Drop-in Mode is Peplink’s transparent/bridging mode that allows you to seamlessly slot your Peplink into an existing network without having to change configuration on your existing appliances.
When operating, the Peplink forwards traffic between the LAN and the Drop-in Mode WAN without performing any IP address translation/bridging the network. The original firewall/NAT’ing device won’t need any additional configuration/any change in the external IP addresses to work since it’s still on the same network as before.
Requirements:
1) Drop-in Mode compatible Peplink:
- Peplink Balance - 210/310, 305,380, 580, 710, 1350, 2500
2) Additional IPs available from the ISP
- Normal deployment of Drop-in Mode will consume an IP to Bridge to the LAN
Note: The Firewall Default Gateway doesn’t change to the Peplink’s LAN IP but remains the ISP Router
Drop-in Mode via the Setup Wizard:
The Setup Wizard simplifies the task of configuring WAN connection(s) by guiding the configuration process step-by-step.
To begin, click Setup Wizard after connecting to the Web Admin interface.
Click Next to begin.
Select Yes if you want to set up Drop-in Mode using the Setup Wizard. Click on the appropriate checkbox to select the WAN connection to be configured and select Next.
Note: The WAN port to be configured in Drop-in Mode will be checked by default.
Select Next and the Setup Wizard will move on to Drop-in Settings -
Complete the configuration and Save/Apply Changes.
Manual Configuration of Drop-in Mode -
- Network > LAN > Network Settings
Check the box to enable the Drop-in Mode feature.
Update the LAN IP Address under the IP Settings option with the Drop-in Mode IP to be bridged WAN-to-LAN.
WAN for Drop-in Mode: Select the WAN port to be used for drop-in mode. If the LAN Bypass is selected, the high availability feature will be disabled automatically -
WAN Default Gateway: Enter the WAN router’s IP address in this field. If there are more hosts in addition to the router on the WAN segment, click the button next to “WAN Default Gateway” and check the I have other host(s) on WAN segment box and enter the IP address of the hosts that need to access LAN devices or be accessed by others.
WAN DNS Servers: Enter the selected WAN’s corresponding DNS server IP addresses.
Save/Apply Changes
Note - When you setup Drop-in Mode this disables a number of normal features on the WAN. The interface is basically a piece of wire/bridging the network to the LAN. The following WAN features are disabled on the Drop-in Mode interface -
- WAN Enable
- Connection Method
- Routing Mode
- Connection Type
- MTU
- Health Check
- Additional Public IP
- Dynamic DNS Settings
- The DHCP Server Settings will be overwritten
- The PPTP Server will be disabled
- High Availability will be disabled (when attempting Drop-in Mode on the LAN Bypass circuit)
Once things are complete, a successful deployment should look as follows -
