OpenWRT with NZ Fibre

UPDATE 2021-07-03: These instructions were formulated for the 19.X versions of OpenWRT; later versions have a different user interface and so these instructions may not apply.

UPDATE 2020-09-11: Added information about IPoE

NOTE: Use this information at your own risk; different routers and internet providers may have different requirements that differ to the process described here. This article also does not address any security implications of a router being exposed directly on the internet.

Background

In New Zealand, fibre-to-the-home is widely available and the household name for this service is “UFB” (Ultra Fast Broadband). Here we see how to get a router running OpenWRT to connect to a UFB service.

Assumptions

• You have a standard LAN and WAN interface on the router and the router is essentially otherwise in working order as a working router.
• The router is managed with the LuCI web interface.
• The router WAN port is physically connected to the correct port on the Optical Network Terminal (ONT).

VLAN 10

The UFB product connects using PPPoE protocol using a VLAN tagged as 10. For this reason, a corresponding VLAN needs to be configured in the router.

In the LuCI web interface, go to the menu; Network → Switch and create a new VLAN. The new VLAN ID should be 10. The VLAN should be marked as “tagged” on the CPU port and also on the port used for the WAN connection. For other ports, your new VLAN should be configured as “off”.

Remember to save and apply your changes.

Interfaces

Some ISPs connect over the PPPoE protocol and others use IPoE.

PPPoE

Go to the menu Network → Interfaces and Edit the WAN interface. Change the Protocol setting to “PPPoE”. Confirm the change by choosing the “Change Protocol” button.

Enter the PAP/Chap username and password for your account into the fields shown. The username and password will have been coordinated with your internet service provider.

Now switch to the “Physical Settings” tab where you can choose the Interface for the WAN. One of the options will be your new VLAN. You will note that the name shows the VLAN tag of 10; something like eth0.10. Choose your new VLAN for the Interface.

Remember to save and apply your changes.

IPoE

Go to the menu Network → Interfaces and Edit the WAN interface. Change the Protocol setting to “DHCP Client”. Confirm the change by choosing the “Change Protocol” button.

Now switch to the “Physical Settings” tab where you can choose the Interface for the WAN. One of the options will be your new VLAN. You will note that the name shows the VLAN tag of 10; something like eth0.10. Choose your new VLAN for the Interface.

Remember to save and apply your changes.

Check

Go back to Network → Interfaces and observe the WAN section. You should see a value for “Uptime” showing that the connection is up. If there is a problem it tends to show here as well.

With a connection in place, it should be possible to now access the internet via the UFB service.