Putting a router in bridged mode.


  #1  
Old 07-14-20, 05:43 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 87
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Putting a router in bridged mode.

For years I have had two hard-wired routers (LAN to WAN). Each router has its own network with DHCP, firewall, unique SSID etc. At the moment I have purchased a new modem/router identical to the one my ISP has provided and I want to play with setting it up in bridged mode.

My second router (a netgear knighthawk) has a VPN installed. It is a good router and provides everything (and more) of the abilities on the ISP router. I don't need the ISP router to handle wireless, DHCP, firewall, really anything other than to act as a conduit to the ISP's server.

Do I need to disable all the features on the ISP router OR are all those features virtually disabled when I put the NAT in bridged mode ? Thanks.
 
  #2  
Old 07-15-20, 09:39 AM
Z
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 6,086
Received 419 Upvotes on 372 Posts
Bridge mode should force the router to act more like a switch. Though, I've only used them on wifi routers to provide wifi without NAT.

If you're looking for peak performance, I would consider ditching the ISP modem/router and getting a stand-alone modem that's compatible with your internet provider. Probably a DOCSIS 3.0 or 3.1 modem. This will eliminate any routing slowdowns on the now extraneous router.

In theory, bridge mode should work the same way, but it's one of those features that isn't used all that often, and can be buggy depending on the router.
 
  #3  
Old 07-15-20, 10:01 AM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 87
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I am coming to the conclusion that my new ISP 'provisions' their equipment. The new backup modem/router I purchased will never 'connect' with the ISP. Nor would a new DOCIS modem. (Unlike our other ISP - Telmex - who do not provision their stuff). So it seems that my $22 US investment was for naught. Well except that using the extra device I learned how to properly configure my 'real' ISP router. Like - in order to reset the device I have to depress the reset button for at least 30 seconds and when I do so I get access to all the 'greyed-out' options configured by the ISP.

In a way I am torn as to how to proceed. IZZI (our new ISP) provides a 100 mbps fiber connection. Telmex (our old ISP) provides a 30 mbps copper connection. With Telmex we have phone/tv/internet. With Izzi we have internet. To switch our land line over to Izzi would require an additional cable to be run and we barely had the space in the conduit for what we have today. We would have to rip out the Telmex lines to install the Izzi lines.

When I have the two devices (Izzi modem/router and my own netgear router) configured as separate networks I can easily log on to either in the event I want/don't want a VPN connection. There are a lot of sites (like some US banks etc) who have no problem with my coming in with a Mexican IP but won't take a VPN address.
 
  #4  
Old 07-15-20, 12:02 PM
Bob14525's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 1,637
Received 77 Upvotes on 68 Posts
Most cable/fiber ISP's provision their modems. This prevents someone from merely buying a modem and "tapping into" the ISP's internet service. You would have to purchase a second account to be able to use 2 modems in your system.

As for phone service, have you looked into VOIP devices such as an Ooma VOIP system. That's what I use in my home for phone service. I paid $50 for the device and all I have to pay is ~$5/month for FCC taxes & fees. What I don't know is if it would work in Mexico (you'd have to find out).
 
  #5  
Old 07-15-20, 12:31 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 87
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
We have really intense electrical storms here (much worse than those we had in Florida) and if we forget to unplug our devices we fry stuff - which is why I have a closet full of replacements. For now at least - the replacement for our new ISP's modem will be our other ISP...

People have spoken well of ooma. We have been using MagicJack for quite a few years now with success. I think the little device was free with our first year. Now it runs me $99 US / 2 year agreement. Very reliable. (I have an extra gizmo for them as well). I can even have my Mexican cell phone ring when I get an incoming US/MagicJack call/text - and they transcribe my voicemails and email them. I'm not big into phones.

Coming from Florida we know the value of having a land-line in addition to our cell phones. We had many storms where the only thing that worked in the house was the land phone. After one storm I even had to pull out an old dial up modem to get on the internet...
 
  #6  
Old 07-15-20, 01:37 PM
Z
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 3,375
Received 121 Upvotes on 112 Posts
Did you talk to IZZI? Maybe they would allow you to bridge their modem/router and tell you how to do it.

But why do you want a bridge now? You didn’t say.
 
  #7  
Old 07-15-20, 02:10 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 87
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
As I am typing this I have now bridged my original IZZI device with my Netgear device. It wasn't that difficult. If there was a trick it was to configure the IZZI device immediately after resetting it and prior to connecting it to their network. That allowed me to disable the two wireless bands and set bridged NAT mode. It is working fine and I have gained a few more mbps in performance (although that may simply be due to their network traffic).

I wanted a bridge at this time because, although having the two routers wired LAN to WAN has been working just fine - I wasn't sure if since both routers had NAT routing enabled if there was any unnecessary overhead. Now (bridged) I know there isn't.

Among the things I am still not clear on however is - I left the firewall configuration as it was on the IZZI device. Do you think that is still active should anyone come in on that address ? I'm also not sure if the Tomato based firewall software I am using on the Netgear router is any good. The settings look a little sparse.
 
  #8  
Old 07-15-20, 02:44 PM
Z
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 3,375
Received 121 Upvotes on 112 Posts
I think the firewalls are only active when the gateways (i.e., a modem/router combo) are used in modem-router mode. So I think when you bridge your gateway the firewall settings are ignored.
 
  #9  
Old 07-15-20, 03:09 PM
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1,041
Received 78 Upvotes on 73 Posts
If you have a Netgear device that is newer 802.11N (WiFi 4) or better I would look to see if it is compatible with DD-WRT alternate firmware. You can do quite a bit more with that firmware then with the OEM Netgear "Genie" firmware.
 
  #10  
Old 07-16-20, 10:13 AM
Z
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 6,086
Received 419 Upvotes on 372 Posts
I am coming to the conclusion that my new ISP 'provisions' their equipment
Modems are always provisioned, but nowadays (in the US at least), most of that is automatic. When you reboot the modem, or replace it with a new one, it auto-provisions and removes the old one from the configurations. A few years back, you sometimes had to call the cable company to update the MAC address in their database.

Not sure if you want to go through the hassle, but you can probably call them and they'll provision your customer-provided modem.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: