[OT] .::The Official Mega PTCL Thread::. -- New lines, same old BS

[smaaz]

Narowal.
Flash Fiber is available in two areas so far and our area isn't one of them. No other option for fiber. There is a cable internet as well who pose as a fiber offering service but they heavily cap the bandwidth. DSL officer at exchange is saying that our area might be covered by next year but it's not confirmed. So, VDSL is the best option for now.

This will not happen at f-10 Islamabad they installed fiber lines after 6 yers, its one of the main location of Islamabad and just 2 Km from exchange.

 

[junejo]

Disconnected ptcl DSL after getting an irresistible offer from my local ISP.
100mbps+ in 4500rs +100mb extra cdn bandwidth. The speed test is from Du server Sharjah.

 

[ASKnASK]

How much time did the entire procedure take?

1 day. Local fiber guy involved.

 

[v9sp]

Yes & Yes - phone is connected but it's routed via IPoE using a static IP configured via TR-069 most likely as the PTCL rep just entered LOID number in the router ONT authentication settings and all other settings were automatically done.


Just a correction here - disabling IPTV profiles (idk why there are 4, each with separate VLAN ID) did not do the job - i had to go to to Advanced Settings>Routing>IPv4 Service Route Configuration where the default entry was referencing the IPTV WAN profile - once i changed it to the internet profile, my internet got working on my linksys router.

So what I want to understand is:
1. Why did I have to do the last step when others did not need to? This is not the first time i've done bridging settings with VLAN complications added in the mix - when I had a VDSL connection, there was no need to do the last step

2. My understanding is that when creating a bridging profile for internet with VLAN ID 10 and binding it to LAN1, the traffic to LAN1 becomes untagged and the downstream router (i.e. the linksys) should not require any VLAN ID configuration - so simply putting in PPPoE credentials should do the trick in authentication. However this did not work in practice

3. If IPTV is set-up, my understanding is that the set-top box will be configured with a separate PPPoE login/pw. Since i changed the setting in Advanced Settings>Routing>IPv4 Service Route Configuration from the IPTV profile to the internet profile, will this not create a problem? and what is the solution?

Just to update. Got both my net and IPTV working.

Internet with VLAN ID 10 has been bridged on PTCL router and binding option set to LAN1 - this has been connected to WAN port on my personal router set up with PPPoE login details

IPTV has been set up on PTCL router with VLAN ID 20 and binding option set to LAN4 - connected directly to Set-top box with separate PPPoE login (provided by PTCL for smarttv).

Just had to remove the default entry in Advanced Settings>Routing>IPv4 Service Route Configuration.

 

[manobilla]

There is a Bridge Connection in WAN settings on my ONT as well (ZTE F660). But I lack in networking skills so I would like some expert here to guide whether it is actually possible to use it along with IPTV and Landline.

UPDATE: So I created a WAN connection in bridge mode and connected TP LINK router (ZTE's LAN4 port to TP Link's WAN Port) and inserted PPPoE username and password but it wasn't connecting. Upon contacting 1218, the guy claimed 'sir bridge mode mein nahi chale ga sirf PPPoE mode mein hi chale ga aapka router'.
I was wondering if any one with Nokia or Huawei ONTs had any luck with it? If the router provides the option to do it then it is supposed to work unless PTCL is blocking it from their end somehow.

UPDATE 2: Good news, I managed to make it work. Credits to @topman11111 for pointing this feature out in PTCL's ONT though. Here are the steps I followed:

1. Login to your PTCL Router which is a ZTE F660 in my case. You can see the default username and password at the back of the router.
2. Navigate to Network > WAN > WAN Connection.
3. In the Connection Name dropdown, there should be an entry called 'omci_ipv4_pppoe_1', click that and you will see all of its details below configured by PTCL.
4. Now check you VLAN ID and note it somewhere.
5. In Connection Name dropdown, click Create WAN Connection. After that, input any Connection Name you want, now here is the IMPORTANT STEP, check the VLAN ID box and enter the ID you noted in STEP 4. Leave the 802.1p to default. Now for the Connection type, select BRIDGE CONNECTION. Click Create to save it.
6. Under the same Network tab, go to LAN > DHCP Port Binding. In this tab, change the LAN 4 to WAN. Click Submit. This is the port you will connect your other router to, so we have disabled DHCP for this port.
7. Go to DHCP Binding tab in WAN. Select the connection you created earlier in Step 5 and check the LAN4 option. I am not sure if it makes any difference but I did it anyways.
8. Go back to WAN Connection tab and select the 'omci_ipv4_pppoe_1' connection. Now you have to disable this connection by unchecking Enable VLAN option. After you save it, you will loose internet access as the router is in bridge mode now.
IMPORTANT: Note down the the Username mentioned here. Password should be 'ptcl' by default without the quotes.
9. Connect your other router like this:

PTCL Router LAN 4 -> Other router WAN Port

10. Turn the other router on, set it to router mode if it isn't by default. Now go to it's WAN settings and from their you have to select Connection type as PPPoE. Insert the username and password you noted earlier in Step 8 and click Connect.

Leave the IPTV and the Landline connected to your PTCL router and connect any other devices you want with your new router.

YOU HAVE TO REPEAT STEP 8 EVERYTIME YOUR PTCL ROUTER IS RESTARTED as the router resets to default PTCL's config. Mine is connected to the UPS so it almost never turns off.

THATS IT! Enjoy your OpenWRT Routers and all that cool stuff now.

NOTE AND DISCLAIMER: If anything goes wrong and you can't get back the internet, just reboot the PTCL router, it should be back to its default config. I won't be responsible for any issues regarding your internet.

Yes - disabled VLAN and also disabled the "Enable WAN connection" for the default internet profile so it shows disconnected.

Login and pw are the same - i verified by creating a new PPPoE profile on the Huawei router as well

Just to update. Got both my net and IPTV working.

Internet with VLAN ID 10 has been bridged on PTCL router and binding option set to LAN1 - this has been connected to WAN port on my personal router set up with PPPoE login details

IPTV has been set up on PTCL router with VLAN ID 20 and binding option set to LAN4 - connected directly to Set-top box with separate PPPoE login (provided by PTCL for smarttv).

Just had to remove the default entry in Advanced Settings>Routing>IPv4 Service Route Configuration.

PTCL Landline phone service is also delivered via VLAN? Have you tried setting it up in your router? OR you are only using pppoe and IPTV vlan in your router and using ptcl ONT for landline phone service?
You have mentioned you are using ptcl ONT for IPTV and landline. Please can you try to set up IPTV and landline on your router too? As an experiment. IPTV will work I think but no idea about PTCL landline.

 

[EliTuS]

PTCL Landline phone service is also delivered via VLAN? Have you tried setting it up in your router? OR you are only using pppoe and IPTV vlan in your router and using ptcl ONT for landline phone service?
You have mentioned you are using ptcl ONT for IPTV and landline. Please can you try to set up IPTV and landline on your router too? As an experiment. IPTV will work I think but no idea about PTCL landline.

I am using IPTV and Landline via PTCL ONT and only bridged the WAN connection to the new router. I did not try bridging the IPTV connection but the landline cannot be used on the new router as there is no RJ11 port on it.

 

[v9sp]

PTCL Landline phone service is also delivered via VLAN? Have you tried setting it up in your router? OR you are only using pppoe and IPTV vlan in your router and using ptcl ONT for landline phone service?
You have mentioned you are using ptcl ONT for IPTV and landline. Please can you try to set up IPTV and landline on your router too? As an experiment. IPTV will work I think but no idea about PTCL landline.

1. PTCL ONT is being used for landline (landline does not use VLAN, it uses static IP - it was configured by PTCL staff when they came to install flash fiber - they simply enter an LOID number and the OLT automatically configures the ONT - i.e. it's all configured centrally).

2. The SmartTV box is connected to the PTCL ONT. The IPTV profile on PTCL ONT has been set to WAN bridge mode with VLAN ID 20 to LAN4 port on the ONT which is connected directly to the SmartTV box. On the SmartTV, separate PPPoE login details have been entered by PTCL staff.

3. The internet profile on PTCL ONT has been set to WAN bridge mode with VLAN ID 10 to LAN1 Port and then connected to the WAN port of my personal router. PPPoE credentials have been entered on my router.

I think both IPTV and Internet can be bridged to the router using the Multi-WAN service on the PTCL ONT, but i'm just a novice so it will be too much of a headache for me to do so. Besides i don't see any benefit of doing so as no SQM-QoS or adblocking is required on IPTV anyway.

As for landline, the way it's confirgured on the PTCL ONT is to do the authentication & all on the ONT and simply convert the digital signals to analog as the ONT as an RJ11 port to directly connect a dumb landline to it. I think if the landline is to be bridged, an IP based phone will need to be configured.

 

[manobilla]

I am using IPTV and Landline via PTCL ONT and only bridged the WAN connection to the new router. I did not try bridging the IPTV connection but the landline cannot be used on the new router as there is no RJ11 port on it.

1. PTCL ONT is being used for landline (landline does not use VLAN, it uses static IP - it was configured by PTCL staff when they came to install flash fiber - they simply enter an LOID number and the OLT automatically configures the ONT - i.e. it's all configured centrally).

2. The SmartTV box is connected to the PTCL ONT. The IPTV profile on PTCL ONT has been set to WAN bridge mode with VLAN ID 20 to LAN4 port on the ONT which is connected directly to the SmartTV box. On the SmartTV, separate PPPoE login details have been entered by PTCL staff.

3. The internet profile on PTCL ONT has been set to WAN bridge mode with VLAN ID 10 to LAN1 Port and then connected to the WAN port of my personal router. PPPoE credentials have been entered on my router.

I think both IPTV and Internet can be bridged to the router using the Multi-WAN service on the PTCL ONT, but i'm just a novice so it will be too much of a headache for me to do so. Besides i don't see any benefit of doing so as no SQM-QoS or adblocking is required on IPTV anyway.

As for landline, the way it's confirgured on the PTCL ONT is to do the authentication & all on the ONT and simply convert the digital signals to analog as the ONT as an RJ11 port to directly connect a dumb landline to it. I think if the landline is to be bridged, an IP based phone will need to be configured.

QoS and packet management was not working properply for me, when I was setting up vlan ids for pppoe and iptv in the modem. Router was bridged with pppoe.
I was getting ping spikes and stutter even with QoS and packat management. Then I set up vlans separately in the router for IPTV and pppoe instead of setting it up in the modem. Modem is just now dumb endpoint and all the vlans are handled by the router. It's now working flawlessly.
If your pings are fine then no issue.

 

[v9sp]

QoS and packet management was not working properply for me, when I was setting up vlan ids for pppoe and iptv in the modem. Router was bridged with pppoe.
I was getting ping spikes and stutter even with QoS and packat management. Then I set up vlans separately in the router for IPTV and pppoe instead of setting it up in the modem. Modem is just now dumb endpoint and all the vlans are handled by the router. It's now working flawlessly.
If your pings are fine then no issue.

What method did you utilize to test ping spikes and stutter? I used the following guide for SQM and the following bufferbloat testing website:

SQM (Smart Queue Management)

SQM (Smart Queue Management) OpenWrt has a package called SQM used for mitigating bufferbloat - the undesirable latency that arises when the router buffers too much data. Bufferbloat is most evident when the link is heavily loaded with downloads or uploads, and causes increased latency, or...

openwrt.org

Bufferbloat and Internet Speed Test - Waveform

Is bufferbloat causing issues with your internet connection? Run this test to find out.

www.waveform.com

If i configured SQM Upload and Download speeds very close to the claimed 100Mbps, i would get stutters and spikes - however i got the most optimized results (after a lot of testing) @ 93Mbps.

Could you also share screenshots of your settings on the PTCL ONT and your router? I might want to try your way out.

 

[manobilla]

What method did you utilize to test ping spikes and stutter? I used the following guide for SQM and the following bufferbloat testing website:

I used Ping plotter and tried to play games on US and EU servers. And downloading torrent and game updates. Even with SQM there was stutter and ping spikes. I was setting SQM speed to 90-95% of PTCL's speed. After setting up vlans in router instead of vdsl modem and I also switched to Qosify which is DSCP marker and I think also includes cake from SQM, pings are fine now.

Qosify: new package for DSCP marking + cake

Hi, I've made a new package for OpenWrt called qosify, which implements many features also found in this script. Instead of using iptables and ipset, it implements classification as a single configurable eBPF module. It supports port based rules and DNS hostname wildcard/regex matching for...

forum.openwrt.org

You need to fine tune the settings which work best for you.
Also, I forgot to mention IPTV was not working properly. Now it's also working fine.

If i configured SQM Upload and Download speeds very close to the claimed 100Mbps, i would get stutters and spikes - however i got the most optimized results (after a lot of testing) @ 93Mbps.

Yes, I started with SQM and setting speeds upto 90-95% of PTCL and speed test. Later on, I switched to Qosify. I think it is much better.

Could you also share screenshots of your settings on the PTCL ONT and your router? I might want to try your way ou

I have PTCL VDSL. I don't know how it will work for fiber and ONT.

 

[EliTuS]

QoS and packet management was not working properply for me, when I was setting up vlan ids for pppoe and iptv in the modem. Router was bridged with pppoe.
I was getting ping spikes and stutter even with QoS and packat management. Then I set up vlans separately in the router for IPTV and pppoe instead of setting it up in the modem. Modem is just now dumb endpoint and all the vlans are handled by the router. It's now working flawlessly.
If your pings are fine then no issue.

Can you please elaborate how you did the 'I set up vlans separately in the router for IPTV and pppoe instead of setting it up in the modem' part?

 

[manobilla]

Can you please elaborate how you did the 'I set up vlans separately in the router for IPTV and pppoe instead of setting it up in the modem' part?

You need to create just one single bridged WAN interface without any VLANS. And then mention VLAN in the router. Depends on the router.
What kind of router do you have?
here is guide for tplink

How to configure VLAN ID for your internet connection on wireless router (For new logo) | TP-Link

How to configure VLAN ID for your internet connection on wireless router (For new logo)

www.tp-link.com

vlan setup for openwrt

 

[EliTuS]

You need to create just one single bridged WAN interface without any VLANS. And then mention VLAN in the router. Depends on the router.
What kind of router do you have?
here is guide for tplink

How to configure VLAN ID for your internet connection on wireless router (For new logo) | TP-Link

How to configure VLAN ID for your internet connection on wireless router (For new logo)

www.tp-link.com

vlan setup for openwrt

I have ZTE F660 ONT provided by PTCL. Thanks for the link, will check it out.