Pppoe passthrough is now broken on Open BSD router

[doverosx]

I’m in Barrhaven on Bell Fibe and it’s been great, using pppoe passthrough (OpenBSD router) with no issues for a while now.

This weekend, I’ve been getting disconnects, crazy high pings and more. Anyone else have problems?

I’ll be *trying* a direct connection to the modem in a bit.

 Using just the modem seems to have resolved the issue so Bell broke something nicely.

[PersonofInterest]

I’ve been noticing that my speeds have been dropping and today couldn’t get past 1gbps when I am supposed to have 3gbps speeds.  Rebooted giga hub and it said applying firmware and then went back into bridge mode… so far so good.  Speeds are also back to normal again.

[kaykor]

Why does the 3rd party router using passthrough PPoE need to wake the Bell modem. Why cannot this port always be awake? Every speed test on first run is extreme sub par, multiple speed test in a row needs to be done to get anything that looks like a true result.

My whole network is behind my router with the bell router only providing access to 3GB internet and Bell services. UDM does a daily speed test at 5 am with results of 500Mbps where a repeated speed tests results are 2.5 Gbps & 2.4 Gbps at the modem 3.18 Gbps 2.14 Gbps

[Vanadiel]

The UDM can link over ethernet at 2.5/2.5, or either 1/1 or 10/10 using the SFP+ port. So pending on your configuration you might never see more than 2.5/2.5 on the UDM speed wise.

There should be no wakeup needed for the Bell modem as it's always on. I use the UDM Pro SE without any PPPOE issues. I also use an RB5009 without any PPPOE issues.

[kaykor]

@Vanadiel  Yes I do have a 10/10 connection between the UDM and the Bell Modem. But reading through this whole thread it seems my issue is the same as everybody's else's. I just never took the time to dig deeper. And we agree there should not be a wake required, but every day the 5am the speed test is the same dismal response. And to get snappy browsing instead of slow web site returns I need to reboot the Bell Modem. And it will last for varying degrees of time. I'm guessing Bell uses a tunnel for their side of the modem to get consistent speed test results.

[101reboB]

unless officially stated otherwise, you should asume that: "at that time of day, the hub must be a sleep just like everyone one else."

[Not Hardwiring]

I am experiencing latency spikes consistently every 60 seconds, it has been manageable for most network activities but gaming has become extremely difficult. 

This is a summary of a ping test I ran over six minutes...

Event	Start (T)	End (T)	Duration (T)	Interval from End (T) -1	Max WAN (Ping)	Max LAN (Ping)
1	43	47	4	N/A	239	559
2	107	110	3	60	423	157
3	170	174	4	60	639	199
4	234	238	4	60	451	746
5	298	302	4	60	343	443

What are the best work-arounds right now?

1. Disable bridge mode and use 3rd party routers in AP mode?
2. Accept active configuration and reset network hardware multiple times a day until a software fix is pushed?

Do I have any other options in the meantime?

[Quack]

Following. Waiting for this issue to be fixed to deploy my UCG-Fiber

[dks]

Have you run a traceroute to determine where the latency is occurring? If so, what are the results? And what interface device are you using? HH4000? Giga Hub? Third party router? There is no bridge mode, only PPPoE bypass with the Giga Hub. 

[Lastofpizza]

Hi everyone, reading through all the replies here seems like there is no fix. I am double Nating for now but the speeds slow down often in the day. Should I reset my GigaHub everyday? I have seen that resetting sometimes throws off my IOT devices (Google minis, wifi lights) and have to set them up again. Feel like I am being punished for choosing Bell. My wife is angry we dont have stable wifi after I spent a fair amount on wired backhaul for the mesh router. I am out of answers.. 

[Vanadiel]

Double NAT should have no effect on WiFi stability or speed.

I would do a speed test from within the modem menu when a slowdown happens, to see if it's a profile issue or not.

[Hugh]

I have a GigaHub.

I'm using a Mini PC running Fedora Linux as my router.  I use PPPoE pass-through, surely the same way you are.

There are plenty of mysteries, but normally it works well.

Do you think that Fedora would perform any differently than OpenBSD?  I would expect not.

Example mystery: earlier today, the internet connectivity went away for about half an hour.  Both for GH-NATed connections and ones through PPPoE pass-through.  Even so, the GH's speed test said all was well.  Rebooting the modem seemed to fix this.  I did not reboot the router.

[Vanadiel]

That would indicate the WAN connectivity with the equipment was still active and functioning, otherwise the internal home hub speed test would fail.

Next time this happens, try to plug in a regular client directly to one of the home hub's ethernet ports, and see if it provides internet connectivity or not.

[Bridge Mode]

My whole network relies on Ubiquiti hardware and I am working from home. Now, thanks to Bell, a few thousand bucks of equipment is a paper weight...

Bring back Brindge Mode for Resedential Customers!  Forcing pro users to get Business accounts, to be able to keep using their hardware, seems wrong to me, not to mention that Business packages are more expensive so Bell have financial incentive to do this!

[dks]

Thanks for your comments. With all respect, for technical reasons Bell has never has a true bridge mode on their hubs in their residential service. Users have the options of PPPoE pass through and, ADMZ in Ontario and Quebec and DHCP in Atlantic Canada . There are also script workarounds. You would have been able to bypass the hub if you had an HH3000 device and a separate ONT. That option is no longer available. You will find more information in this thread.  Note that the DSL Reports site link is no longer live as of January 15, 2025. 

[Vanadiel]

I use mostly Ubiquiti equipment myself. It works fine in double NAT, so I am not sure why you would end up not being able to use it?