Use my own wireless router

[chiefmongo]

I know this can be done from the previous posts I've seen in this forum, but I just want to confirm a few things before I go ahead and become a new FIOS customer.  A few things about my setup:

• I will not be using any of Verizon's STBs; I have a HDHomerun and will be using a CableCard
• I live in a very vertial townhouse, so I have a wirelss router and bridge on different floors that are connected together using two Actiontec moca adapters (this model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EQ4BQG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
• The ONT is outside and would tricky to get ethernet run from it

I would like to know a few things:

1. Would I be able to use one of my Actiontec devices to connect the ethernet signal coming from the ONT into the WAN port on my router?
2. How are public IP addresses given out from Verizon?  What IP addresses are going to be given out to devices that are on the moca network?  I want to make sure that my wireless bridge will be able to give out private IPs and won't have any strange conflicts.
3. I know this isn't supported by Verizon, but what do I do if the internet goes out for something outside of my control?  How much of a pain is it going to be to get resolved?

Thanks!

[Anthony91]

1.you can connect a ethernet cable from the ONT to the wan port with no problems, that is also the same if you pick coax too, either works but verizon will only support up to the ONT  unless its a verizon router at the end of that cable.

2.there is WAN ip givin to the router from the gateway router that is assigned after that the router takes care of the public IP part, normally what happens is first device gets 1 ip then keeps going from there. if you have a special IP table you would have to set that up yourself.

the moca network is nothing more then the internet signal that is sent to the cable boxes and cards over the coax so they can communicate to the verizon network for Guide, VOD and activation of equipment, you will need a verizon router for any of those 3 things since there the only device with rights to access the network. there a topic on how to have both routers verizon and customer on same network with no problems.

3. as for support if anything happens verizon can troubleshoot to the ONT , as in reseat coax, power cycle your router and then factory reset after that troubleshoot is done and you would have to take it from there. if you want a dispatch for those things there would be a charge if nothing is found wrong on verizon coax if its verizon no charge.

i know the reply is kinda plain but its just a base of some of the things you asked 

[lasagna · Accepted solution]

I can answer this for you ...

First you need to understand a bit about how MoCA works.  MoCA can use a variety of frequencies (or channels) to connect various devices together across the same piece of coax yet have them be on entirely different networks.

In a normal Verizon FiOS setup, the ONT hands off the WAN side of the connection on 1000Mhz.  The ActionTec router given to you by Verizon pairs on this frequency with the ONT and has a preprogrammed "privacy" key setup (it's the default and same on all router, but it's enabled none the less).   The ActionTec then does it's "router" thing and produces a bridged LAN network consisting of WiFi, local 4-port wired ethernet, and a MoCA LAN side connection running on 1100Mhz.

The router operates in this mode in the same manner as a traditional ethernet based router like you probably have presently.

Some FiOS configurations drop the WAN side from the MoCA and instead enable the ethernet jack on the ONT.  In such instances, Verizon then wires via Ethernet from the ONT to the router (it automatically detects the lack of a MoCA WAN connection and an active ethernet WAN connection and switches to use that as the WAN interface).

---------

When you use the MoCA bridges you references in such a setup, they will actually "see" the MoCA LAN connection originating from the Verizon router and pair with it.  In such a configuration, you need to turn off the DHCP address distribution from your own router and use it in "access point" mode only.

---------

You have some configuration options you can consider.   One option is to do a back-to-back configuration plugging your router's WAN interface into one of the local ethernet ports on the verizon router.  This results in a "double NAT" situation but many find that to be just fine (it's what I do).  In order to get it to work in your environment with MoCA bridges however, you need to either "split" your cable plant (so that the coax run from the ONT to the verizon router is completely seperate from the cable run between the two bridges -- no splitters or common wiring -- it has to be completely separate runs) or you need to configure the Verizon router and "disable" the MoCA LAN interface so it doesn't interfere with your bridges.  Either will work.   I use a common cable plant, but have a low-pass filter installed such the the path from the ONT to the verizon router is in the clear but separated from the cable plant the servers my bridges.     

Another option is to configure the bridges to use a different channels from the default MoCA LAN that the verizon router uses.  Unfortunately, the ActionTec bridges don't allow you to change the channel, so you'd need different bridges.

Lastly, an option would be to get Verizon to provision the WAN onto the Ethernet.  The install a "new" bridge where the ONT is located and using a separate coax run from the one which connects your bridges, use a second "new" bridge to convert back from coax to ethernet to plug into your router. 

Anyone of these options however is likely to require two isolated coax runs in the same room as your router (I happen to have that scenario -- essentially tapping a coax run from the room next door and running ethernet thru the wall).

---------

Last option, although you may not want it personally, is to ditch your router altogether and replace it with the verizon router (or us it solely as an access point).  This will give you all the same functionality as your own router and if you need DHCP reserveration or a specific subnet, you can change the configuration on the verizon router accordingly.

Hope that helps.