ISP: Utility Warehouse (UW)
WAN: Standard (for the UK) BT Infinity VDSL service
Router: GL-MT6000 (Flint 2)
Modem: Netgear DM200
I bought the Flint 2 to replace the dubious freebie router provided by UW that i had to fall back on after a lightning strike fried my previous Asus router and Draytek modem.
Problem Description
Router fails to connect successfully to the WAN via PPPoE. I am using the same PPPoE login credentials that worked fine on my previous router+modem combo, and that also work on the Technicolor router/modem supplied by UW.
Snippet below is the system log content generated after I power cycle the modem-
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 kern.info kernel: [ 1373.647307] mtk_soc_eth 15100000.ethernet eth1: Link is Up - 100Mbps/Full - flow control off
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 kern.info kernel: [ 1373.655762] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth1: link becomes ready
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'eth1' link is up
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wan' has link connectivity
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wan' is setting up now
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.err insmod: module is already loaded - slhc
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.err insmod: module is already loaded - ppp_generic
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.err insmod: module is already loaded - pppox
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.err insmod: module is already loaded - pppoe
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.info pppd[303]: Plugin rp-pppoe.so loaded.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.info pppd[303]: RP-PPPoE plugin version 3.8p compiled against pppd 2.4.8
Fri Apr 12 07:00:03 2024 daemon.notice pppd[303]: pppd 2.4.8 started by root, uid 0
Fri Apr 12 07:00:04 2024 daemon.info avahi-daemon[4533]: Joining mDNS multicast group on interface eth1.IPv6 with address fe80::9683:c4ff:fea3:fb85.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:04 2024 daemon.info avahi-daemon[4533]: New relevant interface eth1.IPv6 for mDNS.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:04 2024 daemon.info avahi-daemon[4533]: Registering new address record for fe80::9683:c4ff:fea3:fb85 on eth1.*.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 user.notice root: mtk-sdk eth halted detected, now reset it...
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 kern.info kernel: [ 1381.689900] mtk_soc_eth 15100000.ethernet eth1: Link is Down
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.info avahi-daemon[4533]: Interface eth1.IPv6 no longer relevant for mDNS.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.info avahi-daemon[4533]: Leaving mDNS multicast group on interface eth1.IPv6 with address fe80::9683:c4ff:fea3:fb85.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'eth1' link is down
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wan' has link connectivity loss
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.err pppd[303]: error receiving pppoe packet: Network is down
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.info avahi-daemon[4533]: Withdrawing address record for fe80::9683:c4ff:fea3:fb85 on eth1.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.err pppd[303]: select (waitForPADO): Interrupted system call
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.warn pppd[303]: Timeout waiting for PADO packets
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.err pppd[303]: Unable to complete PPPoE Discovery
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.info pppd[303]: Exit.
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wan' is now down
Fri Apr 12 07:00:11 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wan' is disabled
Fri Apr 12 07:00:12 2024 kern.info kernel: [ 1382.089146] mtk_soc_eth 15100000.ethernet eth1: PHY [mdio-bus:01] driver [RTL8221B-VB-CG 2.5Gbps PHY]
Fri Apr 12 07:00:12 2024 kern.info kernel: [ 1382.098670] mtk_soc_eth 15100000.ethernet eth1: configuring for phy/sgmii link mode
Fri Apr 12 07:00:12 2024 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wan' is enabled
Fri Apr 12 07:00:12 2024 user.notice firewall: Reloading firewall due to ifdown of wan ()
From my limited understanding of how this is supposed to work, it is the errors-
Timeout waiting for PADO packets
Unable to complete PPPoE Discovery
that seem to be where the connection is failing. However I don't know where to go from here in terms of diagnosing+fixing the problem.
Additional Background
Previous router/modem combo was an Asus AX6000 and a Draytek Vigor 130 which worked fine for a couple of years
I have used the same Netgear DM200 modem before on this line successfully
The Technicolor router/modem provided by UW also works fine
The GL.inet router looks potentially interesting and I like the idea of using an open software platform (I have previously used OpenTomato on a Netgear router), but I need to get over this hurdle and get it to connect to my ISP, otherwise it's a paperweight.
The GL router does not contain a modem, so this might be the issue here.
If you want to use DSL, you will need to install the DrayTek modem in front of the GL router.
DrayTek can be configured as modem only, so the GL will do the PPPoE stuff.
I am not sure if Modem: Netgear DM200 means, that this is installed. If it is, please check if it can be installed in "modem only" mode. Check the VLAN settings for PPPoE on the Flint as well. It might need to be set - in Germany, for example, it is VLAN 7 for DSL.
The GL router does not contain a modem, so this might be the issue here.
I am aware of this, the Netgear DM200 is a VDSL modem that has the same basic function as the Draytek V130.
If you want to use DSL, you will need to install the DrayTek modem in front of the GL router.
As I explained, my Draytek modem was destroyed by a lightning strike, so I'm using the DM200 modem to substitute as I had it available.
DrayTek can be configured as modem only, so the GL will do the PPPoE stuff.
The DM200 can also be used in modem mode. I have used it on my line before (with a previous router) so the setup should still be correct. The DM200 has been stored away for some time so I suppose there is a chance it might have reverted to a default factory config somehow, this is something I will re-check.
The DM200 does default to a specific subnet range (192.168.5.x) and I don't see an option in the GL interface to set a specific IP address for the modem interface. However the router logs indicate the router IS talking to the modem, so I assume the router knows to pick up an address from the modem via DHCP.
I haven't (to my knowledge) needed to manually set a specific VLAN for the WAN interface on other devices, but I will double-check this. It's possible other device manufacturers set a default (known) VLAN for the UK, but the GL firmware doesn't.
I did have the VLAN set incorrectly, but unfortunately setting VLAN=101 was not enough to get the setup working. According to the router log the eth0 interface stays up, but the ISP (UW) says they are not seeng a login attempt via PPPoE.
I suspect LAN side config for the modem is incorrect.
The DM200 has two operating modes:
Router mode: The DM200 handles the login to the ISP, and offers a DHCP service on the LAN port to issue an address to the connected device (computer or router).
Modem mode: The DM200 acts as a simple bridge and the attached router has to handle the ISP connection.
I want to use the DM200 in modem mode because then I can do all the LAN/WAN configuration in one place on the Flint 2.
In mode 2 (modem/bridge) mode the DM200 runs with a fixed Ip address on the LAN port: 192.168.5.1 and the attached device has to run with a static IP in the 192.168.5.x subnet range. I know I haven't set this up on the Flint, and I suspect that may be the problem.
The GL.inet manuals are a bit vague about how to set this up. With the WAN port set to "Use as WAN" I haven't yet found the option that will let me set a static IP on the WAN port of the router.
Meanwhile, if I set the port to "Use as LAN", I think the Flint 2 will in effect expect to be acting as a repeater, and won't give me the options to configure the PPPoE login information because it will assume the upstream router is doing the ISP login.
Have I missed an option somewhere, is it possible to set a static IP address on the WAN port while it is being used in WAN mode?
The DM200 can run in a third mode, full bridge mode:
I know this as I have two redundant dm200s running the following:
As this runs in full bridge mode unlike the half baked half bridge mode in the stock netgear firmware, it has no interfaces to interact with, just the DSL bridged to the ethernet port with VLAN id 101 already programmed.
This allows you to then just supply PPPoE details and it just works.
The final version, that works with Openwrt 19.07.xx is here:
what would happen if you don't use any vlan, and just set it up as a dhcp client? (the most default settings)?
and have the isp router/modem be in bridge ( I assume you already have )?
there is no real definition what 'bridge mode' means, I read various examples that some passthrough vlans and pppoe, while in other setups bridge mode just disables firewall, from my own experience it's the second one, isps tend to make things easier like that, while for having your own equipment replacing the isp router then you need pppoe.
The Draytek v130 has pretty much the same functionality as the DM200 I think (except it runs at 192.168.2.1 in bridge mode). I found this config pretty easy to set up with my previous Asus router, which allowed a static IP on the WAN port while PPPoE was in use.
I'm ok in principle with the idea of re-flashing the DM200, I ran OpenTomato on a Netgear router some years ago. However OpenTomato could be downloaded as a pre-built image ready to flash.
The links you provided on Github are for source files. Looking at the description it appears these need the OpenWRT "Image builder", a 64 bit Linux host and a compiler environment to build. Not exactly a "plug and play" solution, especially as I'm on a Windows desktop day to day, so I would need to run this inside the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2). Quite an adventure to get 2 bits of networking kit to talk to each other. Plus the potential to brick the DM200 if I make a mistake building the image.
I'm not ruling it out, but surely there's an easier option?
Regarding the draytek, yes it's pretty much an identical chip set to the dm200, same lantiq DSL bit.
Interesting. Trying to use the DM200 again has reminded me how annoying the Netgear firmware is. It's full of configuration "wizards" that depend on Internet access to work. The Draytek was simpler and easier to set up.
Well I tried building the custom WRT firmware image for the DM200 as suggested by @hecatae, under WSL2 on my Windows 10 machine. Unfortunately it looks like I must have tripped up somewhere in trying to correctly follow the combined instructions for the OpenWRT Image Builder and the "Pure DSL Bridge" files from rcannizzaro on GitHub. All I managed to create was a long list of errors that I don't understand well enough to unravel (error output copied below).
Meanwhile I also asked GL support about this router/modem connection issue. Their response was not that easy to understand, but I think it indicates that they think all DSL modems work in the "simple bridge" mode that the custom firmware for the DM200 is intended to do. However both the DM200 works a the "half router half bridge" mode where the ethernet link between the router and the modem needs to have it's own IP addresses, separate from both the public (WAN) IP address of the modem, and the private addresses handled by the router for devices on the LAN.
Note: I re-checked the Draytek v130 documentation and it does claim to be a true (link layer) bridge, os it may be that the IP address on the LAN port that I remember on my Draytek was for the management interface only, not the bridging function.
This would explain why the Netgear got stored away in the loft. It's a nasty surprise to find that not all things sold as "VDSL bridges" actually work in the same way.
Pre-built releases would be great. All I found on the Github site was the build script that needs the OpenWRT Builder, supplementary modem chip "blob" all the paraphernalia of a full "make".
Maybe I missed the pre-built images in amongst all the clutter, are they on GitHub or on the OpenWRT site?
After reflashing the DM200 with the OpenWRT image from @affordablemobiles, i was initially pretty sure I had bricked the modem. I am not able to connect to the web management i/f or SSH (via a PC directly connected on the required subnet of 172.16.2.x)
I decided to try connecting the modem to the DSL line and the Flint2 router anyway on a "plug and pray" basis, and was initially just greeted by the router insisting "no cable detected on WAN interface".
The GL router has an annoying feature/bug, in that if you touch any of the other 2 WAN options (i.e. DHCP or Static IP) it will drop (set to null) the login credentials that you previously entered on the PPPoE tab. In fact after a power cycle I have found that the router has entered my admin login credentials in the PPPoE login+password (presumably as a "quick guess" if the login+pw are found to be blank?) I need to be confident this won't happen during normal operation.
However after power cycling the modem for the 2nd or 3rd time, with the Flint2 running, I saw a successful connection for the first time
Thanks to those who replied, especially @hecatae, for the help in getting this router working.
Best things about that Openwrt DM200 image, it's got no way of being accessed externally, it's using the best dsl firmware from Lantiq xDSL firmware information
Do you require VLAN id 2 access to the management port on 172.16.2.250 from 172.16.2.254 < which needs to be your GL router, this needs to be set up in the firewall in the GL router.
)?