Looking for the correct modem/router for CenturyLink DSL

[FrancoVelm]

Getting CenturyLink DSL installed into new place in a few days and I decided to get a modem/router instead of paying to lease or outright pay for one of their's. I know Netgear tends to have good modems/routers that I've used in the past, so I'm hoping someone can recommend me something that is compatible with ADSL2+ or at least comparable to the Actiontec C3000A. 

[antinode]

> Getting CenturyLink DSL installed into new place in a few days [...]

   "CenturyLink DSL" is too vague a description.  Consider, for example:

      https://kb.netgear.com/30296

> [...] I know Netgear tends to have good modems/routers that I've used
> in the past, [...]

   That was in the past.  Netgear seems to have lost interest in DSL,
and in their existing DSL modem+router products.

> [...] compatible with ADSL2+ or at least comparable to the Actiontec
> C3000A.

   "compatible with ADSL2+" would be hard to avoid, unless you look only
in antique stores.  I might look for a C3000A (or other currently
recommended model) on Ebay.  If its wireless stuff were inadequate, then
I might look for a better router (or wireless access point) to use with
it.

      https://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/compatible-modems.html

   There are enough bugs in the firmware in my D7000[v1] to keep me
annoyed, and the D7000v2 has more, including one particularly crippling
one (no NAT loopback), none of which is expected to be fixed.

[michaelkenward]

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@FrancoVelm wrote:

Getting CenturyLink DSL installed into new place in a few days and I decided to get a modem/router instead of paying to lease or outright pay for one of their's.

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Have you considered an alternative route? I know this doesn't answer your question directly, but it might be useful to consider alternatives, if only to confirm your original decision.

By choosing a modem/router combination you are limiting yourself in the choice of router features.

Experienced users prefer separate modems and routers. This not only opens the door to a wide range of routers, it also means that they can keep their routers when they change Internet technologies, given the steady decline in DSL in some countries.

As it is, Netgear, and the network industry in general, has given up on DSL. Maybe it is down to ISPs and their reluctance to allow third party devices in their networks. This means that the choice of modem/routers is shrinking. It also means that it is hard to get a modem only device for DSL.

So the DM200, the "go to" DSL modem from Netgear, is no longer on the shelves. It does crop up second hand, but prices can be silly. (I bought an "open box" copy that turned out to be in its original packaging with no sign that it had ever been taken out of the box.)

There are still DSL modems out there. They should all work as the front-end of a decent router.

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@FrancoVelm wrote:

at least comparable to the Actiontec C3000A. 

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What features of the Actiontec do you want on your network?

I have a D6400 that does most of the usual stuff. I gave up on it because I acquired a decent router and discovered that a modem/router in bridge (modem only) mode can be a pain in power cuts. The modem takes so long to reboot and connect that the router behind it times out and leaves me with a dead network. The DM200 doesn't do that.

[antinode]

> [...] the network industry in general, has given up on DSL. [...]

   I wonder if the advent of optical fiber might have something to do
with the declining interest in DSL.

> [...] Maybe it is down to ISPs and their reluctance to allow third
> party devices in their networks. [...]

   And it may be that you're making up this drivel as you go.  I've been
using CenturyLink DSL since it was US West, then Qwest, and I've never
seen any such "reluctance".