Question about fiberoptic internet's ONT "modem + router"

[PandaBear]

My dad has Sonic fiberoptic internet because Comcast in their area is not as good.

He was using a Pace 5268AC that looks like a router + modem to me, but the input to it is a "ONT" green port. I have searched around and it seems like that is just an Ethernet port that you can just plug in a PC if you want to directly, but I haven't done that to confirm if that's true (obviously even if you do you have to setup according to the ISP instruction). All was good.

Yesterday they send him a new and improved Eero device that has only 1 ONT, 1 Ethernet, and 1 voice port. They say this is better but his home setup has 3 wired ethernet devices (desktop, smart TV, and home security DVR). From what I searched I am convinced the wifi capability of this is better than before (it is a 6e instead of a 5), and the only non-wifi device is the home security DVR, so in theory he can just plug in that and everything else go wifi. He is old school and likely just want me to add a gigabit ethernet switch to the only LAN port and keep on going, instead of using wifi for everything as Eero / Sonic wants.

What I want to know is, does it even make sense to update the PACE if things aren't broken, and how does the ethernet ONT differ from the ethernet WAN?

 

[mk378]

It's a two-piece system. You're only looking at one part of it, the Home Gateway. A Home Gateway is first a router meaning it can issue private IP addresses to several computers and share them into one public IP address. Also it has the function of a WiFi AP and an analog telephone adapter, if you subscribe to the ISP's home phone service.

The actual ONT is often mounted on the outside of the house and connected to the router via coaxial(*) or Ethernet cable. ONT stands for Optical Network Terminus. It is the device that receives light signals from the fiber (which can travel for miles) and converts them to electrical signals that are only suitable for local connection inside the house. You have to use the ISP provided ONT but you can also usually replace the router with your own.

The green plug on the 5268 is for DSL. If that is plugged into the wall you actually have DSL not fiber. Note that the DSL plug is slightly smaller and won't even physically accept an Ethernet cable. It is common in apartment buildings where all the units share one fiber connection to a fiber-DSL box in the basement etc. This is called Fiber to the Cabinet, as opposed to Fiber to the Premises aka Fiber to the Home where each customer has a direct fiber.

(*) The coaxial cable is not the same signal as cable Internet. It is a short range standard called MoCA which is used when a house has some already installed coax runs that might be reused for the ONT to Gateway link.

 

[Rand]

That pace is ANCIENT.. definitely upgrade if its free.

 

[DCDG]

These days it seems like they're constantly changing equipment. When I bought my home in October 2021 we had the local tele-cooperative the ONT fiber was outside the home and inside they ran Ethernet which I was able to use my own router. We switched off to spectrum for 2 years while they were offering a better rate for internet come back to the cooperative and equipment setup changed. The technician said when we cancelled the NODE card was removed and they no longer can use the ONT outside so he used that as a junction box and ran the fiber through the wall of my garage. Like I needed another hole drilled in my home. He then installed an ONT modem/router combo with the router feature disabled so I can use my own router drawback to this installation is they only reserve one LAN port which feeds my router. I am told this is to prevent IP conflicts or there may be an exact term for this I forget, I know basic networking and can make cables but far from a network guru. The easy fix is to use a 5 port switch which I have a 2nd router with a custom IP assigned plugged in for my garages separate internet.

 

[Pew]

and how does the ethernet ONT differ from the ethernet WAN?

In practical terms for this the ports serve the same purpose. I think they just wanted to label it different; so you would treat the Ethernet ONT port as the WAN in this case.

EDIT: We had the same Pace for our ATT back up internet at work. Since the green is plugged in, your dad had DSL? Green is the DSL broadband port. We used the red ONT Broadband port to a RJ45>MM LC media converter before going to the building's dmarc.

 

[PandaBear]

In practical terms for this the ports serve the same purpose. I think they just wanted to label it different; so you would treat the Ethernet ONT port as the WAN in this case.

EDIT: We had the same Pace for our ATT back up internet at work. Since the green is plugged in, your dad had DSL? Green is the DSL broadband port. We used the red ONT Broadband port to a RJ45>MM LC media converter before going to the building's dmarc.

I don't remember exactly, but he does have a fiber going into his apartment unit then convert to an ethernet cable that goes into the PACE but I forgot which port it goes into. The fiber doesn't go into the PACE itself.

The photo of the new Eero Pro 6E shows only 1 WAN or ONT, then 1 voice RJ45 and 1 LAN. I am sure I can just plug in a gigabit 4 port switch to the LAN, just curious why the ONT and whether I can just throw the whole thing out and use my own wifi router instead, and whether the change from PACE is more analog or everything is ethernet based.

That pace is ANCIENT.. definitely upgrade if its free.

I can see why it is retired. I have been using a 10 year old router before and my Team meetings keep dropping unless I put a throttle on the uplink to 4Mbps, and that wouldn't be a problem if I have a newer router.

 

[Rand]

The ont is the equivalent of the cable modem.

A quick google shows that their ont is bridge mode .. so
any router should work.

 

[mk378]

Yes plugging a switch into the LAN side of the Eero will work the same as the 4 ports on the Pace. You can't plug a switch directly to the ONT because it doesn't route. The fiber only carries one IP address so only one device can be connected to it which is usually the customer's router be it ISP provided or third party. You could connect one PC directly to the ONT but that is of limited use other than testing the line. Do not leave it connected very long because the ONT does not firewall anything and the PC will be attacked from the Internet.

If you subscribe to the ISP's home phone service you will need to use their gateway for the phone function. Third party VOIP phone services are usually cheaper though.

 

[Pew]

I don't remember exactly, but he does have a fiber going into his apartment unit then convert to an ethernet cable that goes into the PACE but I forgot which port it goes into. The fiber doesn't go into the PACE itself.

The photo of the new Eero Pro 6E shows only 1 WAN or ONT, then 1 voice RJ45 and 1 LAN. I am sure I can just plug in a gigabit 4 port switch to the LAN, just curious why the ONT and whether I can just throw the whole thing out and use my own wifi router instead, and whether the change from PACE is more analog or everything is ethernet based.

Gotcha, I'm 99% sure it's going into the red ethernet ONT port on the Pace then. The fiber company's ONT is probably in the building's FARC (FARP?) room with an RJ45 coming up to the apt unit. The Eero probably has the ONT label on it for labeling technicalities. You can plug a switch into the Eero's LAN port or you can use your own router to replace the Eero as well.