My Scenario: Balance 380 in drop-in-mode via WAN 1, all devices on LAN are receiving DHCP via the device in front of Balance WAN 1. WAN 2 is a Public Static via Comcast. There are around 70 fully hosted Polycom Soundpoint IP phones on this network along with everything else and again every device is receiving DHCP via VPN device sitting in front of WAN 1. I can’t enable PPTP to remote onto network so that I can remote into Polycom phones if I need to and not only that I am relying on the VPN device in front of WAN for my phones safety (If VPN Device goes down so do my phones, NOT Cool or efficient).
What I need to do: I am purchasing all brand new Gig, Managed, Poe switches for the entire network. I need to be able to create a VLAN just for my phones so that I can utilize sending all Phones over WAN 2 and creating a failover to WAN 1. Also so I can utilize the User Control Bandwidth Groups and guarantee a certain amount of bandwidth in every scenario to my phone subnet. I also need to be able to have a PPTP account so I can remote into phones and do whatever I need to do. Basically the Balance is worthless in this type of setup because I can’t: VLAN, PPTP, or use Bandwidth Control Groups, or setup failover. Hosted Phones need to be running through same ISP at one time for QOS. It not useless in the sense that it’s an amazing device that I only trust for hosted VoIP but you see what I am saying. What I am trying to do, has to be feasible somehow.
Also, it would be cool if you had a drop down tab under the Outbound Policy rules for the Source Network where you could just drop down and pick the network via VLAN ID as an option on top of typing a network in or IP.
It’s in drop in mode because the old IT guy made it this way and never kept up on firmware updates and the 4.8.X didn’t have the site-site VPN at the time im pretty sure, so he put a VPN device in front of Peplink and put it in drop-In-Mode. I am working with their new IT and showing him you don’t need this device anymore and you can site-to-site with the Speedfusion. It’s a process though. I think he will do it in the end but you never know and I don’t rely on peoples words, im sure you can relate. But It made me think about everything I mentioned above in regards to drop-in-mode. There really should be an ability to do everything I mentioned if you were to really thing about it. I feel like as long as you have more than 1 WAN connection and the others are not in drop-in-mode then why wouldn’t I be able to create another LAN subnet and be able to PPTP via that WAN IP. Cause if the case is what your telling me that basically the drop-in-mode turns off crucial features then what the hell is the point of using a Balance device with both computers, phones, and AP’s if they all would have to rely on a device sitting in front of the Balance.
Again, I understand and im working with him on using the Balance as the VPNing device and eliminating the drop-in-mode but still, what if some people don’t have an option like car dealerships that we have tons of where they have a division that works within ford that handles all their billing info and they connect via VPN device that they have to have in place (Fortigate). I can’t even go in now to these dealerships and put together a solid new local network infrastructure because the drop-in-mode doesn’t allow me to set up things that I would need to both a computer, AP, and Phone network. You see what I mean.
Drop-in is similar to bridge mode in others product. A device will be transparent after enabled bridge mode. Actually the idea of Drop-in is to allows Balance router to be deployed in a network without incurring any configuration changes to existing network devices. Please find the example here.
Anyway, I understand where you come from. I will feedback this to product team for their consideration.