Hi folks, I moved in with my wife several years ago now and our lives have been so busy I haven’t had a moment to properly configure her network. Currently we have a Centurylink c3000z modem and three 2nd gen eeros around the house (J010011). The eero and the modem are both broadcasting their own SSID (2 separate names). It looks like the eeros are doing DHCP & NAT though nothing is turned off on the modem. Is it likely I have a conflict or issue somewhere on the network as a result of this? Generally things work okay, but I’d like to clean this mess up.
I discovered all this, because I’m dropping in a Brume 2 Gateway to run a wireguard server so I can VPN into my self-hosted services. They are currently connected via Tailscale, but I’d also like to have a wireguard connection through my home network for when I’m traveling.
The eeros are old enough they don’t support PPPoE so I think I can’t bridge the modem. Are my only 2 choices here:
- Put the eeros in bridge mode and have the router on the modem do the routing. Attach the Brume anywhere and forward the ports from the modemrouter. I assume the eeros would then work like an AP or a switch.
- Buy a router that supports PPPoE and put the modem in bridge mode. Attach the brume to the new router and forward the ports from the new router to the broom. If I understand correctly, this would basically ignore the modem and just pass through the connection.
I’ve got a decade or two of Linux use under my belt (probably since Warty Warthog) but It’s mostly just personal use, so my networking knowledge is underwhelming. How can I best resolve my 2 network situation and get this thing set up?
You should only have one DHCP server on a network, so sort that out first. If you didn’t change on settings on the router, I guarantee it’s running.
Assign each Eero a static IP outside of the DHCP range, or make a reservation on the DHCP server for them with the MAC addresses of each. Then make sure they are in AP mode, and not also NAT’ing traffic. You can decide if you want them serving a separate SSID or not. Now you have a coherent network.
As far as the Wireguard server, you’ll also want to give it a static IP outside the DHCO range, then you need to make a port passthrough in your router’s firewall for the Wireguard UDP port. If that’s not option, you could put it in DMZ, making sure ONLY the Wireguard port is open.
That should sort things out.
Thanks this put me on a track to fixing my issues and learning something new. I cleaned up my DHCP, checked my incoming and outgoing ports in the firewall, and everything seems to be working as it is supposed to. The eeros don’t have a “true AP mode” from what I read online, but bridging them and turning off the wireless on the modem worked.
I’d probably go with getting the ISP equipment into the dumbest mode possible, and putting your own router in it’s place, so option #2?
I know nothing about eero stuff, but can you maybe also put it into a mode that has it doing wifi-only, and no routing/bridging/whatever?
Then you can just leave the ISP router in place, and just use them for wifi (and probably turn off the wifi on the ISP router, while you’re in there).
I managed to get a workable solution for now, but if I get fiber in the Spring, I’ll be rebuilding everything with the things I’m learning now and I’ll probably want to use a nicer router.
Any routers looking good to you yet? I keep debating building a custom Linux home server box with a beefy wireless card that can double as a home server and NAS. Because very few routers look good to me and I’ve been thinking of upgrading my home server anyway.
I’m not sure. I ended up with the eeros because of the mesh and the fact that the upstairs office always had weak signal. I don’t like them and I’ve been generally de-googling and de-amazoning my life. The self-built route appeals to me too. Ultimately, I’ll settle somewhere between off-the-shelf and DIY, but there’s no better way to learn that to do it the hard way from the ground up. In regards to actual hardware, is there a Lemmy community for honest reviews by real people?
