Setting up a network with two routers HG659 and RT-AC66U

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bigdognnnnz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#208257 3-Feb-2017 14:02

Hi everyone,

I need a bit of help setting up a home network with two routers.

I have a HG659 dsl modem/router from Vodafone and a Asus RT-AC66U.

What I want to do is set up the RT-AC66U as my wifi network and use the HG659 as a modem to connect the RT to the internet. The reasons for doing this is that I want to connect to a VPN using Openvpn on the RT, which the HG cant do... not to mention how the RT gets much better wifi speeds and range.

Currently, I have the HG set up and it is connected to the internet. I have connected the RT to the HG with an ethernet cable which goes into a LAN port on the HG and connects into the WAN port of the RT. I have also changed the local IP address of the RT to 192.168.2.1, the lan IP address of the HG is 192.168.1.1.

When I connect my PC to the RT router via wifi it gets no internet access. When I login into the RT router homepage it states that the network cable is unplugged.

What do I need to do to get it to work so that the devices connected to the RT router get internet access? What WAN settings do I need to input into the RT router?

I have been searching the internet and trying to set it up for the last couple of days.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

trig42

5814 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1714964 3-Feb-2017 14:09

You should connect the RT to the HG LAN port to LAN port, and turn off DHCP on the RT (And set its IP address to something outside the HGs DHCP range, but on the same net).

This will make the RT an Access Point and switch.

Not sure the OpenVPN thing will work this way, but give it a go.

kingdragonfly

11202 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1714981 3-Feb-2017 14:58

The DHCP advice is correct.

Also double check your subnet masks on all devices, to make sure you're actually dealing with two subnets, not one.

Based on your IP addresses supplied

Should be be 255.255.255.0

http://www.subnet-calculator.com/

bigdognnnnz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1714983 3-Feb-2017 14:59

trig42:

You should connect the RT to the HG LAN port to LAN port, and turn off DHCP on the RT (And set its IP address to something outside the HGs DHCP range, but on the same net).

This will make the RT an Access Point and switch.

Not sure the OpenVPN thing will work this way, but give it a go.

Ideally what I would like to do is turn off the HG's wifi and just use it as a modem for the RT. I would prefer the RT to handle DHCP and turn it off on the HG if possible.

I dont want to make the RT an access point as then I wont be able to use OpenVPN.

Spyware

3763 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1715117 3-Feb-2017 18:52

If HG is NAT routing then RT WAN interface would be set to either DHCP (obviously not if HG DHCP server disabled) or Static.

Its not possible for an HG659 to bridge a PPPoATM (adsl) circuit but you could purchase another device that can do this and then RT WAN interface would be configured with PPPoE. HG can bridge a PPPoE vdsl circuit however.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1715170 3-Feb-2017 21:34

The best way to go is as already mentioned above.

Lan port on the RT to Lan port on the HG. Switch off DHCP Server on the RT. Then everything will be in the same subnet as 192.168.1.X.

At the moment, the RT won't be working as the HG doesn't have a static route to 192.168.2.1 available? So The HG doesn't know how to forward packets for the 192.168.2.X subnet.

Worse, the RT may also be NAT'ting the WAN port if that's what you're using. Double NAT is not recommended.

I have an HG659 as I'm getting fibre installed. Here's what I learned: The Spark one I could not for the life of me get to do static routes and port forwarding properly. It's port forwarding feature requires MAC based forwarding not IP so if you want to run a server of any sorts on a different subnet such as 192.168.2.1 it just won't work. So the best bet is to have it on the same subnet by connecting the LAN ports together of both devices.

My solution was to ditch the HG in my setup all together and use a router that supports static routes and port forwarding based on IP not MAC. As I have to have a router capable of different subnets. But for general use, there's no reason why yours can't all be on the same subnet/address range as the HG.

Spyware

3763 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1715178 3-Feb-2017 21:56

kiwirock:

The best way to go is as already mentioned above.

How is it the best way when it will mean that the OpenVPN client does not work, it doesn't know that the gateway address has changed to the HG.

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1715195 3-Feb-2017 22:42

Yeah good point. Forgot the OpenVPN part.

It sounds like you'd have to double NAT everything though.

You may just be missing a static route from the HG to the WAN Port's IP address on the RT if you're not NAT'ting the WAN port on the RT.

The only down side is though, is having to double NAT everything. Because the RT will have to NAT the clients on the RT for use through the OpenVPN - If you plan on tunneling all traffic through it for Internet access through a single public IP on the OpenVPN client. If you're only connecting to a office VPN to access local resources you probably won't need to NAT the clients in 192.168.2.x.

Because the HG only does port forwarding on MAC based addresses, you'd also need to run NAT on the RT WAN port if you want to forward any HG public IP ports to a 192.168.2.x device. This would mean opening ports on the HG and the RT. Something to keep in mind if the need should arise.

Are you using OpenVPN to connect to a network where NAT'ting isn't required? Does the RT support NAT for OpenVPN connections if you are using 1 IP address on the OpenVPN client if you plan on tunnelling all your devices through it?

edit: You also say it says the cable is un-plugged. Is this just because it isn't set to obtain an IP via DHCP or does it not auto detect whether it needs a cross-over cable or not?

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macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1715204 3-Feb-2017 23:06

Buy a Vigor 130 and stop wasting your time. Or even better move to UFB and avoid this issue all together.

I know those seem like dumb unhelpful answers but doing what you're doing is really trying to fit a square peg in a round hole unfortunately.

Spending a bit of money on the right tool will make your life so much easier :)

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1715209 3-Feb-2017 23:40

macuser: Buy a Vigor 130 and stop wasting your time. Or even better move to UFB and avoid this issue all together.

I know those seem like dumb unhelpful answers but doing what you're doing is really trying to fit a square peg in a round hole unfortunately.

Spending a bit of money on the right tool will make your life so much easier :)

I don't think the Vigor has an OpenVPN client in it either.

I used to buy Asus, but then went by way of Mikrotik. One router does everything (edit: for fibre) but it's a learning curve. Much bigger bang for the $ though than expensive pretty looking routers that don't do much.

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1715233 4-Feb-2017 06:16

kiwirock:
macuser: Buy a Vigor 130 and stop wasting your time. Or even better move to UFB and avoid this issue all together.

I know those seem like dumb unhelpful answers but doing what you're doing is really trying to fit a square peg in a round hole unfortunately.

Spending a bit of money on the right tool will make your life so much easier :)

I don't think the Vigor has an OpenVPN client in it either.

I used to buy Asus, but then went by way of Mikrotik. One router does everything (edit: for fibre) but it's a learning curve. Much bigger bang for the $ though than expensive pretty looking routers that don't do much.

The Vigor 130 is just there for bridging the DSL to whatever fancy router OP has with OpenVPN :)

bigdognnnnz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1715351 4-Feb-2017 12:44

Hey guys,

Thanks very much for your replys. I did manage to get internet going through the second router (RT) on a few occasions. No luck with OpenVPN.

I think you are right in that I am wasting my time due to the restrictions of the HG. Like kiwirock I tried to set up port forwarding and static routes but it doesn't seem to working correctly. For some reason you set up port forward on one device and the settings change.

I'm on VDSL, sadly fibre isnt due to be rolled out in my area until 2018! Which is actually quite annoying because I am within 500m of the fibre area lol.

I had been using a ASUS xDSL-N66U router/modem which was quite good but didnt have the capabilities to run a VPN via OpenVPN or others. So I bought the RT-AC66U which could. Annoyingly the xDSL-N66u crapped out and stopped working. So I ending up signing up with vodafone for a 1 year contract and made them send me out a new modem-router (the HG) which I was hoping to use as a bridge. What I should of done is signed up with Orcon, I am sure the fancy xdsl/cable modems they send out wouldnt have had any problems.

I haven't had much luck the past few weeks! My first router crapped out, I dropped the RT router and one of the antennas broke, the telephone socket in my study has crapped out and literary hanging out of the wall.

What I might do is peddle the piece of crap HG659 vodafone gave me on trademe and see if I can pick up something like a Vigor130 to use as a bridge as macuser suggests. Will have a look at Mikrotik as well.

I wonder if its too late to cancel that 12 month vodafone plan.... probably want to charge me a cancellation fee. Damn!

Spyware

3763 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1715353 4-Feb-2017 12:47

HG can bridge a PPPoE connection (VDSL2) as I've already stated above so you don't need a Draytek. HG just can't bridge a PPPoATM connection (adsl2+).

http://community.vodafone.co.nz/t5/Modems-Wi-Fi/Huawei-HG659-Bridge-Mode/td-p/169232

bigdognnnnz

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1715461 4-Feb-2017 17:37

Spyware:

HG can bridge a PPPoE connection (VDSL2) as I've already stated above so you don't need a Draytek. HG just can't bridge a PPPoATM connection (adsl2+).

http://community.vodafone.co.nz/t5/Modems-Wi-Fi/Huawei-HG659-Bridge-Mode/td-p/169232

I am aware of that discussion on the vodafone community boards, that's what I have been using as a guide to try and set up the connection.

I have bridged the HG by following those instructions, however I still cant get the PPPoE connection to work on the RT. Maybe its just a bad pairing of devices (the HG and RT).

The Asus firmware (Using Merlin-WRT and have tried the stock firmware) doesn't seem to support some of the options that are required for the PPPoE connection, for example it wants me to put in a username and password and doesn't support an "IP routing" connection. It just can't connect

I have tried to set it up using a static IP address, and when doing so it says it is connected for about 3 seconds, and then disconnects.

The HG doesnt detect the RT at all as well.

Spyware

3763 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1715475 4-Feb-2017 18:15

I was forgetting that Vodafone use IPoE rather than PPPoE on VDSL2. In which case you would set the Asus WAN interface to DHCP.