Is it possible to configure a RentPBX/flowroute/PIAF system to co-habitate with the 2Wire VOIP setup? Presently, my attempts have failed, and others have suggested (the now impossible) lobotomizing the 2Wire and putting into bridge mode. Help?
AndyInNYC ... Miracles do happen!
If you're using the 2-Wire modem, model 3801HGV or 3800HGV, you can configure it to accommodate a "
router-behind-router" configuration. It wasn't easy to get the AT&T installer or tech support to understand that I expected a bridged connection for my at home network. Ultimately success was achieved with the assistance of AT&T's ConnectTech department (an extra-charge service that was fortunately waived - thanks AT&T). The user interface of the 3801HGV is not at all intuitive.
Following the procedure below, I now having a pfSense router with a
real Public IP address behind the UVerse modem. All IP ports are passed to my pfSense router, the UVerse VOIP phone works as intended, supporting my fax machine, and my PIAF is happy on my Gigabit LAN behind a pfSense router.
- Connect your "alternate" (preferred) router to one of the 3801HGV router ports before you start configuring the modem. Set your router in DHCP mode to get an IP address from the modem. This is necessary so that the router can be detected by the UVerse modem. The router can be left in DHCP mode, or configured for a fixed IP address (the public IP address that the modem uses internally) later. A fixed IP address is preferred.
- Configuration of the UVerse modem requires access of the modem management services with a computer connected to one of the four router ports on the modem. Launch your favorite browser to 192.168.1.254.
- From the Home page of the modem, select "Settings". Click the "Broadband" tab and write down the "Current Internet Connection" information: Public IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, Primary and Secondary DNS. You'll need this information later in your preferred router.
- Click the "System Info" tab, then select the "Event Notifications" link. Be sure that the "Router-Behind-Router Detection" box is checked so that detection of the router is enabled. Click "Save" - you'll be prompted for the modem password, which should be on a label on the modem. Confirm the change.
- Click on the "LAN" tab on the page, and confirm that your secondary, prefered router is in the list of connected devices. This may appear as only the MAC address of the router.
- Click on the "Firewall" tab ... and click the "Applications, Pinholes and DMZ" link. In the "1) Select a computer" section, choose the computer (your router) that will host applications through the firewall. (Essentially, you're creating a DMZ that will be exclusively for your router.) At the bottom of this page, select the "Allow all applications, (DMZPlus mode)" button. Click "Save" and confirm with the modem password.
- Now, power-cycle the router. When it has restarted, it should have picked up the Public IP address that you observed in step 3; and the DHCP service in the UVerse modem should have supplied the Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and DNS1 and DNS2 values for the WAN side of your router. If the computer that you used to configure the modem is still connected, you may see a "Router-Behind-Router detected" message.
If you intend to use wireless services from your own router, you may want to turn off the 2-Wire 3801HGV modem's wireless service. Do this from the "Home" page of the modem, and select the "Wireless" link to select "Disabled".
Hopefully you find this information helpful. It required several hours on the phone with AT&T to finally get to a point where all of my gear, including the AT&T UVerse modem and the VOIP phone line it provides and my PIAF are happy! TechConnect I can confirm that Port 25 was also enabled at my request for SMTP service ... aahhh, another project!
/Pete./