Fiber Configuration - Bigpipe
Comfast CF AC100 and Comfast CF AC101 (2018 PoE version)
This is possibly one of the simplest devices that I can have seen and used in terms of WAN PPPoE configuration. At a very reasonable NZ$160 for the AC100 and NZ$206 for the new AC101 PoE version, it is not only cheaper than most modems on the market, but a lot more powerful and still retains a lot of the high powered functionality that a professional user would like.
I will let you discover the full feature list on your own. I purchased mine about 18 months ago on Aliexpress and have had nothing but success with it managing 2 PoE WIFI AP units, port forwarding, traffic monitoring and so much more. The main reason I wanted it was for the rack mount configuration. I have a small server, patch and home automation rack at home and so a rack mount modem was the dream... so if you are looking for a rack mount, WIFI AP manager and modem combined, then get one of these. Don't be put off by buying from Aliexpress. Have been using the site for years and never had a problem.
You access the device settings via a web-browser. It comes with a small label on the back showing its default IP, username and password. I would recommend accessing that first and changing it to something that suits your network and a password that is more secure. I won't go in to that detail, but it is relatively straight forward.
The device has 6 ports on the front. Ignore CONSOLE, you will need WAN to connect to your ONT device. As per a standard connection, an ethernet cable between WAN port and LAN1 on the ONT is required.
If you have a a larger wired network switch or wifi access point units, they will attach to the assignable LAN ports. For my configuration, I have a PoE enabled managed network switch attached to ETH5 on the front panel. To assign ports you navigate to the following page:
NETWORK > INTERFACE DESIGNATE
On this page, you should already have "Extra Interface" showing WAN1 allocated to interface "eth0.1". This can not be edited. You will also see some options for "Local Interface" and this is where I have removed other ports (I will leave them spare for future upgrades) and I have designated LAN1 to "eth0.5". This is done by clicking the blue EDIT icon and simply ticking or unticking the patch ports you want to use. Nothing stopping you using all ports allocated to LAN1 if you want to use the AC100 as a small network switch too.
CAUTION: Do not untick ALL ports otherwise you have no way of remote controlling the device and you will need to a full factory reset using the front panel RESET button. Major pain to do that, so watch out.
Next is the WAN settings. You can access these settings from the following page:
NETWORK > WAN SETTINGS
Here you will find a page which, if it is set up with just 1 WAN port, a single tab at the top of the page labelled WAN1. Below, you will find the following page:
The page comes pre-populated with:
LINE NUMBER: 1
NAME: WAN1
UP: 1000
DOWN: 1000
and the device MAC address (un-editable)
You need to fill in the following, as per Bigpipe's specification:
CONNECTION TYPE: PPPoE
USER NAME: bigpipe
PASSWORD: bigpipe
SERVICE NAME: [BLANK]
MTU: [BLANK]
Once you fill in these gaps, hit SAVE at the bottom. If you have opted for the STATIC IP option (like I did) from Bigpipe, then the process is the same. The static IP is assigned from the network side, not stored locally on your modem. So you simply follow the same steps, using PPPoE and your static IP will populate the IP field automatically. Nothing needed to be changed there.
Lastly, just head to the VLAN SETUP page, as you need to make sure these are all disabled and removed. Go to the following page:
NETWORK > VLAN SETUP
On this page, you should have no rows in the list of VLAN configurations. Your page should look like this:
Once you have done that, return to the main menu page "STATE" from the menu and you should see the following:
Among other useful data, this page should show your current IP address for the WAN connection as well as the status of the connection and the LAN IP address and its status, too.
The configuration of this device is so simple as well as it can cope with full gigabit fiber connectivity. So this device should suit users on the lowest speed plan, right up to the full speed 900MB speed plan.
Hope this helps people both looking for a good rack-mount modem option as well as people using Bigpipe who might already have this device.
