Thinking of switching to PN, couple of questions

[#1]

Hi guys. I'm with plusnet at home, and have a couple of home business users with PN too, and am now thinking of switching one of our remote sites to Business Unlimited Fibre.
At the site currently, we have a Zyxel ADSL router with the same IP for it's LAN and WAN ports (no NAT), and this connects to the WAN port of the Firewall, which has an IP on the same network. The firewall does the NAT and translates it into the internal IP range.  We also run VPN from our main office, direct to the IP of the Firewall behind the ADSL router.
Can I get multiple static IP's from PlusNet business package, and would the above be doable with the Fibre router that PlusNet supply?
Also, are separate Modems and Routers still being used, or are these all in one devices now?
Cheers
Carl

[#2]

Hi Carl,
Just a quick question before we look are the more technical parts of your question, how many Static IP's would you require?

[#3]

Hi Chris,
Looking at what I can see, it looks like we're 'possibly' only using two. Although as the router is .185 and the firewall is .190, with a subnet of 255.255.255.248, it seems we currently have 5 IP's available.
We also have a Plusnet business ADSL line as a backup line at our HQ, and from memory we did get a number of static ip's for a similar setup here.

[#4]

It doesn't sound at the moment that you are actually USING more than 1 ( the firewall IP ) unless you've got other things connected to the router using public IP's. If that's the case then you could connect the firewall directly to the Fibre modem, assuming it's WAN port can be configured for a pppoe connection instead of the ( i assume ) either static or DHCP it's currently set to.
Multiple public IP's using the PN router is not easy IIRC.

[#5]

We currently use a group of static IP's through the PN supplied router, but I'd add two caveats:
- We use the router in pass-through mode and provide NAT at our firewall behind the router.
- We're not currently using fibre, just the copper ADSL
It took a little bit of patience with some of the PN staff to get No-NAT working, but over all the set up was not difficult.
It may be worth considering the use of a firewall which supports two or more Internet connections and have  dual ADSL until the PN service has settled down. Don't forget that BT OpenReach will be running the installation/ connection and they are not always 100% successful first time.

[#6]

MisterW, we're definitely using at least two ip's at the moment, in what sounds like the same scenario as "AlaricAdair" , just with a Zxel Router not a PN one.
It's a Sonicwall TZ210 we're using, and it would be nice if we could just use that direct into the modem.  It's something I'd have to investigate. If so, we can simply VPN to that direct without going through the router.
I was thinking about BT and their reliability, and the office being off for a days is not something we can have. So I think I'll have to get some prices of how much it will cost to get an extra line in for the fibre, and whether we're still in any contracts for the existing line.
Chris, do you have an idea how much it would cost to get an additional line installed at a premises for Fibre? Or are their lots of variables?

[#7]

Hi Carl,
You've got an 8 Block of IP's from your legacy broadband package.
The first IP and last IP in block are not usable and the second IP is assigned to your router, all the remaining IP's can be assigned to other devices.
For a new line installation, it's £50+VAT or we can do it free of charge on a 24 month contract. The Fibre installation would be included within the contract.

[#8]

Chris, thanks for that.  I'm thinking a new line may be the way to go.
Which account were you looking at with regards to the 8 ips?  Our CanfordAudio account, or were you looking at my home fibre account (possibly linked to this forum login)?
This would be a potential new account at our manufacturing building down in Portland, and we'd still keep the CanfordAudio HQ business line.

[#9]

The 8 IP's were in reference to your 'CanfordAudio' account, you've got an 8 IP Block on that one.

[#10]

Quote

MisterW, we're definitely using at least two ip's at the moment, in what sounds like the same scenario as "AlaricAdair" , just with a Zxel Router not a PN one.

Yes, but one is assigned to the router and is not really used, unless you need remote access to it for configuration/diagnostics. Do you use more than one public IP on the SonicWall ?
The problem is, under current PN rules, you're unlikely to get multiple static IP's on a new account http://www.plus.net/support/service/policies/IP_block_allocation.shtml
BTW according to the manual the SonicWall will do pppoe.

[#11]

Thanks MisterW  We do need access to the router occasionally, but may not need it on the Fibre line.
I've just found the menu for the PPPOE in the Sonicwall, and spoke to our Supplier and they say they have people using them on Fibre broadband, so looks like we could go the route of a new line with a single IP assigned to the Sonicwall. Then once it's all sorted, migrate over to it, then cease the ADSL line.
Just need to cost it all out, and then pass my figures and plans on,
.

[#12]

If I choose the 50gb (which should be enough for what the office currently uses), can I upgrade to the unlimited at a later date?
I'm getting an estimate of 20mb for down, but can't see an estimate for up.  How can I find out what the upstream is likely to be.
Is the prioritised service likely to make a difference on a fibre package? It mentions ideal for VPN, but 20CN. I'd like to get as good an upload as possible as we back files up to our datacentre from there on a nightly basis, and have VPN's between our main site and there site.

[#13]

Yep - you can upgrade to Unlimited on your next billing date if you need to.
The estimate for upload can be anywhere up to 1.3Mbps - if your estimate is 20Mb, then you should get something around the 1.1-1.2Mbps on the upstream. If Annex M is available, the estimates can increase upload to up to 2.5Mbps (£10 inc. VAT per month). Annex M will probably take a bit of speed from your downstream speeds.

Quote

Is the prioritised service likely to make a difference on a fibre package? It mentions ideal for VPN, but 20CN.

I'm not quite sure what you mean here? If you could clarify I'll certainly do my best to get you an answer for that
VPN shouldn't an issue at all, on any of our current packages.

[#14]

In the signup process, you can add on "Prioritised Service" for £7.00 a month.
It's description is;

Quote

"This offers faster upstream speeds and a higher priority on the BT Wholesale network. For customers on the 20CN network upstream speeds will increase from 448kbps up to 832kbps. It's particularly suited to VPN use. Perfect if you regularly upload large amounts, or need to upload files faster than normal"

It mentions an increase in speed for 20CN connections, but doesn't mention if it would have any effect on the upload speed of other types, i.e. a fibre line.  Then mentions suited to VPN use, which I take to be simply because of the upload speed. However it's not saying if it's relating to the 20CN network too, or if it will be better for VPN on everything.

[#15]

If you're estimated 20Mb then you will be on 21CN/Fibre so that shouldn't be a problem.
If you pay for Prioritised Service on 21CN/FTTC this will give your connection priority on the BT Network that we utilise. It's trying to say that as your service will be prioritised over other standard network traffic, VPN should work better than it were on a standard connection.