Help Using Asus RT-N66U in Bridge Mode

[miriam]

Hi there,

Sorry for the long post in advance but I am at my wits end here. To make things more complicated,I am a total noob when it comes to networking. I am learning the hard way but it is taking a while. I will be able to make more progress once I get these darn things working properly.

Here is the problem. I wish to bridge my Bell Canada 2 wire 2701hg-g gateway to my new Asus rt-n66u router. I have been unsucessful for the last 2 weeks despite numerous calls to Asus and Bell Canada. I have spent days trying to do this and I am getting nowhere fast.

It would appear that I cannot get my Bell Gateway into Bridge Mode as it has been disabled by Bell's very restrictive firmwear. I have been trying to find a work around without much luck. As per instruction from support staff, I have turned wireless off and enabled DMZ+ on the 2 wire. According to Asus and Bell Tech Support, my router is in bridge mode. I am not conviced that it is properly bridged. I am still having problems with lag, extreme slowdowns and occasional losses of connectivity. I believe that these problems result from conflicts (double NAT perhaps???) between the Bell gateway and the 2 Wire modem. FYI, I can still access the settings pages from both the 2 Wire and the Asus router. All the tutorials for the 2-wire use older firmware which provided many more setting that I cannot access with the most recent version.

I really need some help, please. If the 2 wire won't work, I will get an inexpensive ASDL2 modem that will play nicely with the Asus route. The TD-8616 or TD-8816 might be suitable. Has anyone tried either of these? I have an old speedstream 6520 that I got at a yard sale but I can't unlock it, so unless anyone knows how, I don't think its going to work. The ting that frustrates me most is that even if I don't use the 2 wire gateway, bell banada will still charge me a monthly rental fee.

Please,Please Help Me!!!

miriam

 

[danstek]

I'm not entirely familiar with Bell Canada. Do they still use PPPoE? If not, then I will assume they have an IP-ADSL2/2+ network similar to AT&T here in the States with 802.1x for authentication.

Normally, a DSL modem in bridged mode would allow the 3rd party router to handle PPPoE authentication (you would log in with your DSL credentials from the router). If your ISP no longer uses PPPoE then a normal bridged mode is not possible.

Again, assuming that Bell Canada is anything similar to AT&T Uverse, if you want to bridge the 2Wire modem to avoid a double NAT then you will need to put it in IP Passthrough. How to configure this varies with the firmware on the modem. I've never seen or used the 2Wire's web interface so unfortunately I can't really help you in that regard.

Some firmwares may have a simple option to set IP Passthrough by allowing a LAN connection to use the public IP address from the modem while a very limited firmware might require you to play around with the configuration to get a workaround. This link should provide some info about the latter, albeit it's a guide for an AT&T modem but you can use it as a reference, just scroll down to number 6 - http://www.ron-berman.com/2011/11/24/motorola-nvg510-help-page-for-att-u-verse-users/

I ran into this problem a few years ago with AT&T when they first switched their networks to IP-DSLAMs and forced me to use their crappy equipment. I eventually just chose to switch to a DOCSIS 3.0 cable ISP so I can use whatever setup I wanted.

 

[miriam]

Wow,
That was fast. Thanks for the reply. Bell uses PPPoE. There isn't an option for passthrough. In fact, there aren't many options at all. At one point there was an actual option to put the 2wire into bridge mode but newer firmware has disabled it along with almost all of the advanced features. All I was told to do was to disable the wireless interface and use the DMZ+ mode. I then entered my Bell user name and password in the Asus router as advised by Asus. That was all the tech support people from Bell and Asus told me to do. Tech from Bell and Asus say I am now in bridge mode, but I don't think that I am given all the problems I have. Is there a way to confirm if it is really in bridge mode?

Assuming I am not in bridge mode, should I just get a cheap adsl modem rather than wasting time on the 2 wire?

this is driving me crazy,
Miriam

 

[jlake]

Wow,
That was fast. Thanks for the reply. Bell uses PPPoE. There isn't an option for passthrough. In fact, there aren't many options at all. At one point there was an actual option to put the 2wire into bridge mode but newer firmware has disabled it along with almost all of the advanced features. All I was told to do was to disable the wireless interface and use the DMZ+ mode. I then entered my Bell user name and password in the Asus router as advised by Asus. That was all the tech support people from Bell and Asus told me to do. Tech from Bell and Asus say I am now in bridge mode, but I don't think that I am given all the problems I have. Is there a way to confirm if it is really in bridge mode?

Assuming I am not in bridge mode, should I just get a cheap adsl modem rather than wasting time on the 2 wire?

this is driving me crazy,
Miriam[/

Change the Asus router's IP address to 192.168.9.1. Then set it up in the DMZ again.

Also check the MTU on the Asus. You might need to google search if you don't know how to do that.

If you get a new modem, make sure it does full bridge mode.

Bell Canada's pppoe implementation is not compatible with every modem or router out there (from what I recall).

 

[danstek]

Wow,
That was fast. Thanks for the reply. Bell uses PPPoE. There isn't an option for passthrough. In fact, there aren't many options at all. At one point there was an actual option to put the 2wire into bridge mode but newer firmware has disabled it along with almost all of the advanced features. All I was told to do was to disable the wireless interface and use the DMZ+ mode. I then entered my Bell user name and password in the Asus router as advised by Asus. That was all the tech support people from Bell and Asus told me to do. Tech from Bell and Asus say I am now in bridge mode, but I don't think that I am given all the problems I have. Is there a way to confirm if it is really in bridge mode?

Assuming I am not in bridge mode, should I just get a cheap adsl modem rather than wasting time on the 2 wire?

this is driving me crazy,
Miriam

I believe the issue is that you are configuring the PPPoE client on both the 2Wire modem and the Asus router. Only one device should handle PPPoE. The device that handles PPPoE will in turn also handle the NAT router functionality. As I mentioned before, a true bridge mode on the modem will allow it to simply act as a phone line to Ethernet adapter so that the Asus router can run the PPPoE client for you to log in.

Since we've established that your modem does not have a bridged mode or even IP passthrough, you end up with a double NAT as both devices try to function as a router.

The next option is to place the router into the DMZ on the 2Wire modem as a workaround as was described to you by tech support. To do this, you should assign the RT-n66u a static WAN address that is in the same subnet of the 2Wire modem. Then in the modem, place the IP address you assigned for the router into the DMZ configuration. You can disable wireless and DHCP on the modem since you won't be using it. In the end, the modem will still handle PPPoE but all traffic should pass to the router in the DMZ which will avoid a double NAT.

It should work but obviously its not very elegant. The easy way would be to just use a modem that has a proper bridge mode. If you do end up buying a different modem then definitely make sure its supports your ISP as jlake said.

 

[RMerlin]

The 2wire is garbage IMHO, especially with Bell crippling its firmware. If you are still on ADSL2+ (meaning your upstream is still 1 Mbits and not 10 Mbits), then buy a basic ADSL2+ modem that can work in bridged mode - it will save you a lot of headache.

Back when I was still with Bell, my 2wire spent 5 mins on the desk, then it went back in its box in my closet, and was replaced with a Speedstream I had brought from work.

 

[miriam]

RMerlin,

Since you know about Bell from personal experience, I was wondering if I would have better luck with a Sagemcom 2864? I am now going to be upgraded at no additional cost. Will this "connection hub" cause more nightmares, or be easier to configure? I am sure I will need the Asus router with it as the wireless range it provides is really poor.

Also, if I need to get a modem of my own, what would you recommend? I don't think that I will be able to use a basic adsl2+ modem with the upgraded connection as will be on the 15/10 plan.

I just need to get this crappy 2wire bridged till tuesday. I have tried everyone's suggestions without success. Of course, I could be missing some steps. Can you or anyone please provide step by step instructions? I do not have networking experience.

Once I get things working I will be able to go through some of the beginners info.


Thanks again

 

[RMerlin]

RMerlin,

Since you know about Bell from personal experience, I was wondering if I would have better luck with a Sagemcom 2864? I am now going to be upgraded at no additional cost. Will this "connection hub" cause more nightmares, or be easier to configure? I am sure I will need the Asus router with it as the wireless range it provides is really poor.

Also, if I need to get a modem of my own, what would you recommend? I don't think that I will be able to use a basic adsl2+ modem with the upgraded connection as will be on the 15/10 plan.

I just need to get this crappy 2wire bridged till tuesday. I have tried everyone's suggestions without success. Of course, I could be missing some steps. Can you or anyone please provide step by step instructions? I do not have networking experience.

Once I get things working I will be able to go through some of the beginners info.

None of the modems provided by Bell will let you bridge them. You will have to buy your own modem for that.

Unfortunately, the upgrade to VDSL2 (with the 10 Mbits upstream) will force you into using Bell's own modem. I recommend you take a look at the DSLReports forums - people might be able to give you some feedback as to how best to configure the VDSL2 modem to make it work properly with your own router. I admit I haven't recently checked what was the latest news concerning the VDSL2 modems, so maybe someone has tips as to how to either bridge them, or at least make them partially bridged (which is what DMZ+ is kinda doing with the 2wire).

If it's only temporary, then I'd say don't waste too much time with the 2wire. Unless you can borrow an ADSL2+ modem for the week, best to simply have either the router set as a router (with the dual NAT issues that can come with it), or set it as an Access Point.