Dear Aliant,
The provided ActionTec R1000H router is… well… crap… at least for anyone like me.
Regards,
Power User.

[singlepic id=15 w=320 h=240 float=left] Say hello to the ActionTec R1000H gigabit, 4-port router with wireless N and HPNA support. It’s designed for FTTH (Fibre To The Home), and is Aliants choice for FibreOp installs. The ActionTec connects into the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) where the Fibre line terminates inside the house, via ethernet cable. If you also signed up for FibreOP TV, then your receiver(s) will also connect to the ActionTec, either via Cat5 or with the HPNA connection. [singlepic id=17 w=320 h=240 float=right]You also get 4 (3 if 1 is used for TV) gigbit lan ports to wire up your desktops, laptops, and other devices. The router also has wireless N, with a decent output level, for strong reception where ever you might need a good wireless connection.

I found (with some help from the internets on a few of them) a few weak points in the ActionTec router…
1 – No DHCP reservations. This sucks for users, like me, that have servers and devices with dedicated ip addresses.
2 – 1024 concurrent connection limit. This is no good for users, like me, that use torrents.
3 – Lacklustre QOS. Not much of a let down for me, but I was able to see a difference between 2 PC’s playing World of Warcraft.
4 – Software NAT. This added more load to the router while processing packet requests.

So, having followed a thread on Digitalhome.ca closely, I decided to go ahead with the purchase of an Asus RT-N56U. [singlepic id=16 w=320 h=240 float=left]This router overcomes the short comings of the ActionTec, along with looking a lot nicer. What really seals the deal, one of the other members on the DH forums took the time to customize the Asus factory firmware, to tag port 4 with the vlan for the FibreOP TV. So now I get all the feature of the ActionTec, with DHCP reservations, 30,000 concurrent connections, Intelligent QOS, Hardware NAT, UPnP file and print sharing, and bandwidth monitoring!

If you have FibreOp, I highly recommend switching to the Asus router.
You can find them at NCIX, CanadaComputers, FutureShop, MemoryExpress and more… or like me, you can snag one cheap on eBay.
A must read for anyone thinking of switching is here.