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Broadband Router Hardware Interview

Mark.J

Administrator
Staff member
ISPreview Team
We're going to be chatting with one of the major manufactures of broadband router/modems soon (ZyXEL) and if readers have any questions they'd like us to ask about the technology, such as what features you'd like to see added into future routers that perhaps doesn’t already exist, then please post them down here.
 
In general I'd like to see better security, some manufacturers don't even use session IDs in the router's forms to prevent cross-site request forgery.

I'd like giganet switches in ADSL routers, usb2 connections so I can network a USB printer and to be able to connect an external hard drive or memory stick so I can use it as a webserver/mediaserver with the PC off. It would also be nice if the router could be booted from a memory stick, so custom firmware could be tested without flashing the router.


I'd also like the source code for the firmware published so it can be adapted improved, and if necessarily bug-fixed even after the manufacturer ceases to support it.

I'd like better logging such as how much data each PC downloaded and uploaded and which websites each accessed and when (this data would preferably be stored to a usb memory stick or hard-disk).
 
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thats pretty much all l can think of (mel and bob covered everything in one fowl swoop XD)
 
I'd also like the source code for the firmware published so it can be adapted improved, and if necessarily bug-fixed even after the manufacturer ceases to support it.

I think this is one of the major factors for me as well. I would like to think that one of the reasons the Linksys WRT54G sold so well and lived so long was the open source firmware that meant there was a whole raft third party firmware that changed/improved the router. It certainly was a deciding factor for me when I bought one. After all, the company makes money from selling hardware, not really firmware. So if after someone bought it they installed third part firmware, it's not like the hardware company is loosing out on revenue. What's a company like ZyXEL's argument against open source firmware? From a technical and business stand point.
 
I'd like to see more routers with in-built statistical monitoring for networks, so you could track how much data had passed over the Internet connection with greater accuracy and without needing to install third-party software on your PC. I think there is a router that does this but I've yet to own one.
 
actually it would be interesting to not only have bandwidth monitoring but also limitation software, for example your on an entanet supplier and you have a cap then it can be set within the router so that if you hit it then it wont allow you to go over... ld like to see some sort of "rules" section like my bittorrent client which would allow one to allocate bandwidth between specific times.
 
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actually it would be interesting to not only have bandwidth monitoring but also limitation software, for example your on an entanet supplier and you have a cap then it can be set within the router so that if you hit it then it wont allow you to go over... ld like to see some sort of "rules" section like my bittorrent client which would allow one to allocate bandwidth between specific times.

Like what is in the software for the Draytek Vigor2800

http://www.draytek.com/demo/Vigor2800/index.htm

That is a online working copy of my routers software.
 
yeah but l suggest something easier for less tech savvy users, personally ld opt for a table view and limitations per meg/gig rather than percentages.
 
Mel read my mind, also I would like to know what chipset and DSL code the modem uses so it can be changed as required to suit line conditions
 
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