Bridging a Spark Modem/Router to Netgear D6200

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Dingbatt

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#2019684 21-May-2018 11:24

hio77: If you need the service to work without interruptions put the hg659b in place now.

Vdsl doesn't fallback to adsl.

Thanks. I have 'preconfigured' the hg569b and then disconnected it, so I can plug it in and use it as a modem router when the time comes. Unfortunately its device limit means it will only be a stopgap and until the changeover I will need to keep using the Netgear.
My preference will be to bridge the Huawei to the Netgear. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a configuration nightmare!

Next noob question,
When I set the HG659b up in bridge mode does it need to be in the IP range that the Netgear router is using? As an example my current network uses 192.168.2.xx as its IP range but that is forbidden on the HG659b as it is reserved for its guest Network. So at the moment I have changed the HG659b to 198.162.3.1 as the gateway address instead of the default 192.168.1.254 that it came with.

Can I access the settings of the HG659b directly by Ethernet cable from a laptop plugged into it when it is in bridge mode?

My difficulty is I have 21 wired and 22 wifi devices in the house and the list keeps growing. Some of which are configured at their end to use a specific LAN address.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

Dingbatt

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#2020549 22-May-2018 18:23

Wow, that was easy in the end!
Apart from waiting all day for them to flick the switch, the changeover took about 3 minutes to complete. I already had the Huawei LAN port connected to the Netgear WAN port with an Ethernet cable.
ADSL went dead.
Transferred the DSL cable from the Netgear to the Huawei.
Booted up the Huawei, changed it to bridge mode following the Spark website instructions.
Logged into the Netgear and changed encapsulation to PPPoE and entered my username and password.
Apply.
Job done. VDSL.
Spark text saying VDSL connected came through about 5 minutes later.
First run of Speedtest (old figures in brackets)
Down 42 (12), Up 14 (0.8)
Small dice for people with fibre, but a big deal for us.

Edit: I reset the the Huawei back to defaults before the transfer.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

wratterus

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#2020566 22-May-2018 18:43

Nice - huge increase. You found the VLAN tag area in your Netgear OK obviously? I seem to remember this being tricky, maybe they've fixed it with more recent firmware, I've not played with one for a while.

Dingbatt

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#2020637 22-May-2018 19:25

To be honest, I did nothing other than as described above and set WAN preference to auto detect.
The steps seem a little more complicated when fibre is concerned.
It's working, so, for now, it's hands off.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

datahawk

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#2025019 29-May-2018 17:15

Dingbatt: Wow, that was easy in the end!

...Booted up the Huawei, changed it to bridge mode following the Spark website instructions.
Logged into the Netgear and changed encapsulation to PPPoE and entered my username and password.
Apply.
Job done. VDSL....

Thanks, this is an interesting topic because I have just been playing with a Spark HG659b to see if it can be set up easily in bridge mode to connect to my Netgear R7000 router in case my trusty Draytek DV130 ever fails for any reason.

I don't want to plug it into my VDSL line for a test simply because there is no reason to disturb my connection unless it absolutely necessary.

I flashed the HG659b to the latest firmware, then followed the Spark bridge instructions, which seemed way too easy! :-)

Edit VDSL connection: INTERNET_TR069_VDSL_VID_10
Service type: Tick only INTERNET (ensure both TR069 and Voice are unticked)
Connection type: Bridged
Save!

Are those the ONLY steps needed to turn a Spark HG659b into a 'VDSL2 modem' like a bridged Draytek DV130 ?

In my case, with it sitting on my desk after the above basic config, the DHCP Server is still active and the Wifi radios are active.

Should those (or any other) items be disabled if this device is simply bridged to a router ?

wratterus

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#2025023 29-May-2018 17:21

These are Vodafone's instructions for the HG659. Maybe a bit more comprehensive. Sorry for the wall of text, I can't find their forum post on it anymore.

This method will give you full bridge mode as well as a reserved IP to access from another LAN port. Supports VDSL, Fibre and FibreX, does not support ADSL. Disconnect the WAN connection (VDSL or ethernet to ONT / cable modem) Connect your PC via cable directly to the HG659. Log on as Admin (not vodafone). Internet -> Internet Settings: Delete all of the profiles except the connection you want (eg internet_ethernet) Internet -> Internet Settings: Edit that profile, change connection type to Bridged, change Service type to Internet only (untick TR069 & Voice). It will show disconnected, don't worry about that. Internet -> Network security -> Firewall: disable the firewall Home Network -> WLAN settings -> WLAN Encryption: Untick the 2.4 & 5GHz WLAN SSID on the WLAN encryption section. Doing it here rather than under the Basic Settings means that the physical button on the unit won't reenable wifi. Home Network -> LAN Interface: Turn off UPNP, IPv6 DHCP Server and DHCP Server (IPv4) You should still be connected. If not, you'll need to set your PC to a static IP in the 192.168.1.0/24 range, eg 192.168.1.123 Home Network -> LAN Interface -> LAN Interface Settings: Set a LAN IP, say to 192.168.200.200 that won't conflict with anything. Now if you ever want to reconnect to the router, you'll need to set a static IP on your computer to something like 192.168.200.100/24, and connect physically into the router, and browse to 192.168.200.200.

Dingbatt

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#2025042 29-May-2018 18:09

datahawk:
Dingbatt: Wow, that was easy in the end!

...Booted up the Huawei, changed it to bridge mode following the Spark website instructions.
Logged into the Netgear and changed encapsulation to PPPoE and entered my username and password.
Apply.
Job done. VDSL....

Thanks, this is an interesting topic because I have just been playing with a Spark HG659b to see if it can be set up easily in bridge mode to connect to my Netgear R7000 router in case my trusty Draytek DV130 ever fails for any reason.

I don't want to plug it into my VDSL line for a test simply because there is no reason to disturb my connection unless it absolutely necessary.

I flashed the HG659b to the latest firmware, then followed the Spark bridge instructions, which seemed way too easy! :-)

Edit VDSL connection: INTERNET_TR069_VDSL_VID_10
Service type: Tick only INTERNET (ensure both TR069 and Voice are unticked)
Connection type: Bridged
Save!

Are those the ONLY steps needed to turn a Spark HG659b into a 'VDSL2 modem' like a bridged Draytek DV130 ?

In my case, with it sitting on my desk after the above basic config, the DHCP Server is still active and the Wifi radios are active.

Should those (or any other) items be disabled if this device is simply bridged to a router ?

It's certainly all I did. Whoever cut and pasted the instructions on the Spark website didn't bother proof reading it though. In the section for connecting a third party router the second instruction says:

"The HG659/HG659b use the IP range 192.168.1.x/24 by default. To avoid conflict, to another IP address range i.e. 192.168.3.x/24.”
I believe they need to insert the words "change the router" between "conflict," and "to".

I guess you could do what the Vodafone instructions did and change the HG659's IP address instead. I didn't because resetting it would mean it defaulting back to the 192.168.1.254.

Out of interest I swapped out my D6200 for a new R9000 and got an immediate speed increase from 42 down 14 up to 51 down and 17 up. The D6200 is now being used as an AP at the other end of the house. And even that was much much easier than when I repurposed an old Belkin modem router to achieve the same thing.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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datahawk

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#2025044 29-May-2018 18:26

Thanks Dingbatt,

I ended up disabling the DHCP Server and Wifi radios in my HG659b in addition to the basic config steps that you did.

It's nice to know, from your experience, that it should now just be a simple plug and play job in the unlikely event that my existing Draytek modem fails.

Cheers.

Dingbatt

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#2025047 29-May-2018 18:36

I had disabled the wifi using the mechanical button. Probably should have done it in the firmware as well. However, while there are probably tweaks I could do, I'm not going to faff around with it while it's working.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

datahawk

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#2025237 30-May-2018 00:12

Dingbatt: ... I'm not going to faff around with it while it's working.

Oh yes, I agree 100% with that statement. 'Faff-ing' around with ones live working broadband equipment is to be avoided at all costs :-)

However, I did have to suck it up and flash all latest overdue firmware on my Draytek and both Netgear R7000's this evening. Fortunately no new 'bricks' were created.

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