How-To Configure WISP on TP-Link MR3040

TP-Link is gaining its name as it has more and more likes this device because of low end price equipment likewise it has a good performance when it comes to wireless router this is because of the popular Atheros SoC chips that they are embedding to appliances. One of my favorite TP-Link product is TL-MT3040 its a portable 3G/4G wireless router equip with battery that is good when traveling to get hook your smartphone to the internet.

One of this feature that I like most is the WISP it stand for wireless internet service provider, in short the TL-MR3040 can act as WISP Client Router: In this mode, the device enables multiusers to share Internet from WISP. The LAN port devices share the same IP from WISP through Wireless port. While connecting to WISP, the Wireless port works as a WAN port at WISP Client Router mode. The ethernet port acts as a LAN port.

To begin with I am using an Aztech DSL605EW modem router built-in with WAP (wireless access point) aka WiFi this will act as my  WISP server, the configuration on this device is in Bridge Mode and WLAN also is able because my medium to hook to my TL-MR3040 is via wireless not wired.

Now, lets login to the TP-Link TL-MR3040 to get the quick setup, this is just a straight forward configuration like setting up your ordinary wireless router.

The quick setup will tell you how to configure the basic network parameters. Just follow the screenshot its simple, to continue, please click the Next button. To exit, please click the Exit button.

Then, will select from the option the WISP Client Router: In this mode, the device enables multiusers to share Internet from WISP. The LAN port devices share the same IP from WISP through Wireless port. While connecting to WISP, the Wireless port works as a WAN port at WISP Client Router mode. The ethernet port acts as a LAN port.

Note:

• Some configurations, such as access point's SSID, BSSID, encryption's info, will lose after changing operation mode.
• Some web pages will display abnormally before rebooting the device.

Next is the WAN Connection

• PPPoE - If you have applied ADSL to realize Dial-up service, you should choose this type. Under this condition, you should fill in both the User Name and Password that the ISP supplied.

This goes your account given to by your ISP, your username and password input then click Next.

On this part instead the TL-Link TL-MR3040 hook to cable/LAN now our medium is wireless we will use the WiFi as our medium to connect to the ISP. Click the Survey button then select your WISP server the Aztech DSL605EW.

The MR3040 wireless router has just finish the setup and will now ask you to reboot.

After rebooting, login to TL-MR3040 verify that the status of your wireless connection is on Client and the state is on Run, this means that you are already connected to the WISP server.

If your ISP account is valid or you didn't type any error both the username and the password you may be able to connect to your ISP network. Finally, its now successful as you can see from the screenshot above. There only a few routers that supports the WISP protocol namely TL-Link, Tenda, MikroTik and the third party firmware such Openwrt and DD-Wrt. If you know other routers that support the WISP please don't hesitate let me know leave message on my comment. Enjoy!

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myBRO DV235T at P1 WiMAX Malaysia

An old friend of mine from menanjung came along bringing his P1 WiMAX wireless broadband with him seem to be who can live with out the internet connection. I said to him that have like that but different model that I use for surfing in my country. Good thing is that he lent me his WiMAX CPE for a while and ask him if its possible to try my abandoned myBRO DV235T that is also made by Packet One Malaysia only assembled in China. hehehe :)

Fast forwarding after a few tweaks, here's what I got it peaks up the frequency and suddenly get hook to the BTS. Yes it did connect and able to surf with my friend account, this is only want to prove that they really belongs to same clan.

As you can see from the screenshot, well done. Its myBRO DV235T WiMAX CPE from Smart Telecommunication from the Philippines good to know it did get work.

Now the WAN IP address of P1 WiMAX network, likewise the DNS. Below is the P1 WiMAX Welcome page, IP address is just the same as in the myBRO DV235T graphical user interface.

Yay! Ready to surf, can not wait to check the speedtest ? FYI, Packet One 4G WiMAX has two package the Prepaid and the Postpaid. Unlike Globe and Smart WiMAX in the Philippines they are strickly to postpaid only. Fair Usage Policy also applies to P1 you will have your qouta per month.

Fortunately I manage to surf the net comfortably this only means that my friend account still have a lot more balance remaining. Enjoy reading...

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P1 WiMAX Dynamic Public IP Address

Packet One Networks (P1) is a Malaysian converged telecommunications, broadband and 4G service provider. The company was founded in 2002 and is a subsidiary of Green Packet Berhad. In March 2007, P1 was one of four companies awarded 2.3 GHz spectrum licenses by the Malaysian Government to deploy 4G WiMAX services throughout Malaysia. In August 2008, P1 became the first company to launch commercial WiMAX services in Malaysia.

P1 is unwired majority of home base subscribers are equip with the wireless modem aka the CPE, unlike Streamyx and Unifi they use POTS/PTSN likewise the PON its a passive optical network.

As you can see on this graphical user interface of the P1 WiMAX wireless modem, it is possible for those who are eager to hook they web server, ftp, ssh and other stuff to cater to the public with the help of Dynamic DNS. Even though you are at the last mile, where in 2copper wire can not reach such such POTS or PTSN for the DSL broadband.

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Goodbye! TM Streamyx Public IP Address

During the old days I was enjoying with my TM Streamyx internet, though it was the cheapest package I have availed it means a lot to me. Speaking of the lowest plan rate that I only spent 60RM per month with my "Naked DSL" offered by Telekom Malaysia Berhad to a subscriber like me that used less bandwidth 384Kbps is just enough to cater my public web server, ftp, ssh and other stuff. As a loyal customer to my ISP they upgrade to 512Kbps after four (4) years, yes its more than eight (8) years to date yet I am still sticking to my copper trunk line connection.

Since last year my Streamyx account has no longer on its own dynamic Public IP address as it is very useful for me with the help of free and paid Dynamic DNS that have been offered by most registrar for a fraction of dollars. To further my suspicious if my Streamyx is waving to Unifi I did this test verifying that I guest its because of my DSL modem only.

This is my Aztech DSL605EW DSL modem been serving 24/7/360 without any issue all day night up and running. As you can see its PPPoE but my IP address is NATted to private IP address which is useless to serve my needs because I am already behind NAT. Web server, ftp, ssh and other stuff like CCTV is no longer possible to be in public.

Keep trying! Same story with my new TP-Link WR740N the cheapest wireless router that can do more with OpenWrt firmware, but still gives  me a private IP address.

This is Aztech DSL5018EN1T1R DSL modem wireless router, same result that gives me another private IP address behind NAT.

This is Innacomm W3400V DSL modem wireless router a sub-con of Telekom Malaysia, still no luck to have a public dynamic IP address.

My last test is ZyXELL P-600 series rebrand to TM6841G, this is also a DSL modem wireless router unfortunately all of the above device I have tested does not give a public dynamic IP address as I do have during the old days. Its more like decent to be hook to P1 WiMAX though it is unwired by using their wireless modem, their CPEs are capable of giving a good dynamic public address. I guest its time to upgrade to TMnet or Unifi, I am thinking of Maxis Fiber. Telekom Malaysia ISP is saving more chunk of their dynamic public address by doing this strategy, this is how they can maximized they resources as IPv4 is going to end soon because of more and more going to be a Netizen.

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How-To TP-Link WR740N OpenWrt Separate VLANs

A Virtual LAN, or vlan for short, allows partitioning the network in a set of virtual networks, mutually isolated.

The TP-Link TL-WR740N contains four (4) LAN ports, all belonging to the same network. With VLANs, it is possible to configure those LAN ports in different manner, so that the device does not behave anymore as a switch on the 4 ports. For example, it would be possible to setup the two leftmost ports on a virtual LAN: devices connected into these ports would see each other, but would have no routing to devices plugged into the rightmost ports.

Full information on VLANs in OpenWrt can be found in the network interfaces document. This page includes information specific to the TL-WR740N router, configured with OpenWrt (Attitude Adjustment 12.09 release).

The default /etc/config/network configuration looks like:

root@OpenWrt:~# cat /etc/config/network

config interface 'loopback'
option ifname 'lo'
option proto 'static'
option ipaddr '127.0.0.1'
option netmask '255.0.0.0'

config interface 'lan'
option ifname 'eth0'
option type 'bridge'
option proto 'static'
option ipaddr '192.168.1.1'
option netmask '255.255.255.0'

config interface 'wan'
option ifname 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcp'

config switch
option name 'eth0'
option reset '1'
option enable_vlan '1'

config switch_vlan
option device 'eth0'
option vlan '1'
option ports '0 1 2 3 4'
option vid '1'

So there is a switch identified as eth0. To get info on this switch:

swconfig dev switch0 help

Which outputs:

switch0: eth1(AR934X built-in switch), ports: 5 (cpu @ 0), vlans: 16

--switch

Attribute 1 (int): enable_vlan (Enable VLAN mode)

Attribute 2 (none): apply (Activate changes in the hardware)

Attribute 3 (none): reset (Reset the switch)

--vlan

Attribute 1 (int): vid (VLAN ID)

Attribute 2 (ports): ports (VLAN port mapping)

--port

Attribute 1 (int): pvid (Primary VLAN ID)

Attribute 2 (string): link (Get port link information)

So this device supports 16 vlans, and the port 0 is the CPU port; ports 1,2,3,4 are associated to the 4 LAN connections on the back of the router.

To get the exact matching between ports and the labelling on the router, enter now:

swconfig dev switch0 show

And play with connecting cables to the LAN connections. For this router, I got the following allocation:

Port 0: CPU

Port 1: LAN 4

Port 2: LAN 1

Port 3: LAN 2

Port 4: LAN 3

With the existing configuration, there is a single virtual lan, with identity 0, identified as eth1.0 (or directly eth1).

To configure two virtual lans, one associated to the left ports (LAN 1, LAN 2 / ports 2 and 3), and other associated to the right ports (LAN 3, LAN 4 / ports 1 and 4), we use the following configuration:

config interface 'loopback'

option ifname 'lo'

option proto 'static'

option ipaddr '127.0.0.1'

option netmask '255.0.0.0'

config interface 'lan'

option ifname 'eth0.1'

option type 'bridge'

option proto 'static'

option ipaddr '192.168.1.1'

option netmask '255.255.255.0'

config interface 'landenver'

option ifname 'eth0.2'

option type 'bridge'

option proto 'static'

option ipaddr '192.168.2.1'

option netmask '255.255.255.0'

config interface 'wan'

option ifname 'eth1'

option proto 'dhcp'

config switch

option name 'eth0'

option reset '1'

option enable_vlan '1'

config switch_vlan 'eth0_1'

option device 'eth0'

option vlan '1'

option vid '1'

option ports '2 3 0t'

config switch_vlan 'eth0_2'

option device 'eth0'

option vlan '2'

option vid '2'

option ports '1 4 0t'

This creates an interface called lan associated to the first vlan (eth1.1), that is, to the ports labelled in the router as LAN 1, LAN2; it also creates the interface landenver associated to the second vlan (eth1.2), on the remaining router ports. Note that each interface uses a different set of LAN ports (2,3 vs 1,4) and both obviously communicate with the CPU (port 0). As both access the port 0, this is tagged (0t). Detailed information on this logic is included in the switch documentation on the OpenWRT wiki page.

With this configuration, entering now (after restarting the network with /etc/init.d/network restart:

swconfig dev switch0 show

Will output:

root@OpenWrt:/# swconfig dev switch0 show

Global attributes:

enable_vlan: 1

Port 0:

pvid: 0

link: port:0 link:up speed:1000baseT full-duplex txflow rxflow

Port 1:

pvid: 2

link: port:1 link:down

Port 2:

pvid: 1

link: port:2 link:down

Port 3:

pvid: 1

link: port:3 link:up speed:100baseT full-duplex auto

Port 4:

pvid: 2

link: port:4 link:down

VLAN 0:

vid: 0

ports: 0t

VLAN 1:

vid: 1

ports: 0t 2 3

VLAN 2:

vid: 2

ports: 0t 1 4

For this to fully work, we need to provide additional firewall rules, and setup dhcp for the new interface (landenver): enter in /etc/config/firewall the following new lines:

config zone

option name landenver

option network 'landenver'

option input ACCEPT

option output ACCEPT

option forward REJECT

and, in /etc/config/dhcp add now:

config dhcp landenver

option interface landenver

option start 200

option limit 250

option leasetime 12h

Time now to restart the network, and enjoy the different virtual lans:

/etc/init.d/network restart

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