Settings to configure alternative router to work with Sky Fibre / DHCP Option 61

[BrianGJSteer]

Hello, I suggest the TP-Link VR 2100 to replace the SR203 or the ER110 I have from SKY for FTTC.

Remove the SR203 or ER110 and plug in the VR2100 and connect to it using a PC or laptop by Ethernet.

These were my notes: -

1. Plug in your TP-Link to a power supply and connect the grey DSL cable to the corresponding port on the back of your router. 2. Connect the other end of your DSL cable to the micro-filter that comes with the router and connect it to your phone socket. If you already have a micro-filter, replace it with the new one. 3. Connect the network cable to port 1 on the router, then connect the other end to your laptop. 4. Open a browser window and navigate to http://192.168.1.1. 5. The TP-Link will ask you to set an admin password – make sure you use something secure, as Password123 ain’t gonna cut it! 6. Once in, the TP-Link setup wizard will start:   Input your location and time zone. Click Next.   Select Sky(MER)_VDSL from the ISP list. Make sure it’s this one, as this is Sky fibre. The other Sky option in the list is for Sky Broadband and will not work for fibre connections.   Internet connection type   In the username field, enter abcdefgh@skydsl   In the password field, enter 1234567890abcdef   Click Next, then set up your wireless network how you see fit. SSID Password   In my case  I am using a wired connection, but after a reset and start from scratch, I set Using Wifi Connection The TP-Link will then test the Internet connection and you should see a success message. If you do not, wait for the DSL light to stop flashing and try again – it should work just fine. 7. That’s it! You’re now connected to Sky fibre via your new TP-Link router. Advanced, system tools, backup   Advanced, Wireless, Switched off Smart Connect to split 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, rename 5GHz band and Save  You may wish to rename the SSID to your old one and also the password.  Split them if you wish. Rebooted before I changed anything more It rebooted and I logged in OK with my old network password with ethernet on laptop, but not WiFi. Tablet can log in on WiFi.

 I did have to do a few checks to make sure the two WI-Fi places and log-on for the password were the same as I split the Wi-Fi channels, but it is all working OK now. You will most probably have to reset the connections on all your devices as I had to  do, but the VR2100 is much better than the SR203. I also have a TP-Link Deco M9 mesh network, which the TP-Link doesn't connect to, only TP-LinkWi-Fi extenders can be seen by the router. Have fun. The trouble is that if Sky want to test the curcuit, they cannot see the router any longer so you woudl have to temporarily connect the SR203 while they do the testing, then switch back when finished.

[mae-3]

@TimeaW 

The VLAN is either unset for FTTP broadband connections and 101 for VDSL2 FTTC.

[BrianGJSteer]

Mine is FTTC, I am waiting for FTTP from Gigaclear. I hope they are better than Sky. (I am a Turncoat).

[Sky-JRD]

Hello,

I have just got a Cisco 867VAE-K9. Have been messing around with Ethernet subinterfaces & Dialers and I'm in a bit of a mess. I am on FTTC here What I really want is for this router to run in Bridge mode, so basically a modem. I have a FirewallaGold which I'm going to run as my router/dhcpserver/IDS/IPS and monitoring etc

Would you mind posting your running config so I can at least get the connection running properly.

Thank you

[Watson+-+PC]

Gave up in the end and managed to get a better Sky router and Sky Q to work....

Rather ethernet netween the Sky Q hubs and now seems pretty stable

[mae-3]

@Sky-JRD 

When running a router in bridge mode it is the Firewalla Gold that needs to pass DHCPv4 Option 61 string to Sky in the required format anything@skydsl|anything for Sky.

[mae-3]

@Sky-JRD 

Are you sure the Firewalla Gold can act as a gateway to the internet, eg: it doesn't seem that it's able to connect to a modem with a WAN port and authenticate with anything?

[Sky-JRD]

Hi mae-3,

It will do pppoe/pppoa but that's not whats needed for Sky FTTC. I'm sure I saw somewhere (of course I can't find it now) that you can make an IPv6 connection to sky which means you don't have to mess with the Oprion 61 DHCP setting, which is IPv4.

[mae-3]

@Sky-JRD 

Some Openreach exchanges will authenticate with Sky using DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation (PD), and in that case, you don't need DHCP Option 61 but generally, it's more reliable to use both methods.

[Sky-JRD]

mae-3,

Ok, that's interesting. Back to getting Option 61 working then. I assume that the exchanges which are configured to use IPv6 will prioritise 6 first then 4.

Still need a working running config for my C867 if anyone can help.

Thank you

[mae-3]

@Sky-JRD 

It's a dual-stack once you have one working the other should work but is not guaranteed 100% to work, eg: the community has found cases when DHCPv6 PD will not authenticate or it's unreliable. From what I understand the lease on IPv4 is 24 hours using DHCP Option 61 and IPv6 about 7 days for DHCPv6 PD?

[Sky-JRD]

mae-3,

My understanding is that it can. I don't really want to do a dual nat connection hence the bridge mode. Having said that, I haven't found anyone who is doing what I want to do. Maybe theres a reason for that.

[mae-3]

@Sky-JRD 

It is not dual NAT it is dual-stack (IPv4 & IPv6). Usually, the gateway does NAT for IPv4 but it isn't needed but then you'll only have the ability to run one device on the connection with a single public IPv4 address. Usually, most people run an IPv4 NAT gateway to support more than 1 client device.

For servers it's different...

IPv6 does not need a NAT gateway all addresses are public...

[TimmyBGood]

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@Sky-JRD wrote:

Having said that, I haven't found anyone who is doing what I want to do. Maybe theres a reason for that.

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Yes: people don't generally attempt to run business-grade Cisco hardware on domestic Sky broadband ; )  I could speculate more, but that would trigger the despatch of CCNA CyberOps assassins....

[mae-3]

@Sky-JRD 

When running servers behind firewalls and so on it would be better to pick an ISP like Zen... 😎