PPPoE with separate router/bridge

Started by skyjam, September 25, 2018, 05:14:45 PM

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Hi there

as there is a PPPoE problem in FreeBSD and it doesn't look like it will be solved in a reasonable timeframe I'm thinking of putting a router/bridge in front of my setup like this:

      WAN / Internet
            :
            : FTTH provider
            :
      .----+------------.
      |  PPPoE Router  |  (or Bridge, whatever)
      '-----+-----------'
            |
          WAN
            |
      .-----+------.
      |  OPNsense |
      '-----+------'
            |
          LAN


Internet is provided with PPPoE and VLAN ID.
I have fixed IP's I want to use with opnSense.

Is there any cheap router/Bridge/whatever available to just do this:
"transform" the ISP's signal to use with a regular WAN port of my opnSense router?
If necessary I can also put a fiber converter in front, too.
It may even use one of my public IP's.

Thank you for all hints!

You should be able to get a fibre modem that would bridge to ethernet AND support VLAN. That's how my VDSL works now, the modem is in bridge mode but it's using VLAN101 to connect. Opnsense then just does the PPPoE as normal.


Who's the ISP?
OPNsense 24.7 - Qotom Q355G4 - ISP - Squirrel 1Gbps.

Team Rebellion Member

Quote from: marjohn56 on September 25, 2018, 05:43:42 PM
You should be able to get a fibre modem that would bridge to ethernet AND support VLAN. That's how my VDSL works now, the modem is in bridge mode but it's using VLAN101 to connect. Opnsense then just does the PPPoE as normal.

FTTH does not require a modem but can be routed directly.
Some ISP's use PPPoE for authentification such as most here in Switzerland.

PPPoE is very slow on FreeBSD, it uses only one CPU core and therefore you will need a very powerful CPU to handle Gigabit speed.

I want to avoid upgrading my existing device and use a bridge/router in front of opnSense that manages PPPoE and outputs simple TCP/IP...

Quote from: skyjam on September 25, 2018, 05:14:45 PM
Hi there

as there is a PPPoE problem in FreeBSD and it doesn't look like it will be solved in a reasonable timeframe I'm thinking of putting a router/bridge in front of my setup like this:

      WAN / Internet
            :
            : FTTH provider
            :
      .----+------------.
      |  PPPoE Router  |  (or Bridge, whatever)
      '-----+-----------'
            |
          WAN
            |
      .-----+------.
      |  OPNsense |
      '-----+------'
            |
          LAN


Internet is provided with PPPoE and VLAN ID.
I have fixed IP's I want to use with opnSense.

Is there any cheap router/Bridge/whatever available to just do this:
"transform" the ISP's signal to use with a regular WAN port of my opnSense router?
If necessary I can also put a fiber converter in front, too.
It may even use one of my public IP's.

Thank you for all hints!

Were you able to find a solution? I'm looking for the same appliance.