Airport Extreme configuration with UFB

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JonoNZ

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#929570 8-Nov-2013 16:25

PJ48: I have installed our AirPort Extreme near the ceiling in our hallway in the middle of the house using an H-Squared Airmount bracket (about US$35 through Amazon) connected by Ethernet to the Telecom supplied UFB gigabit router in our basement. It is set up in bridge mode, and I use Airport Utility to control all the usual in house parameters, while the telecom router is just left alone to interface with the UFB. I have switched off the Telecom wifi in the router to avoid any interference. This setup allows you to position the AirPort Extreme in the best position for the best coverage (central and high). I have also fed a return Ethernet cable back to the basement from the LAN port on the AE, to connect up with some other wired connections. In my experience, AirPlay doesn't work very well if any subsequent wired Airport Expresses are not connected direct to the AirPort Extreme via LAN. Wireless connected airport expresses are not such a problem.

Hi there. I've successfully bridged the TG589n VDSL2 modem and used it with an AirPort Extreme in the past. I've not had so much luck with the TG587 device supplied for Telecom fibre connections - I get no internet when I have attempted to bridge it.

Would you mind sharing the steps you performed to bridge the TG587 and use it with the Apple AirPort?

Cheers!

Lorenceo

904 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#929652 8-Nov-2013 18:30

The Apple router products do not support VLAN tagging on their WAN port. You cannot connect them to the ONT to use them as a router on UFB unless you have some other method to perform the VLAN tagging.
The reason they can be used on VDSL with the TG589n v2 is the TG589n does the VLAN tagging itself.

Edit: There are a couple of ways around this problem.
1. Use a router that supports VLAN tagging on its WAN port. (eg: Asus RT-N66U)
2. Use the ISP supplied router for routing and use the Airport unit as a wireless access point.
3. Use a managed switch, or some other device in between the ONT and Airport unit to do the VLAN tagging for you.
4. Request an untagged UFB port from your ISP. This will mean all traffic is treated the same, so you won't be able to prioritise your VOIP traffic over your regular web traffic. Not all ISPs can/will do this.
5. Run double NAT with the ISP provided router and the Airport unit. (Connect WAN on the Airport unit to a LAN port on the ISP router. Not ideal, this solution can cause some applications to not work. Games and P2P software, etc.)

JonoNZ

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#929759 8-Nov-2013 22:00

Lorenceo: The Apple router products do not support VLAN tagging on their WAN port. You cannot connect them to the ONT to use them as a router on UFB unless you have some other method to perform the VLAN tagging.
The reason they can be used on VDSL with the TG589n v2 is the TG589n does the VLAN tagging itself.

Edit: There are a couple of ways around this problem.
1. Use a router that supports VLAN tagging on its WAN port. (eg: Asus RT-N66U)
2. Use the ISP supplied router for routing and use the Airport unit as a wireless access point.
3. Use a managed switch, or some other device in between the ONT and Airport unit to do the VLAN tagging for you.
4. Request an untagged UFB port from your ISP. This will mean all traffic is treated the same, so you won't be able to prioritise your VOIP traffic over your regular web traffic. Not all ISPs can/will do this.
5. Run double NAT with the ISP provided router and the Airport unit. (Connect WAN on the Airport unit to a LAN port on the ISP router. Not ideal, this solution can cause some applications to not work. Games and P2P software, etc.)

Thanks, I understand the VLAN tagging limitation of the AE.

I have double NAT at the moment and my preference is to avoid this. I have bridged a few TG589's before and had no problems, and just wondered what the trick was with the TG587. I'd prefer to bridge the Telecom supplied modem (as I can't connect directly to the ONT), but also have an extended AirPort network which works really well.

Lorenceo

904 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#929774 8-Nov-2013 22:33

Sorry, I didn't read the post by PJ48.

If there's a way to get it working that's great.

PJ48

295 posts

Ultimate Geek

#930136 9-Nov-2013 22:28

Sorry if I have been a little unclear. It is actually the Airport Extreme that is in bridge mode. not the Telecom router. I need the Telecom router to do all the VLAN tagging, and distribute DHCP etc. Even if I could set up the Telecom router (Pace Gateway) in bridge mode (which I can't), I think the setup wouldn't work because whereas with ADSL, where you don't need VLAN tagging, you do require this with UFB, and the AE can't do that bit.

Having said all of that, it doesn't bother me to just leave the Telecom router to do its thing, with the Wifi switched off. I connect a Gigabit ethernet cable from the router to the WAN port of the Airport extreme. and because I have actually got three Airport Expresses in the house feeding stereos, as well as another Time Capsule for coverage/backup, it is really easy to manage my internal network using Airport Utility. I have connected as much as possible using ethernet to maintain speed.

eXDee

4032 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#933794 14-Nov-2013 12:16

As a FYI this is the cheapest Mikrotik router that can do VLAN tagging for you:
http://www.gowifi.co.nz/ethernet-adsl/mikrotik-routerboard-rb750-five-port-router.html

What this means is you can set this device to bridge and simply apply 802.11q VLAN tags to every packet going through, so this means that you can use the airport extreme as you normally would, with PPPoE and all the usual routing, dhcp server roles etc.

JonoNZ

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#935282 17-Nov-2013 18:21

eXDee: As a FYI this is the cheapest Mikrotik router that can do VLAN tagging for you:
http://www.gowifi.co.nz/ethernet-adsl/mikrotik-routerboard-rb750-five-port-router.html

What this means is you can set this device to bridge and simply apply 802.11q VLAN tags to every packet going through, so this means that you can use the airport extreme as you normally would, with PPPoE and all the usual routing, dhcp server roles etc.

Ok, thanks. So ditch the Technicolor TG587 and replace it with the Mikrotik, bridged?

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mme

161 posts

Master Geek

#944059 2-Dec-2013 12:53

I have recently bought a AirPort Time Capsule and it is directly connected to the white chorus fibre box using the WAN port with an Cat6 Patch cable. In the Airport settings simply use the Connect Using PPPoE using the settings from the netcom that comes with the UFB connection from NOW.

Call up NOW and they are happy to help you set it up, very helpful with also giving you access to the netcomm.

RunningMan

8960 posts

Uber Geek

#944062 2-Dec-2013 13:00

mme: I have recently bought a AirPort Time Capsule and it is directly connected to the white chorus fibre box using the WAN port with an Cat6 Patch cable. In the Airport settings simply use the Connect Using PPPoE using the settings from the netcom that comes with the UFB connection from NOW.

Call up NOW and they are happy to help you set it up, very helpful with also giving you access to the netcomm.

They must have provisioned the connection to not require VLAN tagging.

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