Deploying Peplink | Pepwave products in Drop-in mode

Drop-in Mode allows Peplink | Pepwave products to be deployed in a network without configuration changes on existing network infrastructure.

Example: Pre-Installation

In the following network diagram, ISP A provides a 24-bit network 210.10.10.2 / 255.255.255.0, 210.10.10.1 is the default gateway. The Firewall is performing NAT (Network Address Translation) for Local Area Network 192.168.1.0/2 to access the Internet.

Firewall settings:

NAT Enabled
External Interface IP: 210.10.10.2/24
Default Gateway: 210.10.10.1
Internal Interface IP: 192.168.1.1/24

The Peplink Balance is now installed in between the existing ISP modem and the existing firewall. Additional WANs (wired or LTE/5G) are added to the network via the Peplink router.

When operating, the Peplink forwards the traffic between LAN and WAN1 of the router without performing any IP address translation. The Firewall will not notice any change in the IP addresses of the hosts on WAN1, and vice-versa, so all existing security policies will remain effective. Because the Firewall is not changed, it remains programmed with the original gateway. (Do NOT change the Firewall Default Gateway to Peplink’s IP 210.10.10.3)** If there is not a spare IP address on the WAN range of the firewall, the Peplink is also able to share that IP and preserve transparency.

For the other WAN connections, they will be operating in NAT mode by default, which allows proper routing of traffic coming back and forth via different ISP.

Notes:

  1. PPTP server will be disabled automatically if the Balance is deployed in Drop-in mode.
  2. Drop-in mode can be configured on any WAN port. But there is only one WAN port can be configured in Drop-in mode.
  3. High Availability will be disabled automatically if the LAN Bypass port is selected as the WAN port for Drop-in mode.
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Hi Guys,

What if you have wifi connection. 80 users with wifi network connecting to peplink balance one then isp. What firewall should you propose?

thanks,

Is there any way to use drop in mode with a single static IP? The example you give assumes the ISP provides a subnet to you (/24).

This is my exact issue - I am trying to drop in this device into a /30 subnet. Already have a ticket in to my ISP to change it to a /29.

Drop-in mode with a single static IP is supported. To enable and configure it you need to click on the blue tool tip next to the Drop-In Mode Settings.

Thanks.

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Hi, I have a question here. Based on the proposed network diagram above. What if my ISP A (210.10.10.1) is down and at the same time my firewall is pointing its gateway to it. Can the internet recover at ISP B or C? If yes, how? Kindly advise

Balance device will detect the ISP A service availability (Health Check Enabled). If ISP A down, Balance device will forward network traffics using ISP B or C base on the defined outbound policy. Traffics forwarded using ISP B or C will NATed to the IP addresses ISP B or C. This is the original idea for the drop-in mode deployment, balance device will “Act” as the gateway for the firewall.

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Hi
In this above scenario, is it possible to have Pepwave APs on the LAN managed by Wireless Controller of the Balance-One?
regards

AP controller feature still functional for drop in mode deployment device. Seem APs and Balance are not within same broadcast domain, you may need to configure the APs to use Balance IP as AP controller.

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I have a deployed 710 in drop-in mode with two isps (drop in mode ISP 1 200mbps syncronous) other isp 2 (150d and 25u) with a sonicwall NSA3600 as the firewall.

From the Sonicwall if I leave the Gateway IP of the ISP 1 like this article says I only get 30-40mbps on a speedtest but if i change the Gateway IP on the sonicwall to the peplink I am able to get my full bandwidth of 350d and 225u.

Just want to know why.

In drop-in mode the Gateway IP on the Sonicwall should be ISP1. Please open a support ticket for further checking:
https://contact.peplink.com/secure/create-support-ticket.html

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how to use the share IP feature to archive the situation of client’s ISP only provide /30 ip address???

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Click on the “?” next to the Drop-In Mode Settings if you need to share the IP address.

1 Like