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I'm a new member here and definitely not a techie, so my questions will probably seem pretty feeble for most members here. Sorry about that.
My ISP is Comcast/Xfinity and, according to them, my Performance Pro internet plan provides a download speed of 25 MBPS and upload speed of 5 MBPS. I really don't like renting their router/modem for $10.00 a month and am not happy with some of its limitations (for example, if I want to turn my WiFi on or off, I have to call them and request that one of their technicians do it.)
So, the plan is to buy my own equipment and get a unit(s) that will give me more control over my network operation.

My questions are:
1. Would I be better served buying separate units--i.e., both a router and a separate modem--rather than a combined router/modem similar to what Comcast has provided? Right now I'm not using WiFi but would like to once I get things set up. Also, security is a concern, so I want to be able to configure the system in order to secure properly rather than having to settle for a manufacturer's default settings.

2. Can someone recommend a good source book on setting up and maintaining home internet systems for someone who's not very knowledgeable about this stuff?

Appreciate any help on this.
 
2. Can someone recommend a good source book on setting up and maintaining home internet systems for someone who's not very knowledgeable about this stuff?
For setting up a wireless network, you might start here. It's an old article, but the basics are the same.

1. Would I be better served buying separate units--i.e., both a router and a separate modem--rather than a combined router/modem similar to what Comcast has provided?
In most cases a single-unit wireless router will do just fine. Most should perform better than ISP-provided units and support things (and let you adjust) like parental controls, port forwarding, QoS, etc.
 
I would recommend to use the modem supplied by the ISP (assuming it is giving you the ISP speeds you're paying for) and then buy your own router to have full control of your network.

An Asus RT-AC68U or an Asus RT-AC1900P (BestBuy exclusive, right now and the preferred one to buy if you have access to a BestBuy near you) is what I would recommend to buy today as a minimum.

There are no books that I know of for what you want. But, with the above equipment in hand, ask any specific questions at that time here and you'll have lots of help along the way. :)
 
In most cases a single-unit wireless router will do just fine. Most should perform better than ISP-provided units and support things (and let you adjust) like parental controls, port forwarding, QoS, etc.

It's a common fallacy that Carrier provided gear performs poorly compared to off the shelf...

1) Recent AC1900/DOCSIS 3.0 residential gateways are much improved over older stuff
2) Same goes with VDSL/FTTN/FTTC gear that the Telco's are provided.

The drivers here are lower cost of service of the product lifecycle - less customer care calls and unneeded truck rolls (truck rolls are very expensive), and the need to provide the vertical services that the operators are now offering (HDTV (even 4K), wireless STB's, smarthome services, etc, along with the increasing demand by the customers for higher speed internet access).

Netgear, Arris, Actiontec, and others - the carriers are putting higher standards of performance, but more importantly, device stability/reliability because of the items I mention above.

Consider the home security setup - if the modem/gateway is offline, the alarm system is not functional - and this is a big service level problem and potential legal liability - so needs there are driving improvement in the premises equipment offered by the carriers.

For OP - the first course would be to perhaps go for the carrier offered equipment - if his needs are simple, it's probably the best approach.
 
Tim, those books would not help anyone trying to setup a WiFi router. ;)

Your main site here does a much better job than any of those. :)

I guess I should have said 'There is not 'one' book that will do what you need', to the OP.

I have been on this site for almost three years and have read every single post on the forums and most of the articles and still don't 'know' what I don't know until I see a post with something new (to learn about).
 
The OP asked for "good source book on setting up and maintaining home internet systems". That's general networking setup to me. Not setting up a wireless router.

As I said, I haven't read any of them. But general networking books are out there.
 
There's a lot of good advice on the main site - part of the problem there is discovery, as some of it is still quite valid, but has been moved back in the queue.

Maybe go back and tag/flag those articles with "SNB Essentials" or something similar.
 
The OP asked for "good source book on setting up and maintaining home internet systems". That's general networking setup to me. Not setting up a wireless router.

As I said, I haven't read any of them. But general networking books are out there.

I've read/skimmed a few of the 'dummy' books in that link at the local chapters. Useless. I didn't buy one of them. I learned more by reading the posts here the first week I found your site. ;)
 
I've read/skimmed a few of the 'dummy' books in that link at the local chapters. Useless. I didn't buy one of them. I learned more by reading the posts here the first week I found your site. ;)

The collective "hive mind" here is pretty smart - and there is a priceless aspect to the wisdom in these pages - unorganized and problem specific perhaps, but from a home network perspective - a search here will find a solution to just about any problem ;)
 
I've read/skimmed a few of the 'dummy' books in that link at the local chapters. Useless. I didn't buy one of them. I learned more by reading the posts here the first week I found your site. ;)
Useless for you, perhaps. For someone starting out trying to understand networks, they can be helpful by presenting information in an organized way, no searching required.
 
The simplest advice on security would be to use a VPN, dont port forward or allow internet access to stuff you have (your smart home stuff, network services like files, etc, your IP cam network) and allowing them to connect to internet direct. So use VPN to access your LAN stuff from outside. Use a UTM as your router and a network antivirus to filter DNS, web and so on.

You should read multiple books. Some writers are quite knowledgeable and have good books. Security isnt a new thing, many flaws that are recently published have been well known and accounted for a decade ago. You can find cisco tutorials a decade old to protect against layer 2 attacks and MITM including pineapple hak like hacks.

ISP hardware being not as good as off the shelf hardware still holds true. Lets say you are a heavy user, you have many many connections and packets that go through, your ISP provided hardware may hang or crash. Recent ISP hardware are good on the basic level if you are a basic user but anything more and you ought to get something else to use. For example the wifi on the asus AC66U is leaps better than the BT homehub 5 despite the homehub being newer than the AC66U with faster CPU. So ISP hardware isnt what i would call good quality if comparing but for the basic user ISP hardware does its job. For example gigabit ISPs that use PPPOE that provide hardware, their hardware will only be able to use most of the provided speed not all. For example even if a provided dual core MIPS device provided by ISP has hardware acceleration, it will only achieve 900+Mb/s but it will not be able to get near the 2Gb/s forwarding requirement for full symmetrical gigabit internets. Many consumers dont know that having symmetrical 1Gb/s internet requires 2Gb/s of NAT forwarding to fully use it but to the common user just using most of the 1Gb/s seems fast.

Integrated router + modem is good for those looking to save power and see line stats (or perhaps hack?). Seperate router + modem means you can upgrade seperately and diagnose seperately. The best routers dont have integrated modems and all that matters for a modem is that it works and provides the best sync rates with no packet losses.
 
SEM, the use of a VPN does not imply security? Particularly to someone trying to learn about setting up a home router. ;)
 
Sorry what i meant is using a VPN to access LAN stuff instead of port forwarding, not using a VPN in general.

Most devices would depend on one method or the other, I don't think there is usually a choice?
 

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