FiOS!

On Sunday the FiOS installer came and completed the install. I kept asking him questions. I wonder if he got annoyed with my pestering him all the time. Got the 3-in-one package (with a 19" HD LCD on the way). The 3-in-one includes:
-internet 15d/15u
-Direct TV premium package
-phone (with battery backup) -- no it is not VoIP


The install took around 6 hours. After he leaves, I of course start with the tinkering. The edge device (a MI424WR) is an embedded modem/router. It has a very nice web interface, 802.11G, coax/Ethernet (WAN), and 4 10/100 Ethernet LAN ports.
I had wanted to keep my set up with the IP Cop as the primary edge device and the MI424WR as a modem only. A quick Google search quickly found instructions on how to do this, and I tried it out. It worked very well - or so I thought. IPCop got a Verizon IP Address no problem, and I was off and running.
Then - later that evening, when trying to look at some TV, it is discovered that the direct TV, and on demand features are powered by the internet, and routed by none other than the MI424WR that I disabled as a router and turned into a modem only. So I go back and undo everything. But it is not working. I'm not getting a new IP Address. Device status is red and the admin page says "Waiting for DHCP Lease..."... and so I wait. Nothing. I'm thinking "Oh no! I broke my FiOS in less than 4 hours!". I phone tech support (now it is about 12am) and they help me out. Turns out the IP Cop didn't communicate with Verizon's DHCP server and release my IP. So the Verizon tech released my IP and boom, the MI424WR picked up an IP after a power cycle. The TV service was working again.
This is kind of annoying to me, because I have a lot on the IP Cop that makes it a good edge device, things like DynDNS updates, port forwarding, etc. I _can_ do that with the MI424WR, but I'd really prefer not to. It just isn't as feature rich as IP Cop. It's got great features, don't get me wrong. The web admin interface is very thorough and easy to use. But it still is just an embedded device.