Giga Hub 2.0: PPPoE passthrough/2nd PPPoE session capped (average 330 Mbps) on 3 Gbps plan

[Velaris]

Hello,

I'm on a 3 Gbps plan and I'm seeing a repeatable/hard throughput cap only when using PPPoE on a downstream device (PPPoE passthrough / second session).

My setup:

- Bell Giga Hub 2.0
- Downstream router: UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber (UCG-Fiber) connected to the Giga Hub 10G port

What works:

- If the UCG-Fiber WAN is set to DHCP (e.g. behind the Giga Hub 2.0/double NAT), I can reach full speed (~3 Gbps).
- If my PC is behind the Giga Hub 2.0 on DHCP, my PC (1GbE NIC) reaches the expected ~1 Gbps.

The problem (reproducible):

When I establish a PPPoE session from a device behind the Giga Hub, throughput is capped around ~300–330 Mbps.

Repro 1: PPPoE from UCG-Fiber

- UCG-Fiber WAN set to PPPoE using my b1 credentials
- Result: ~300–330 Mbps (repeatable), despite 3 Gbps plan

Repro 2: PPPoE from a Windows PC (bypassing UCG-Fiber)

- PC connected by Ethernet to the Giga Hub 2.0
- PC NIC: 1GbE, cable: Cat6A
- Created a Windows "Broadband (PPPoE)" connection using the same b1 credentials
- Result: same cap at ~300–330 Mbps (repeatable)

Because the same cap occurs even when PPPoE is established directly from a PC (*no* UniFi router involved), it points to the Giga Hub 2.0 PPPoE passthrough / secondary PPPoE session path rather than my router.

Can you confirm:

- Is this a known issue on the Giga Hub 2.0 (firmware-related)?
- Is there a firmware update or hardware replacement option to resolve PPPoE passthrough speed caps?

Thanks

[tipwell]

Just to let you guys know, I power cycled my modem last night and it seems to have upgraded to a new firmware. Speeds are now back to what they were 7-8 months ago (ie: what I am paying for). Cheers.

[MrCaspan]

I just power cycled the modem for me while using aDMZ and I cant tell remote if Firmware updated or not but power cycle did nothing for me. So either no new firmware or i didnt get it.. 

[yokushka]

May you please provide us with a new firmware version, model of your GigaHub and area where it is installed,
It looks like you only a person who got this upgrade so far.

[MrCaspan]

Correction to my last post I'm not using aDMZ I'm using PPPoE and getting those speeds.. been back and forth so many times I have no clue what is what any more LOL

[MrCaspan]

Here is my Current modem version where PPPoE is NOT working @tipwell are you able to provide yours to see if it is different I do know that Bell staggers their firmware roll outs so it can be possible a very select few received this if a fix is out

[wardtj]

As i noted earlier in this thread, firmware version does not matter for PPPoE pass through speed issues. 

When I got the 2.0 upgrade my speeds on pass through dropped like everyone. A random reboot a few weeks later speeds are fine. Another random reboot speeds go back to poor. Reboot randomly it works again.

Its working right now on a older firmware thsn most talk on this thread, but random reboot will kill speed. Wait a couple weeks snd reboot its fine. No settings changes. Im on 3.11.6.1 if anyone is curious. 

I personally think its a provisioning problem on Bells end. Given if I wait and reboot the problem clears. One of my guesses is they have some kind of session management security in place and if it sees more than x profiles active it limits the speed. Its a common method to stop account sharing. I think thats why its taking so long to resolve since they need to engineer a solution to it. I think the Original 1.0 lacked IPv6 and some security features and thats why they won't let you go back. Opinions are my own, old telecom guy here.

[MrCaspan]

Yeah, I think you're right about that being the issue. At some point though (hopefully) there'll be a firmware fix, so it's worth checking whether your firmware version has changed. If it hasn't, it's probably just one of those random reboots that fixed it. If it has changed, then maybe they've actually fixed it, or it's just a lucky reboot that happened to line up with the update and it could come back. Either way, worth checking what version people are on now in case they're doing a slow rollout. If it's the same as ours, it's just the reboot lottery again.

[Vanadiel]

The problem is with the modem, not the network itself.

I use PPPOE directly without the modem by using the GPON from the HH3000 in my own equipment, and everything works fine. So that to me points to the modem, which I think is because it's not common to use PPPOE on a high speed connection. It made sense back in the day for DSL or even dialup, as it provided authentication options and billing by use options.

That is why I think it's taking so long to figure out a solution, because PPPOE is not common anymore.

I personally never understood why when fibre rolled out, they decided to keep PPPOE as a requirement. I mean, you can use Bell Aliant pending where you are located, and they use DHCP instead of PPPOE...

I don't even understand why they call it fibre or fibe, when everyone else calls it fiber. I know fibre is the British spelling but in North America it is spelled fiber.

It's likely a branding thing, but it's just strange to me,

I think the ultimate solution would be to use removable XPON modules so advanced users can simply remove the module and plug it into their own equipment if they want Like it was with the HH 3000.

[MrCaspan]

I feel like a GPON is the solution I am leaning towards as well just get a Border Gateway that supports SPDF and use a GPON but like you said that is an us expense that is about $400-$500 but this .s because I have  FREE  ONT that is designed for my speeds RIGHT THERE! Plus we do not know what Bell will do in the future and might block 3rd party GPONs and then this solution becomes a brick.. We just want it to work for sure!

[Vanadiel]

The current home hubs are basically a bridge between PPPOE and DHCP. They provide PPPOE connectivity on the WAN side and DHCP "converted form PPPOE" on the LAN side.

And I think that is the main challenge, as they are different protocols and have different components/requirements. That is likely why you are seeing this odd setup on the home hubs because they also want to support PPPOE passthrough besides ADMZ.

I am using the GPON directly and routerOS is perfectly capable of handling PPPOE -> DHCP without any issues.

[Vanadiel]

I think the fixes for the ADMZ mode were based to work around the same network setup the HH3000 has.

That is why I think this is not easy to solve as they likely would have solved it long before they introduced the never Hubs rather than porting the unconventional network setup over.

Although at the same time I don't use any of these workarounds and for me PPPOE works as intended without any issues.

https://idallen.com/bell_home_hub_3000_advanced_DMZ.html

[MrCaspan]

Well if we can do it on our hardware why could Bell do it on theirs? Like I mean if we get our own ONT and it works 100% with no issues.. why cant Bell do the same on their Giga Modem. What are legacy things are they supporting that would be broken. we have shown running our own hardware nothing is broken. Keep it PPPoE just give us a proper way to pas it through.. turn your modem into a Media converter It weird this is so complicated, love to be a fly on the wall of the network techs and firmware guys discussing this!!

[dks]

As I have said before, a search of Reddit r/bell will give you the answer to your question of why Bell sticks with the current system using PPPoE. It can be found in a post of four years ago. Briefly, it is Bell's own history and hardware. Further, Bell's operations side will not engage with customers on technical matters. In my personal experience over the years, that has been a hard, fast line. Users have always found useful workarounds, however.  

[Vanadiel]

I think this is because the home hub PPPOE passthrough is not the same as using it as a router in regular or ADMZ mode.

With passthrough you are establishing PPPOE with the LAN side device, which is not the same as establishing a PPPOE session on the WAN side which is what I do with the GPON.

I have actually never tried a PPPOE passthrough on LAN side on my setup, as there is no need for it. It would actually be a good test to see what happens because it would create a second PPPOE tunnel and result in 2 PPPOE sessions instead of a single PPPOE session.

[tipwell]

Seeing the other replies, I guess I do not want to reboot my modem....