Blag

Chop chop! Faster faster!

Internode’s been shipping the new Billion 7401BGP R3s (which replaced the Billion 7401VGP-M) for a few weeks now, but they still haven’t updated their website, support section, or the FTP mirror (firmware, user manual, settings). Kinda annoying, as they ship with the 5.53.s5.rc8 firmware yet the latest is 5.53.s5.rc11 I think, but even Billion hasn’t listed the model on their website yet, as it’s so new.

Speaking of which, what should I do with my Netcomm NB5Plus4 and my Acer 56k modem while I’m at it? Thermite? Keep for spares? Throw it out?

Seeing as I’ve been getting a lot of hits from Whirlpool users, for all you those who have ended up here looking for the firmware updates, or help with Bit Torrent and/or NAT, try sending a Whim to Quentin (Rep for Billion/Minitar). His profile is at: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-user.cfm?id=87096

Related: Billion 7401VGP R3 (http://oztecheducate.org/WP/?p=155), Netcomm NB5Plus4 (http://oztecheducate.org/WP/?p=79)

Edit: Updated with correct firmware revisions

Woo! Replacement for my crappy Netcomm NB5Plus4 (see this post) finally arrived – the Billion 7401VGP R3

As it turns out, I bought a 7401VGP-M but actually got a free upgrade to a 2009 model (7401VGP R3), which isn’t even in the stores yet, let alone listed on the manufacturers website. Doing a Google or Whirlpool search brings up nothing – that’s how new it is. Perhaps Internode got a very advanced shipment of them.

According to the helpdesk dude, its got exactly the same features, but with a faster CPU, more ram, and newer OS which should make it more stable and increase its routing capabilities.

As side bonus, it has WiFi built in – 802.11g 54mbps admittedly, but now I have 2 wireless networks in my house. How useful…

But boy, is it an improvement.

4 wired PCs + 1 wireless laptop, all streaming data continuously, and one of the PCs running 14 active torrents and it still hasn’t crashed after 4 days now. Web interface is as responsive as ever, and includes everything AND the kitchen sink too Ambient temperature has no effect whatsoever on it, and wireless range is damn good. Not a single dropout so far either, and it syncs relatively high, considering the crappy phone line I have. The included extras were good too – 2m Cat5 cable (what, is E more expensive now?), RJ11-RJ11 6P4C telephone cable, 12v 1A power adaptor (switchmode, so no clunky hot transformer), obligatory quick start guide, warranty card, utility CD-ROM, and a very nice (and expensive) C10 Communications ADSL2+ filter/splitter  Those things cost a LOT when purchased retail…

The only downside really is that it takes a while to boot up before its usable (~1-2 minutes). However, it does sync and authenticate in <8 seconds which is a HUGE improvement on the NB5Plu4′s 2-3 minutes (important if your internet drops out frequently).

So myes, I am a happy chappy.

If only Billion would list the model on their website, so I could download a newer firmware.

Edit: Seems like more people are getting their hand on the 7401VGP R3 now. Posts are slowly starting to crop up on whirlpool about them – mainly Internode customers though.

Edit2: Seeing as I’ve been getting a lot of hits from Whirlpool users, for all you those who have ended up here looking for the firmware updates, or help with Bit Torrent and/or NAT, try sending a Whim to Quentin (Rep for Billion/Minitar). His profile is at: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-user.cfm?id=87096

Related: Internode/Billion 7401VGP R3 (http://theparanoidtroll.com/blog/?p=242), Netcomm NB5Plus4 (http://theparanoidtroll.com/blog/?p=79)

Nearly all tech gadgets are shipped with preset defaults, for quick setup and ease of use for the less technically minded. People use IE6/7 as it’s shipped with their computer (*gag*), browser home pagea are set to incumbent websites (www.tpg.com.au, www.msn.com etc), mobile phones get sold with cellular network kow-towing built in, Windows XP is sold with the garish “luna” theme etc etc.

This leads to problems when the usernames and passwords are left as publically known defaults – admin, user, abc123, username, and so on as it left people open to hijacking, identity theft, malware infections and the like. Manufacturers soon cottoned on and most devices now ship with stickers advising owners to create their own unique login, and to customise their security settings.

Which leads to some rather unusual names. Take the following wireless router SSIDs discovered while cruising down the street in the car with a laptop:

• ya-mum
• PENIS
• motorola8805 (default, no doubt)
• TPG_internet
• Myrouter
• bigtits
• Belkinrouter
• iinetadsl1500256
• fruitcake
• lollipops
• vaginaface
• subaruimprezzaftw
• lol
• myneighbourisgay
• rosepetal
• pencil
• fuck
• shitface
• johntchaikovsky

Interesting insight into people’s minds… makes you wonder what they were thinking when they set up their internet connection to go a-surfin.

The Netcomm NB5Plus4 ADSL2+ Modem Router. The perfect example of German engineering and precision.

Whoops, did I say German engineering and precision.? I meant cost cutting and poor design.

The modem/router is useless. It constantly crashes, and I have to reboot it up to several times a day. Symptoms include:

1. Forgetting what DNS is, whenever you run bittorrent, or any other program which opens many network connections simultaneously. The only way to access websites is by entering in the IP address directly
2. Refusing to route any data whatsoever when the ambient temperature exceeds 25*C
3. Overheating and locking up whenever the throughput is higher than ~ 1mbps, or when you stream multimedia or download large files
4. Internal web server/user interface not responding to commands after the modem has been left on for more than ~ 7 days
5. Throughput slowly decreasing over time to the point where the LAN connection is dropped, especially noticeable when transferring large files between PCs
6. Freezing, and refusing to do anything when there are more than 5 clients connected at a time
7. Randomly disconnecting computers

Rather than rant and rave unproductively, I shall point out its flaws… before melting a hole through the f!@% thing with thermite.

There are two problems with the router – insufficient RAM, and poor enclosure design, leading to overheating.

Whenever you open multiple network connections (e.g. Bit torrent, which may open hundreds at a time), the router chipset, or CPU, in this case the Texas Instrument AR7 chip can not handle the load, and in combination with the limited ram available, simply crashes or drops connections. Think of it as like running Windows Vista on a Pentium 200mhz with 8MB of RAM. It would have cost Netcomm all of… 40c more to upgrade the RAM and cache size, but they decided to reduce costs and make an inferior product.

Also, the enclosure which Netcomm designed for housing the circuitry is unsuitable, as it provides inadequate ventilation. Like conventional PCs, the router also crashes when overheated. It looks as though Netcomm has gone for style over functionality, though to be honest, it looks like rubbish anyway.

While upgrading the RAM and cache is not possible without extensive effort, a simple hackjob fix would be to either remove the top of the enclosure, or to fit the chipset with a heat sink and drill additional ventilation holes in the case.

*NB: I think Oz Techeducate (www.oztecheducate.org) (the site providing free blog hosting for me) was run using a NB5Plus4 router several months ago, when they had server issues and had to resort to a backup link. Explains why the backup was frequently offline too… crappy router :@

Seeing as I’ve been getting a lot of hits from Whirlpool users, for all you those who have ended up here looking for the firmware updates, or help with Bit Torrent and/or NAT, try sending a Whim to Quentin (Rep for Billion/Minitar). His profile is at: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-user.cfm?id=87096

Related: Billion 7401VGP R3 (http://theparanoidtroll.com/blog/?p=155), More (http://theparanoidtroll.com/blog/?p=242)

Whirlpool has finally moved host from WebCentral to Bulletproof Networks. I must say, everything feels damn snappier. Their new servers are hosted in the Global Crossing datacentre in Ultimo, and PIPE and Internode arejust a few of the fibre providers for the centre. 10ms ping FTW! Only 2 router hops away

Perhaps we shall finally be rid of ‘High Load’ mode… Bring back the spellchecker please?