UK Fibre & AirPort Extreme (6th gen)

[Awoniyi]

Hi all,

Long time listener, first time caller here, so please go easy! And any info/knowledge y'all have to share would be much appreciated.

In short, I currently have UK fibre to my property set up like this:

Fibre from street to house > Optical Network Terminal > Vodafone WiFi router

What I'd like to do is remove the Vodafone WiFi router and replace it with a 6th gen Apple AirPort Extreme so we have:

Fibre from street to house > Optical Network Terminal > Airport Extreme

However when I do this, I'm not getting any internet connection (despite entering the relevant PPPoE credentials), and the AirPort Extreme isn't picking up any IP address. If I keep my existing setup, and connect the AirPort Extreme to the Vodafone router, it does connect to the internet.


So my question is - can the AirPort Extreme connect directly to the ONT and replace the wifi router? I thought the ONT acted as the modem, and the Airport could act as the Vodafone WiFi router. Or do I need additional hardware between the ONT and AirPort Extreme to make it work?

As expected, Vodafone are no help with 3rd party routers, and Apple tried to help me but couldn't (tech appointment with them on Friday to check the hardware).

Anyone with network knowledge who could help would be massively appreciated!!

 

[kittonian]

Because an ONT is not a modem like you might be used to, but instead an interface to the fiber ISP connection, you would generally have a router of some sort in between the ONT and your LAN. So, the output of the ONT plugs into your router, and the router is then connected to your LAN via a switch that can support the bandwidth of your fiber connection (i.e. if you have a 1gb fiber connection, you need a 1gb switch, and if you have a 10gb fiber connection you need a 10gb switch).

From there you have to configure your routing properly and set the gateway on your LAN to be the IP of your router.

The airport extreme is not capable of handling these types of speeds, and unfortunately Apple's tech support is useless for anything other than the basics of computing.

Take a look at Ubiquity's offerings. I use an EdgeRouter 4 to handle all of my LAN routing and a few of their wireless access points for the wifi connections. All of this is managed via a Linux server running their Unifi server software.

Definitely not an easy plug/play scenario like a cable modem, but when you have these kinds of speeds and more intensive network needs, this is the route you need to pursue.

Hope that helps!

 

[MacCraig Pro]

What PPPoE credentials are you using? I had the same set up as you bar having BT instead of Vodafone and mine works fine. Although my speeds half using the AEBS both on Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

 

[MacCraig Pro]

Because an ONT is not a modem like you might be used to, but instead an interface to the fiber ISP connection, you would generally have a router of some sort in between the ONT and your LAN. So, the output of the ONT plugs into your router, and the router is then connected to your LAN via a switch that can support the bandwidth of your fiber connection (i.e. if you have a 1gb fiber connection, you need a 1gb switch, and if you have a 10gb fiber connection you need a 10gb switch).

From there you have to configure your routing properly and set the gateway on your LAN to be the IP of your router.

The airport extreme is not capable of handling these types of speeds, and unfortunately Apple's tech support is useless for anything other than the basics of computing.

Take a look at Ubiquity's offerings. I use an EdgeRouter 4 to handle all of my LAN routing and a few of their wireless access points for the wifi connections. All of this is managed via a Linux server running their Unifi server software.

Definitely not an easy plug/play scenario like a cable modem, but when you have these kinds of speeds and more intensive network needs, this is the route you need to pursue.

Hope that helps!

Ummm, the AEBS can do it all. You’re over-complicating everything.