Getting ready for Full Fibre 900 to replace existing FTTC 80/20MB

[GlynH]

Hi there,

Just trying to get all my ducks in a row ready for Full Fibre 900 being installed in 10 days time.

I have already identified an easy way into the premises coincidentally the closest to the CBT on the pole, run down a set of rods to act as a fish to pull fibre from the CSP on the wall outside into the building roof space and also run a drawtape down from the roofspace via some trunking into the office where I would like the ONT located which is adjacent to the existing BT modem and 3 NTE5 sockets where I have cleared enough access for the Engineer to work.

So far so good (pending upon porting my existing telephone number from BT Residential to BT Business which is subject to a separate post!) but I want to be ready with a minimum of downtime.

I have the ability to failover to a Plusnet FTTC connection to keep things going while fibre is installed and my existing BT line is disconnected although not sure if they remove the copper pair as part of the fibre install as no failover will protect against that! 😉

Also I would like to use my existing DrayTek router patched into my network infrastructure and have a few questions about that;

1. Do I have full access to the Web Interface of the SH2 or is it/parts of it locked down like most ISP routers these days? I ask because I will need to change DNS, Port Forward, Reserve/Bind IP address, disable Wi-Fi etc.

2. Assuming I won't privilege enough to do all of the above I assume that I should be able to plug the DrayTek directly into the ONT (it is already set for BT Infinity 2 so has the username bthomehub@btbroadband.com with the password field left blank. Is there anything else I need to do to enable a direct connection?

3. I assume if I do the above then I won't have any voice service as this depends upon the SmartHub 2 being connected so I can plug the supplied phone into the socket on the back. Is there any way then I can put the SH2 into Bridge Mode and plug the DrayTek into the SH2 to maintain my network integrity and retain telephony?

4. If I am able to put it into Bridge Mode is it a 'proper' bridge Mode where it offloads everything such as DHCP, DNS, VPN, Remote Access etc. and my DrayTek handles everything over its WAN2 PPoE connection as it currently does plugged directly into the NTE5 connected to FTTC Infinity 2 at 80/20MB? The reason I ask is I have a Raspberry Pi configured as a Pi-hole ad-blocker and use its internal IP address as my network DNS Server rather than some hard-coded external BT DNS Server in the SH2 that can't be bypassed/changed.

Enough questions for now...😀

Thanks & kind regards,

-=Glyn=-

[PaulC1]

Hi GlynH,

I'll structure this response in a way to answer your questions. 

1. Yes, you can make changes to everything you mentioned. 

2. As long as the Draytek is compatible with VDSL connections it will work. You will need your official username to make this work. We can supply this after high validation on your account when the fibre is installed. 

3. Yes to the voice question and the Smarthub 2 does have Bridge mode. It's as easy as clicking a button

4. It is the "proper" Bridge mode. It essentially turns your Smarthub 2 into a modem and all networking is done by the router you connect to it. 

If you need any more information, please reach out. 

Thanks 

^PaulC1 

[GlynH]

Many thanks for the full & detailed reply Paul.

So it looks like all my prayers have been answered although I'll have to wait and see how it works out when I am able to finally place my order for FF900.

Business took over my Residential service this morning as this interim step was needed for me to retain my existing telephone number but I can't place an order because one of my cancelled Residential orders from 4th Feb got stuck in a queue preventing me from placing my order.

Seems no matter where I turn I am thwarted one way or another but hoping after many weeks of banging my head against the wall I might finally be on the home straight now!

Have a good weekend!

Thanks & kind regards,

-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Well my FF900 was finally installed Wednesday and is now working today (Friday) as there was an issue where I was on the wrong SASA which was rectified out in the street this morning so I'm going to give it a couple of days at least to settle down before changing anything. Well as long as my FTTC keeps working!

So where exactly is this button Paul? I've looked all over and I can't see anything that resembles putting the SH2 into Bridge Mode unless I've missed something fundamental.

Thanks & kind regards,

-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

I might have answered my own question. Reminder to oneself - look harder before saying I can't find it! 🙂

After some digging I have found the setting to switch the Business SH2 into Bridge Mode by logging into its IP address, clicking Advanced Settings/Broadband/Routing and can see the option to enable Bridging but need to do a deeper dive to see exactly what this will and won't do.

If it disables everything and turns it into a dumb modem then happy days. If not then I will need to investigate what effect it will have on the rest of my network and if it ends up double natting or hard coding BT's DNS Servers then I will have to remove it and hopefully connect the DrayTek directly into the ONT and utilise the WAN2 side of the DrayTek using PPoE and Username/Password to authenticate.

Downside to that is I will lose my CVE but I might be able to use a 3rd party VoIP provider and VoIP function of the router to at least give me a landline but as I said we shall see.

Does anybody know if there is any resource that tells me exactly how the Business SH2 operates in Bridge mode?

And if it insists on using hard-coded DNS and I end up removing it will my DrayTek just connect directly to the ONT using the WAN port and authenticating via Username/Password?

Thanks & kind regards,

-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Oops I did it again...after more research I've found this;

Using Smart Hub 2 as a modem only | BT Business

Direct from the horses mouth it states;

Using Smart Hub 2 as a modem only

You’ll need to enable the Bridging feature.

From the Hub Manager home page, go to -

• Advanced Settings
• Broadband
• Routing
• Enable Bridging

When you enable Bridge mode, your hub light will turn orange, your Hub will act as a modem only. This will disable any router features, such as NAT, DHCP, DNS and LTE mobile connections.

Looks like I could be in business although reading between the lines if it disables LTE mobile connections then maybe the Hybrid Connect device might not work as failover which is no great loss where I live as the signal from EE is appallingly bad.

And as it disables any router feature then maybe I can kiss goodbye to CVE as well? <sigh>

-=Glyn=-