7800N for Wifi?

I currently have a cheap gigabit switch connected to the Virgin Hub and this works but I'd rather swap it with the 7800N and gain the added benefit of using its wifi facility to cover the whole house like it used to when I was with Sky.

Also, if I can't just connect the two together via gigabit ports and I instead have to enable the use of the EWAN mode (with "Obtain IP Address Automatically") how do I get access to the Billion Web Admin in the future? The Virgin DHCP runs on a different subnet (192.168.0.X) and if the 7800N is getting an IP address assigned to it presumably it will no longer be 192.168.1.254.
Yes you can disable the DCHP server on the 7800N, then plug a Ethernet connection from your Super Hub, to any of the 4 LAN ports, (the EWAN port is limited to 100mbps, so try not to use this port, if you have a 100+mbps connection with Virgin)

The 7800N should then work as a wireless hub switch, all DHCP requests etc will then be handled by the Super Hub
slikvik
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:50 pm

Re: Use Virgin Hub (not Modem Mode) AND 7800N?

Post by slikvik »

Thanks, that's exactly what I did in the end and it seems to work great.

Just some extra info in case anyone searches for this. I changed the IP of the 7800 to 192.168.0.9 (outside of the Virgin Hubs DHCP) so that I could still access the 7800 web admin.

As a nice feature I also disabled 2.4Ghz a/b/g on the Virgin (leaving 5Ghz n/ac) and set the 7800 to 2.4Ghz b/g. This gives me two APs that support all devices without much conflict.

A few outstanding issues.... I currently have the two APs with different SSIDs. Can I set the to the same (with the same password) and mobile phones will automatically connect to the best signal? There are some extra settings on the 7800 that now seem superfluous, like DHCPvIP6. I wonder what other settings should be disabled to stop any issues and/or increase performance.
billion_fan
Posts: 5374
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:30 pm

Re: Use Virgin Hub (not Modem Mode) AND 7800N?

Post by billion_fan »

slikvik wrote:Thanks, that's exactly what I did in the end and it seems to work great.

Just some extra info in case anyone searches for this. I changed the IP of the 7800 to 192.168.0.9 (outside of the Virgin Hubs DHCP) so that I could still access the 7800 web admin.

As a nice feature I also disabled 2.4Ghz a/b/g on the Virgin (leaving 5Ghz n/ac) and set the 7800 to 2.4Ghz b/g. This gives me two APs that support all devices without much conflict.

A few outstanding issues.... I currently have the two APs with different SSIDs. Can I set the to the same (with the same password) and mobile phones will automatically connect to the best signal? There are some extra settings on the 7800 that now seem superfluous, like DHCPvIP6. I wonder what other settings should be disabled to stop any issues and/or increase performance.
Normally its best to have the SSID's named differently, so you know which band you are connecting to, for speed and if you run into any issues. (to help isolate any issues)

As you are not using the 7800N with a WAN connection you don't have to worry about IPv6, (when virgin do decide to enable IPv6, the 7800n should pass through this information to any connecting device)
slikvik
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 7:50 pm

Re: Use Virgin Hub (not Modem Mode) AND 7800N?

Post by slikvik »

Thanks very much
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