Q: Please help with optimum setup

Unpredictable, intermittent Internet connection drops.  Connection might hold 3-4 hours, or 3-4 days.

Apple has not updated their PPPoE settings in over 8 years.

Honestly, I do not think that you will be happy with PPPoE on the AirPort, but hope that I am wrong.

I think it is worth a try.

I did get improvement from a totally useless PPPOE to one that worked when the ISP swapped me to a different brand DSLAM in the exchange. People also hammered me here on another forum that they had PPPOE working just fine with Extreme. So I modified my view somewhat.. PPPOE can work.. but it is case by case basis.

The big advantage of using PPPOE on the Extreme is the modem is then a transparent device.. and the firmware on it is irrelevant to security. Some modems issues that are known to exist are not fixed by the manufacturer because they are out of production.. actually production on modem models is often just 12months before the next one comes out.. and the manufacturers are lazy to go back and release updates.

The security of the airport firmware is something you can be very certain of. For high security situation it is something worth taking advantage of.

If PPPOE on the Extreme/TC fails, I would still use a bridged modem and buy a router that takes 3rd party firmware.. my favourite is now gargoyle which will load on a cheap router. This offers controls and firewall and continual view of links.

Will be interesting to see how things turn out on this one. I think that we are in for some "try this" and "try that" as far as the PPPoE settings are concerned on the AirPort.  Hope that I am wrong on this.

I assume that you followed my advice to first call your ISP support folks to find out whether they will even support the type of setup that you are considering.

Assuming that their previous answer was "yes", then you will need to call the ISP support folks again to ask them what the correct settings would be for your modem.  If they do support this type of setup, they will likely have an online support document with detailed step-by-step instructions for the setup.

If they cannot tell you this, then you will have to conclude that that they will not really support you on this project......since I doubt that any of us on an online support forum would be able to help with questions regarding what your ISP may nor may not support.

If you could tell us who your ISP might be, maybe another user who has done this with their service would see this thread and be able to help.

The only question I now have is on the modem in the Bridge Connection Type after inputting

Service Category -

UBR without PCR

 

Encapsulation Mode -

LLC/SNAP-BRIDGING

 

There is a tick box - Enable Bridge Service, should that be ticked or unticked. It is unticked by default (and the above default settings were correct, so should I assume unticked is correct?)

What do the support folks at your ISP say about this?

My guess....and it is just that, a guess......would be that if you want to Enable Bridge Service.....(you do, if you want the modem to operate in Bridge Mode)......that the tick box should be checked to Enable Bridge Service.

If your goal was to use the security of the Apple router, then using DHCP Only on the AirPort provides no benefit to you at all in that regard.....since the NAT "firewall" is turned off and disabled in the DHCP Only setting.  In other words, "security" has not changed on your network.

If you feel that DHCP Only works better than your previous setup, that might be a reason to use it, but I thought that your primary reason.....and the one the LaPastenague suggested as well.....was to use the AirPort as a DHCP and NAT router to take advantage of the better security offered by the AirPort.

Here is what I would suggest if you want to use the AirPort as a router on your network:

Ask your ISP if they can provide a simple, bridge mode modem.....it will have only one Ethernet port on the device, so this will not be a modem/router or gateway type of device like you have now.  A simple bridge mode modem will come preconfigured to work correctly with the service from your ISP.  Then, you can set up the AirPort as the router for your network.

All too often, trying to change a modem/router to operate only as a modem is a study in frustration. After all, the device was designed to be a modem/router......not a modem.

If your ISP cannot offer you a simple, bridge mode modem option, then......I'm afraid that I'm out of ideas, other than looking for another ISP that can better suit your needs.  In that regard, I would always recommend a cable provider over an ADSL provider.

My recommendation is to buy your own simple modem.. I like the TP-Link models, 8950N or 8960N .. these are extremely easy to bridge.

Your ISP will not care at all what modem you use. The authentication is based on username and password with PPPOE.

But I have to admit the problem could be the TC is just useless for PPPOE.

Every computer has PPPOE client available.. and it is the best way to test for things. Plug it into the modem and once you setup the modem in bridge mode then use the PPPOE client in the computer. If this works then you can be sure the configuration is possible and failure on the TC is caused by its poor PPPOE client.. as Bob has indicated .. this is a problem we have seen many times. PPPOE is not as simple as Apple seem to think it is and without any controls or even logs to help find out what is going on it is impossible to repair.

The other alternative is to buy a rather better modem router.. but it is hard to recommend models as each market has its own favourites. Here we use the TP-Link mostly.. but Billion used to have good models.

I think you will need to buy your own equipment.. whether simple bridged modem or a decent modem router.. or a combo of bridged modem and router.. you can then add the TC to it as bridged device.

The 8616 is a pure modem.. it is unsuitable for long lines.. That means if your Island has a local exchange it will be ok but if it is located far away on the mainland you will have issues.

If pppoe doesn't work this modem will be unsuitable.. there is pppoe info for running it on a Mac.

http://www.tp-link.com/en/faq-285.html

The ones I recommended are cheap and still use broadcom chipset which is superior to the other models which use much cheaper trendchip.

The 8970 changed in the v3 ?? to broadcom.. but I suspect you have no access to CLI and will pay a lot more for no advantage.