Switching Routers; do what first?

[videobruce1]

I have the existing Router is running, the replacement Router (Netgear R700) is mounted and powered up, but no connections.
What is the best/safest order to swap cables? WAN first, then LAN, Power on for both or shut down everything and swap all cables?

My ISP is Verizon FIOS if that matters. My devices all have static IP's, no printers involved. The only WiFi is for my wifes cell phone. I did connect the new Router to a Laptop w/o any Internet connection do do initial settings.

Any specific questions, please ask!

 

[Tech9]

Shut down both routers, connect the new one, power it up. If you missed some of the configuration - do what’s needed, reboot.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I have the existing Router is running, the replacement Router (Netgear R700) is mounted and powered up, but no connections.
What is the best/safest order to swap cables? WAN first, then LAN, Power on for both or shut down everything and swap all cables?

My ISP is Verizon FIOS if that matters. My devices all have static IP's, no printers involved. The only WiFi is for my wifes cell phone. I did connect the new Router to a Laptop w/o any Internet connection do do initial settings.

Any specific questions, please ask!

Power down both your modem and old router. Connect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the WAN port on the 7000 then the LAN cable(s). Power up just the modem and wait a couple of minutes until modem shows it has an Internet connection then power up the 7000 so it can get an IP from the modem. Then you can begin configuring the 7000 router. It is important to power down the modem before connecting the new router otherwise the new router won't get an IP.

 

[Tech9]

Connect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the LAN port on the 7000

WAN port, not LAN.

 

[tgl]

The thing that is actually likely to cause the longest service outage is not having the correct configuration in your new router before you do the cable-swapping part. Do everything you can to double-check the config before you bring it live. Especially make sure that the firewall rules are in place, or some hacker might be into your network before you're done.

 

[Tech9]

I don't think there is many firewall rules to check on a consumer router. The firewall is default enabled with block all incoming allow return.

 

[tgl]

Sure, it's probably fine already. But if it isn't, you could be in for a world of hurt. So it's worth double-checking, IMO.

 

[CaptainSTX]

WAN port, not LAN.

Thanks. Fixed my typo.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I have the existing Router is running, the replacement Router (Netgear R700) is mounted and powered up, but no connections.
What is the best/safest order to swap cables? WAN first, then LAN, Power on for both or shut down everything and swap all cables?

My ISP is Verizon FIOS if that matters. My devices all have static IP's, no printers involved. The only WiFi is for my wifes cell phone. I did connect the new Router to a Laptop w/o any Internet connection do do initial settings.

Any specific questions, please ask!

One other thing to consider is the Netgear R7000 might be EOL. Check on Netgear's web site. If that is the case and the router's firmware hasn't been updated by Netgear in the past year you might want to consider flashing Tomato firmware. I ran an R7000 with Tomato until I put it on the shelf last year. Tomato has many advanced features.

 

[Tech9]

FreshTomato is indeed excellent 3rd party firmware for this router, but unfortunately most interesting features are NAT acceleration incompatible and WAN-LAN throughput will be limited to about 200Mbps. May not be an issue depending on ISP plan.

 

[videobruce1]

Important point here, I have Version FIOS, there are no Modems, but ONT's instead (Optical Network Terminal). I did ask others that have FIOS and they claim from their experience there isn't any issue swapping Routers with Verizon.

2nd, the Router has been flashed with dd-wrt with a current F/W to get away from the annoying stock F/W that limits flexibility and their annoying log-in setup. The reason I didn't go with Fresh Tomato is, I've been using dd-wrt for probably 10 or so years.

BTW, their Firewall I leave as it is set w/ dd-wrt, I don't believe I've ever changed anything.

 

[tgl]

I did ask others that have FIOS and they claim from their experience there isn't any issue swapping Routers with Verizon.

There's a good deal of anecdotal evidence out there that this used to be a problem: if you swapped in a new router it would take awhile (hour or two) to issue it a DHCP lease, unless you called up customer service and got them to reset things on Verizon's side. As far as I have heard Verizon fixed that a couple years back; but you probably should be prepared to cope if it turns out to still be a problem where you live.

 

[videobruce1]

Elsewhere it was suggested to power off the ONT, then power it back on w/o the Router, wait for it to fully boot, then connect the WAN cable to the Router.

 

[tgl]

Elsewhere it was suggested to power off the ONT, then power it back on w/o the Router, wait for it to fully boot, then connect the WAN cable to the Router.

I would try that if the new router fails to obtain a DHCP lease immediately; it'll certainly take less time than calling customer service

My only recent personal experience with this was about a year ago, when I plugged in a new router and it Just Worked, no shenanigans at all. But I suspect that doesn't count, because I had static-IP service so there was no question of needing to get a DHCP lease.

 

[videobruce1]

I'm not sure if Verizon here gives you a static WAN IP address or not. I know Spectrum Cable didn't.
I'll try to report back after I make the move.

 

[Tech9]

the Router has been flashed with dd-wrt

Also good option as long as you find properly working build for your hardware.

 

[tgl]

Static WAN address is definitely an extra-cost option in FiOS. I'm not sure you can even get one with "residential" service; I had to sign up for "business" service to get mine.

 

[CaptainSTX]

FreshTomato is indeed excellent 3rd party firmware for this router, but unfortunately most interesting features are NAT acceleration incompatible and WAN-LAN throughput will be limited to about 200Mbps. May not be an issue depending on ISP plan.

Before taking my R7000 using Tomato off line I was using it with my 1.2 gig service and getting full throughput on my LAN (1 gig) with this router's HW acceleration enabled.

 

[Tech9]

You had it running in basic configuration without any options requiring packet processing like QoS, Bandwidth Limiter, IP Traffic logging, your real-time traffic graph was somewhat inaccurate. Similar hardware to RT-AC68U with similar limitations.

 

[CaptainSTX]

You had it running in basic configuration without any options requiring packet processing like QoS, Bandwidth Limiter, IP Traffic logging, your real-time traffic graph was somewhat inaccurate. Similar hardware to RT-AC68U with similar limitations.

Correct. However, with a high-speed connection QoS was not really necessary in my case same with bandwidth limiter. Not having traffic logging did limit the information available but in a household with two adults not a deal breaker.