WhizComms, new Fibre Broadband provider

[sglandscape]

Growing pains if you see the recent posts in the Simba thread

I'm sure they will be ok once they get some experience under their belt and stabilise their processes.

They need better staff with good training at their NOC with L1 support and not a bunch of people joking around. Make uptime a priority and how bonuses are paid, and you'll see the teams doing things differently.

 

[sgcarousell]

First thing WAN Aggregation will not work with any of the ISPs. Rather you should look at Dual WAN Load Balancing. But unfortunately that will not work in this case. Based on the previous reports from various thread, this is a known issue of Asus router:
Dual WAN Load Balancing does not work when both WAN addresses are private IPv4 addresses (eg: Whizcomms 2.5G plan, Singtel 2 or 2.5Gbps plan, MR 2Gbps plan without static IPv4 add-on).

Known to work -- Xiaomi BE6500 Pro and Xiaomi BE7000, now one more -- TP-Link BE6500.

hi xiaofan,

I am thinking of signing up WC 2.5GB plan for my new place and need your advise on how to best setup my hardware.
I have a N305(proxmox) with dual 2.5 port with openwrt VM and other containers, a 8x2.5GB port smart switch which can support WAN aggregation(let assume the aggregation work?) and Xiaomi BE7000 currently as AP.

My question is, can i connect the 2x1GB connections from WC ONR to my smart switch and aggregate to 1 LAN port and to the N305 then to the BE7000 AP?

or i am better off to connect the ONR 2x 1GB to the BE 7000 and offload all DHCP and routing to the N305 ?

Thank you.

 

[xiaofan]

hi xiaofan,
I am thinking of signing up WC 2.5GB plan for my new place and need your advise on how to best setup my hardware.
I have a N305(proxmox) with dual 2.5 port with openwrt VM and other containers, a 8x2.5GB port smart switch which can support WAN aggregation(let assume the aggregation work?) and Xiaomi BE7000 currently as AP.
My question is, can i connect the 2x1GB connections from WC ONR to my smart switch and aggregate to 1 LAN port and to the N305 then to the BE7000 AP?
or i am better off to connect the ONR 2x 1GB to the BE 7000 and offload all DHCP and routing to the N305 ?
Thank you.

Good question.

I will suggest you to try the first option to see how it goes.

BTW, I usually go with mini PCs with quad NICs to have more flexibilities for Proxmox. My previous Intel J4105 (quad Intel I210 gigabit NICs) and the current Intel N100 mini PC (quad Intel I226-V 2.5G NICs) have quad NICs.

One port -- management port
Two ports -- OpenWRT VM (or pfSense)
Last port -- playing with other stuffs

For example I can assign the last port to OpenWRT as well and I can test Dual WAN function of OpenWRT and pfSense.

I have one more Intel N100 mini PC with dual 2.5G NICs but it is used to host containers and VMs and not for OpenWRT/pfSense virtual router connecting to the ONT.

 

[koon]

I am using Asus AX-RT58U and dual wan load-balancing is working for me. Speedtest result is very bad via wireless connection to the asus. Wired connection directly to the ONR, speedtest result works as expected. Normal web surfing, YouTube and downloading of files are working fine. Files download yields a better result than what speedtest suggested.

The only weird result is intermittent ping to websites. However it does not affect my usual internet usage.

I tested the failover by unplugging each cable at one time. So I should say my dual wan load-balancing is working as expected.

*edit: speedtest result on wireless is back to normal

 

[xiaofan]

I am using Asus AX-RT58U and dual wan load-balancing is working for me. Speedtest result is very bad via wireless connection to the asus. Wired connection directly to the ONR, speedtest result works as expected. Normal web surfing, YouTube and downloading of files are working fine. Files download yields a better result than what speedtest suggested.

The only weird result is intermittent ping to websites. However it does not affect my usual internet usage.

I tested the failover by unplugging each cable at one time. So I should say my dual wan load-balancing is working as expected.

Asus RT-AX58U does not have 2.5G LAN port and the only potential gain using Dual WAN Load Balancing is through wireless. If you say wireless speed is also bad, then you can not prove Dual WAN Load balancing is working in reality.

I think your test can only prove Dual WAN Failover works with your Asus router (but it does not make sense for the WC 2.5Gbps plan), but you can not prove Dual WAN Load Balancing works, unless you can demonstrate wireless speed greater than 1Gbps.
https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1011719/

 

[koon]

Interesting. Now we have conflicting report for Asus router's dual WAN load balancing.

On the other hand, Asus RT-AX58U does not have 2.5G LAN port and the only potential gain is through wireless. If you say wireless speed is also bad, then no point using Dual WAN Load balancing at all with RT-AX58U.

I make do with what I have now. Upgrading of devices would be some time down the road as and when the need arises.

 

[xiaofan]

I make do with what I have now. Upgrading of devices would be some time down the road as and when the need arises.

I have updated my reply.

I think your tests can only prove Dual WAN Failover works with your Asus router (but it does not make sense for the WC 2.5Gbps plan), but you can not prove Dual WAN Load Balancing works, unless you can demonstrate wireless speed greater than 1Gbps.
https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1011719/

 

[koon]

I have updated my reply.

I think your tests can only prove Dual WAN Failover works with your Asus router (but it does not make sense for the WC 2.5Gbps plan), but you can not prove Dual WAN Load Balancing works, unless you can demonstrate wireless speed greater than 1Gbps.
https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1011719/

The router ports are at 1gbps each. No way to get more than 1Gbps.

 

[xiaofan]

The router ports are at 1gbps each. No way to get more than 1Gbps.

Wireless can, with a proper WiFi 6 client, if dual wan load balancing works.

In any case, it does not make sense to use RT-AX58U to carry out this test.

Need to get someone to use Asus routers with 2.5G LAN ports, like TUF-AX6000, RT-AX86U, RT-AX86U Pro, GT-AX6000, etc, to carry out the test, to show dual WAN Load Balancing really works or not.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edit to add:
But if you really want to try out RT-AX58U, it is probably possible as well if you have computers with Dual 1Gbps Ethernet port.

WC ONR -- Asus RT-AX82U dual wan -- Asus LAN Link Aggregation (two LAN ports) -- PC or NAS with dual 1Gbps link

Then you can carry out OOkla SpeedTest from the PC/NAS to see if you can achieve > 1Gbps speed, more like >1.6Gbps).

BTW, no problem using RT-AX58U with WC 2.5Gbps, I am just trying to say your test is not conclusive that Asus router Dual WAN Load Balancing works in this case, as there are prior reports that the function does not work with Singtel/WC ONRs, and MR 2Gbps plan with CGNAT (without Static IPv4 add-on).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[orhpeesai]

anyone experiencing degraded connection in the last 2/3 days?

I'm getting longer / dropped pings, sometimes intermittent losing of connection etc. I'm using a LAN cable btw not wireless

 

[wifi_18Z]

anyone experiencing degraded connection in the last 2/3 days?

I'm getting longer / dropped pings, sometimes intermittent losing of connection etc. I'm using a LAN cable btw not wireless

Me. I had to reboot the ONR twice yesterday as even HWZ wasn’t loading well

 

[Ash]

Hi, I have recently renewed my WZ contract to the 2.5G. Am using the Huawei ONT when i first signed up wtih WC.
How do I check that if my ONT keeps the original bridging port or not, i.e. 2 independent ipv4?
I have AX86U connected to the ONT at the moment, with port 1 as my ethernet backhaul.

 

[xiaofan]

Hi, I have recently renewed my WZ contract to the 2.5G. Am using the Huawei ONT when i first signed up wtih WC.
How do I check that if my ONT keeps the original bridging port or not, i.e. 2 independent ipv4?
I have AX86U connected to the ONT at the moment, with port 1 as my ethernet backhaul.

You can check with your Asus router WAN address, if it is 192.168.x.x, then the Port 1 is no longer bridged. If it is a public IPv4 address, then Port 1 is still bridged.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network

For example, after I log in to my Asus RT-AX86U, it shows WAN IPv4 address is a public IPv4 addresssince I am using Singtel ONT and not ONR.

Internet status:
Connected
WAN IP: 121.6.xxx.xxx

It is said that you can bridge the Huawei ONR by yourself if it is not bridged. But proceed at your own risk as it will not be supported by WC.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/singtel-hg8244h-change-to-bridge-mode.6078764/
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/huawei-hg8240t5.6167913/

 

[Ash]

My WAN IP: 66.228.xx.xxx. Should be still bridged.

I just tried to switch my primary WAN to 2.5G Wan and lost my internet.

Should I connect another cable to Port 4 of my router from the ONT and run dual WAN? Both primary and secondary to 1G WAN?

 

[xiaofan]

My WAN IP: 66.228.xx.xxx. Should be still bridged.

I just tried to switch my primary WAN to 2.5G Wan and lost my internet.

Should I connect another cable to Port 4 of my router from the ONT and run dual WAN? Both primary and secondary to 1G WAN?

Good that Port 1 is still bridged.

For WC, you should not use the 2.5G port as WAN, it is a total waste.

And yes you should set another 1G LAN port as the secondary WAN port, LAN 4 is fine.
https://www.asus.com/sg/support/faq/1011719/

WC ONR Port 1 bridged -- RT-AX86U 1G WAN as Primary WAN
WC ONR Port 2 not-bridged -- RT-AX86U LAN port 3 or 4 as Secondary WAN

Then carry out SpeedTest from RT-AX86U 2.5G port (if you have wired devices with 2.5G NIC) to check the speed (>=1.8Gbps). Ugreen USB 3 to 2.5G adapter is cheap if you do not have one. Or you can use good WiFi 6 client to check (>1Gbps), like laptop with Intel AX200/201/210/211 adapter.

In the future, when you get your Asus China TX-AX6000, you can add that as the AImesh node.
RT-AX86U 2.5G LAN port -- 2.5G Ethernet backhaul -- TX-AX6000 2.5G WAN

 

[xiaofan]

Based on the reports from @Pauleon and the above report from @Ash, looks like WC still keeps the bridged port when you upgrade from 1Gbps plan to 2.5Gbps plan (those who were using the ONT mode with 1Gbps plan).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...dband-provider.5494964/page-89#post-151283362

 

[Ash]

Hi, tried to enable dual wan. but ISP's DHCP does not function properly for my secondary wan. Is there a setting for the ethernet wan that I need to look out for? I am using load balance mode.

 

[chenaz]

What is this means?

An Optical Network Router, also known as ONR, is a device that includes the functions of an optical network terminal and a router. The router function does not provide wireless capability. Subscribers will be able to connect up to 4 wired devices for internet access simultaneously. To have wireless internet access, a wireless access point will have to be purchased and set up. Subscribers can use an existing wireless router/access point, purchase from an IT store, or purchase a new wireless access point from WhizComms.On the wireless device option, both router and access point modes will work with WhizComms ONR.

Means I don’t need to call them and my router can run as router mode to have full function?

above quote is from whiz

 

[xiaofan]

Hi, tried to enable dual wan. but ISP's DHCP does not function properly for my secondary wan. Is there a setting for the ethernet wan that I need to look out for? I am using load balance mode.

Please post the screenshots how you set up Dual WAN Load Balancing, thanks.

 

[xiaofan]

What is this means?
Means I don’t need to call them and my router can run as router mode to have full function?
above quote is from whiz

They never say full function. But rather it will work.

For new users and existing users who do not use the ONT mode (using ONR mode) and upgrade to the 2.5Gbps plan, the ONR will NOT be bridged. The WC ONR will be the main router of your home network.

And no use calling either as they do not support bridging for the 2.5Gbps plan.

But yes router mode will work with unbridged ONR, it is just you will live with Double NAT, which will not cause issues for normal web browsing or media streaming applications. Many of your router function may work. But certain functions like gaming or VPN server may get affected.

More information about Double NAT.
https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-double-NAT-and-why-is-it-bad

The workaround for Double NAT:
1) to bridge the ONR by yourself, at your own risk
2) try to use DMZ if the ONR has DMZ function
3) try to use port forwarding on both your own router and the ONR if you need to host servers

Of course you can also set your router in AP mode to avoid Double NAT. But then you lose many of the router features.