Does Spark Huawei B618s-65d 4g LTE Modem have "Bridge Mode"?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Does Spark Huawei B618s-65d 4g LTE Modem have "Bridge Mode"?

AndyT

164 posts

Master Geek

#298811 18-Jul-2022 19:00

Perhaps I'm getting confused, but since installing the Spark Huawei B618s-65d modem in May 2020, I've been under the impression that it cannot operate in bridge mode. As a result, I've been running with DMZ settings and pointing my EdgeRouter to a designated WAN IP and switching off all modem functionality other than being a modem, but realise I'm double NATing although that's never really been a problem.

However, looking at the modem config this evening for the first time in a long time, I noticed it does appear to have bridge mode available for wireless dial-up - screenshot attached. Perhaps it's the result of a firmware upgrade that I hadn't noticed before?

Does anyone know if this correct, and if so would it be better to use bridge mode than DMZ settings, assuming Spark allows this on an 4G LTE connection?

nztim

3824 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

TEAMnetwork

Subscriber

#2943553 18-Jul-2022 19:50

Try enable it and set your edge router to DHCP, if you have a wireless landline that wont work in this configuration

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

cyril7

9058 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2943590 19-Jul-2022 08:26

Hi, I dont believe it will bridge a 4G connection (happy to be told otherwise), best option is to do as you are doing, but put a static route from the huawei to the Edge router and remove NAT (I think its a cli only setting) in the edge router.

Cyril

BarTender

3606 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2943749 19-Jul-2022 11:04

“It’s a Huawei thing” and only applicable if you are using it on a UFB connection for it to do PPPoE translation.
Also it’s pointless IMHO unless you are paying for a static IP on wireless broadband as you are still behind a CGNAT at the mobile core so you have double NAT anyway.

AndyT

164 posts

Master Geek

#2945851 24-Jul-2022 11:41

All, thanks for the responses and apologies for the delay but I'm only just getting around to "giving it a go" this weekend.

Before I did so though, I thought I'd best call Spark to ask them if the Huawei really did now offer bridge mode. The first tier help line didn't really understand the question and passed me on to a second tier "technical" advisor, who after a short while also confessed they were out of their area of expertise and that I should call Huawei direct.... but they are closed at the weekend of course.

So, before I shortly try my luck, can I ask:

What's the technical reason why bridge mode on a 4G LTE connection might not work?
How does a UFB / PPPoE connection differ to a 4G LTE connection in bridge mode?
Once I "enable" bridge mode, presumably access to the Huawei settings app on 192.168.1.254 is lost from my iMac on 192.168.10.xxx, and I have to set a static IP of 192.168.1.xxx on the Mac and direct ethernet connect to the Huawei to do any subsequent maintenance ... not that much, if any, should be required as it'll simply be a modem with zero additional functionality?

Thanks,

AndyT

164 posts

Master Geek

#2945852 24-Jul-2022 11:42

I should have also noted that if bridge mode works, I'd consider buying a static WAN IP from Spark to get around the CGNAT issue.

cyril7

9058 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2945865 24-Jul-2022 12:22

Hi I did a fair bit of testing/research on this sometime back and I can assure you these devices do not support a bridge scenario, well not in the Spark nor Voda firmware setup they have. I have a pretty large fleet of IOT devices on Mikrotik LtAP's (obviously cannot be used in 4G wireless internet service), depending on what SIM the customer provides some have public IPs others CG-NAT. For the public ones I just IPSec/GRE them back to my cloud servers via a Mikrotik CHS router also in the cloud VPC. For those that are behind CG-NAT, they tunnel back using SSTP, again to the CHS router. I have been meaning to upgrade some to ROS7 and play with wireguard, but need some time to set aside for that.

So in your case I am pretty sure the 4G Wireless service on both Spark and Voda does not support public IPs, only CG-NAT, but I could be wrong. If you not using their 4G Wireless internet service then depending on what APN you use you can get public or CG-NAT, however data caps are obviously less on those services. It would be worth checking with Spark to see if a publc IP was available. What WAN address does your current router show, if its in 10.64.0.0/10 then its CG-NAT

Cyril

AndyT

164 posts

Master Geek

#2945888 24-Jul-2022 13:53

Many thanks cyril7.

The WAN IP address on the Huawei is 100.1xx.1xx.1xx, whereas my public IP from "Whatsmyip.com" is 122.xx.2xx.1xx, which I understood indicated CGNAT?

Taking your advice, I think I'll tackle it the other way around, i.e., first talk to spark about availibility and cost of static IP on 4G LTE and any applicable data caps; then if that's workable, I'll worry about bridge mode. If its not a goer, there's no real benefit in bridge mode and I'll just have to live with double / triple NAT.

Thanks,

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

AndyT

164 posts

Master Geek

#2945960 24-Jul-2022 16:26

Just read Sparks' Rural Wireless Broadband Terms and there's one in there that says "Static IP is not available on Rural Wireless Broadband Plans".

So I think I'll stop there!

BarTender

3606 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2945987 24-Jul-2022 18:19

AndyT:

Just read Sparks' Rural Wireless Broadband Terms and there's one in there that says "Static IP is not available on Rural Wireless Broadband Plans".

So I think I'll stop there!

I would ring up on 123 and ask them. As perhaps they can sort something.