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    EE ADSL router in modem mode

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    • B
      Balanga
      last edited by

      I assume the F means Fibre… which is not yet available in my area so it's definitely ADSL...

      I was with Virgin Media before and used my VM SuperHub in Modem only mode.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • S
        Stan464
        last edited by

        Right.

        Few options, you can use the Provided Router, Remove the Firewall Rules & such and set a Static IP & Set it into DMZ, then use that IP for PFSense.

        This should give you the same joy.

        Hope the above helps.

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        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          Yeah you have a number of options there.

          I used a Draytek V120 ADSL modem successfully for years. The V130 supports VDSL too so you'd be ready for FTTC when it reaches you.

          The BT Openreach modems are available and would do that same job I believe. Never tried to use mine for ADSL but they should be capable.

          There are other devices doing similar xDSL bridge setup.

          What actually is the device EE supplied you with? It might have a 'bridge' mode. It might be *-wrt compatible but I'd suggest getting something else to do that with.

          Steve

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          • B
            Balanga
            last edited by

            The EE router says Model name: Bright Box (R) Wireless Router. I don't see any indication about what it really is…

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            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              Like this?:
              https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/arcadyan/ar7516

              I would advise you just get something already configured as a modem if you can. Unless of course you want he fun that can be had installing custom firmware.  ;)

              Steve

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              • B
                Balanga
                last edited by

                I have collected quite a number of ADSL modem/routers over the years and would be interested in trying to use an alternative to the EE modem/router but a problem I've noticed with the EE box is that the Broadband password is ****ed out and I don't know how to find out what it is - or if anyone will tell me what it is.

                I'm wondering if this would be the best bet for me as a simple ADSL modem for connection to my pfSense box (assuming I can get it working with EE) :-

                https://www.dlink-direct.co.uk/dsl-320b

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                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  If it has pass-through mode so you can run the ppp session from pfSense that would probably work.

                  I can only say I know the Draytek V120 works because I've tested it. They look to be reasonably priced second hand now.

                  Steve

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                  • B
                    Balanga
                    last edited by

                    This shows how to set up bridge mode:-

                    http://www.dlink.com/uk/en/support/faq/modems/dsl-modems/dsl_320b/how-to-setup-dsl-320b-revision-z1-in-bridge-mode

                    I that the same as pass-through mode? (Apologies if that is a dumb question…)

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                    • B
                      Balanga
                      last edited by

                      @Stan464:

                      Now

                      When you say EE ADSL are you 100% sure its just "ADSL" & not "FTCC"

                      I'm with EE & using FTCC, What i used was a "FTCC BT Box" that has DSL in & Ethernet Out.

                      I used PFSense with PPPOA mode & provided the Username & Password and it connected without issue.

                      So do you just connect your pfSense box to the EE ADSL box and only use one port? I was using a Virgin SuperHub previously but had to set it up in modem mode. Do I need to make any changes on the EE box? And what IP addresses should I use?

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                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Looks like he just used an Openreach 'modem' as supplied by BT to everyone before soho routers were commonly available with built in VDSL modems. Check Ebay.

                        But he has an FTTC connection (VDSL) and you do not, yet.

                        Steve

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                        • B
                          Balanga
                          last edited by

                          I managed to come up with a solution whereby I set my EE ADSL modem/router's gateway to 192.168.100.1 and connected one port to the WAN port on my pfSense box which provided my pfSense box with a WAN port IP address via DHCP from the EE box.

                          It seems to work, but I don't really know if this is just a kludge or not…

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                          • W
                            Wolf666
                            last edited by

                            I use a Draytek V130 in bridge mode, excellent performances. I have a VDSL 100/20 with a current connection of real 95/19.

                            Modem Draytek Vigor 130
                            pfSense 2.4 Supermicro A1SRi-2558 - 8GB ECC RAM - Intel S3500 SSD 80GB - M350 Case
                            Switch Cisco SG350-10
                            AP Netgear R7000 (Stock FW)
                            HTPC Intel NUC5i3RYH
                            NAS Synology DS1515+
                            NAS Synology DS213+

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • B
                              Balanga
                              last edited by

                              How do you measure this speed?

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • W
                                Wolf666
                                last edited by

                                @Balanga:

                                How do you measure this speed?

                                From a wired PC, an average performances using speed test (mostly for upload performances) and pfSense traffic graphs on single source download . From Vigor 130 GUI the actual rate is 107.9 Mbps/ 21.6Mbps…
                                Of course the real connection speeds depends on the time of the day, but I can easly get those speeds duing night, I am less than 100 meters from cabinet (Broadcom).

                                Modem Draytek Vigor 130
                                pfSense 2.4 Supermicro A1SRi-2558 - 8GB ECC RAM - Intel S3500 SSD 80GB - M350 Case
                                Switch Cisco SG350-10
                                AP Netgear R7000 (Stock FW)
                                HTPC Intel NUC5i3RYH
                                NAS Synology DS1515+
                                NAS Synology DS213+

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • B
                                  Balanga
                                  last edited by

                                  That doesn't sound like ADSL…. I've just tried Speedtest and get around 5.0/1.0.

                                  Not sure how that can be significantly increased using a different router/modem...

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                                  • W
                                    Wolf666
                                    last edited by

                                    @Balanga:

                                    That doesn't sound like ADSL…. I've just tried Speedtest and get around 5.0/1.0.

                                    Not sure how that can be significantly increased using a different router/modem...

                                    If you have a ADSL/ADSL2 connection your speed depends on the distance from ISP DSLAM and if you are distant changing Modem cannot help you. Can you post a screenshot of your line? I mean, we need to know attenuation and type of line.

                                    https://www.speedguide.net/dsl_speed_calc.php

                                    Modem Draytek Vigor 130
                                    pfSense 2.4 Supermicro A1SRi-2558 - 8GB ECC RAM - Intel S3500 SSD 80GB - M350 Case
                                    Switch Cisco SG350-10
                                    AP Netgear R7000 (Stock FW)
                                    HTPC Intel NUC5i3RYH
                                    NAS Synology DS1515+
                                    NAS Synology DS213+

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • B
                                      Balanga
                                      last edited by

                                      Thanks for the link, but I'm afraid all this stuff is way over my head….

                                      Where do I find 'Downstream Attenuation'?

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                                      • W
                                        Wolf666
                                        last edited by

                                        @Balanga:

                                        Thanks for the link, but I'm afraid all this stuff is way over my head….

                                        Where do I find 'Downstream Attenuation'?

                                        You should find line information accessing the webGUI of your modem…it is a quite normal and vital information of your connection.

                                        Modem Draytek Vigor 130
                                        pfSense 2.4 Supermicro A1SRi-2558 - 8GB ECC RAM - Intel S3500 SSD 80GB - M350 Case
                                        Switch Cisco SG350-10
                                        AP Netgear R7000 (Stock FW)
                                        HTPC Intel NUC5i3RYH
                                        NAS Synology DS1515+
                                        NAS Synology DS213+

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • B
                                          Balanga
                                          last edited by

                                          I spent ages looking then found this post on the EE forums:-

                                          https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Archive/Upgraded-to-Brightbox-NOT-very-fast-is-it/td-p/18588

                                          Then go to Advanced Settings / Accept / SYSTEM / ADSL Status

                                          You should then get a full set of stats for the router.

                                          Which should look something like this:

                                          ADSL Status
                                          This page shows information about your ADSL connection if applicable.
                                          Status
                                          Configured Current
                                          Line Status –- SHOWTIME
                                          Link Type --- Fast Path
                                          Operation Mode G992.5(ADSL2+) G992.5(ADSL2+)
                                          Data Rate Information
                                          Stream Type Actual Data Rate
                                          Upstream 1240 (Kbps.)
                                          Downstream 9727 (Kbps.)                            <<<------THIS IS THE FIGURE WE ARE INTERESTED IN
                                          Defect/Failure Indication
                                          Operation Data Upstream Downstream
                                          Noise Margin ...... 5.9 dB 10.9 dB
                                          Line Attenuation 15.6 dB 29.5 dB

                                          which I guess is what I'm looking for…except I don't see such an option... Maybe I'll try a different router.

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                                          • B
                                            Balanga
                                            last edited by

                                            I've replace the EE Bright Box with a D-LINK DSL-2640R which does show  ADSL statistics:-

                                            ADSL STATISTICS

                                            Mode: ADSL2 PLUS
                                            Type: ANNEX_A
                                            Status: Showtime

                                            Downstream Upstream
                                            Rate (Kbps): 6788 kbps 972 kbps

                                            SNR Margin (dB): 3.7 5.5
                                            Attenuation (dB): 50.0 27.0
                                            Output Power (dBm): 0.0 12.3

                                            Super Frames: 21794 21795
                                            RS Correctable Errors: 15699 9
                                            RS Uncorrectable Errors: 2 4

                                            HEC Errors: 21 0
                                            Total Cells: 102129 36584
                                            Data Cells: 101859 36584
                                            Bit Errors: 0 0

                                            Attentuation is 50.0 dB

                                            and the SG DSL Speed Calculator shows:-

                                            DSL Maximum Speed Calculator
                                            Downstream Attenuation 50 dB
                                            Cable loss 13.81 dB/km (default=13.81)
                                            Approximate Distance 3621 meters
                                            ADSL Max Speed 4898 kbps
                                            ADSL2+ Max Speed 5237 kbps
                                            VDSL2 Max Speed kbps

                                            Not sure what any of this means or if I would get different figures with a different router.

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