3G Modem issues … should I rather get a TP Link
-
I'm battling to get my Huawei E353 modem to work on pfSense. I'm thinking of adding a third NIC to the machine (HP N36L) and running the E353 on a TP Link TL-MR3420 V2 (don't have one, will have to buy as well).
Will this work fine on pfSense? I'll disable the WiFi on the 3420 and just have the E353 on it with one LAN port going into the new NIC on the pfSense box (do I just setup the new NIC interface to get IP from DHCP on 3420?). These TP Link routers are known to be compatible with just about every 3G modem out there and the V2 of the 3420 should also be compatible with the new LTE 4G modems. At least I should never struggle with drivers again. Cons would be the cost of the 3420 + new NIC + power consumption of the 3420. On the Pro side I could then also position the 3420/E353 setup in a better position for signal and just run the LAN cable to the HP.
Am I being stupid? Even though I like love the satisfaction of solving these types of problems, I feel I have struggled enough with this modem now.
-
@hvr:
Will this work fine on pfSense?
Yes, provided the TP-Link supports your modem.
@hvr:
I'll disable the WiFi on the 3420 and just have the E353 on it with one LAN port going into the new NIC on the pfSense box (do I just setup the new NIC interface to get IP from DHCP on 3420?).
That should work. For management convenience you might decide to have pfSense your only DHCP server or to use static IPs.
@hvr:
Am I being stupid? Even though I like love the satisfaction of solving these types of problems, I feel I have struggled enough with this modem now.
Sometimes it is appropriate to decide to spend a few bucks rather than spend a few hours.
-
If you can, disable DHCP and NAT from the TP Link box so that you are not doing double NAT.