Router behind 3801HGV with static IPs...again.

Question

Okay, I've had this working in the past and it is working now, but the workaround is ugly - trying to fix it.

Currently have a VM running pfSense with FIVE external interfaces, all set to DHCP, connected to the RG. Since it's a VM, those interfaces all connect to a virtual switch inside the VM host and I only run a single cable, thankfully. I can map the static IPs 1:1 to those interfaces and all is (mostly) good.

In order for that to work, however, I have to have a sizable VM host and NAS storage sitting in my office next to the RG. Noisy, hot, and annoying.

I have purchased another very nice little router, a MikroTik RB1100 that has virtually every feature you could ever want, including stuff that I will never ever use - they're very inexpensive for the feature set, though, so we'll call it a win.

I'm struggling with getting all five of my static IPs back to that router so I can PAT individual services back to the machines inside my private LAN or DMZ networks, though.

I see the new Cascaded Router functionality showing in the RG's firmware pages, but I don't think I've seen a comprehensive set of instructions on how that is set up (when using static IPs). I've tried configuring it to point to my new router, but the static IPs don't ever seem to make it through...undoubtedly because of mistakes on my part.

Please help me turn my office back into an office instead of a server farm.

Thanks,

Scott

sstillwell60 · Accepted Answer

Okay, I appear to have been trying to make this too hard.

I was worried about making the static IP addresses appear on the outside interface of my router, when that's not necessary at all when using Cascaded Router on the RG. The packets WILL get routed to that box, period. All I need to do is establish my destination NAT (and source NAT to make the outbound packets show the right 'from' address), and all is golden.

The Cascaded Router function works exactly the way it needs to. Yay.

For future reference of anyone needing to use Cascaded Router with static IP addresses (loading this up with all the buzzwords so that people googling will find it...)

Scott

jkchess · Answer

Thanks for your post. I am also trying to configure a router behind our 3801 Uverse gateway with a block of static ips. Can you please clarify a few things for me? When using the cascade router option found in new firmware, do you first setup your router in RG with the DMZ plus mode enabled? Also, do you have to enable and configure 'Additional Network' before enabling Cascade Router? Once configured, do my static ips show up anywhere in the RG(e.g. IP Allocation, etc.)? Lastly, will my WAN interface on my router set to DHCP be assigned my RG's public IP or will it get one of my static ips? Any help would be greatly appreciated.