topic Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings in Archived Posts

Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 21:45:49 GMT

I'm trying to replace my EE Brightbox with a Draytek 2860 VDSL2 router, but am having some trouble with the settings.

I know it's not supported by EE, but I was wondering if anyone had any success getting it running.

Some background:

- I have FTTC, with the router plugged directly into the wall socket

- The EE Brightbox works fine and has no issues at all with stability

- The Draytek has no issues with the line, and reports SHOWTIME with 48,999kbps down and 13,461kbps up with a SNR of anywhere between 0 and -6db in each direction

- The Draytek automatically inserts a VLAN tag of 101

- The Draytek firmware is 3.9.1_BT (576D17)

- The VDSL firmware is 576D17_A/B/C with Vectoring support, although the syslog states that G.INP Vectoring is disabled on the line

- I have tried MTUs of 1480 and 1492, 1500

I have tried setting the Draytek up in PPPoE mode, with the credentials supplied by EE, and it occasionally gets an IP - but it does not stay connected for longer than 2 minutes. I get an error on WAN1 of PPP Shutdown, usually within about 15 seconds, and the syslog says Remote Terminated.

Usually, however, it does not get an IP at all, and the line goes into FAIL followed by TRAINING, and the connection process starts again.

I have also tried, as per the advice on other forums, setting the mode to MPoA with 1483 Bridged IP LLC Encapsulation (VPI 0, VCI 101, Modulation Multimode) , and Obtain an IP address automatically.

The line goes into SHOWTIME, but the router does not ever obtain an IP address (the SysLog states that Option 61 is enabled, but all of the DHCP IPs are 0.0.0.0), and eventually the line goes into RESET followed by TRAINING after about 30 seconds.

Has anyone had any luck getting the Draytek to work, or can shed any light on it?

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

XRaySpeX — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 22:27:02 GMT

In Home Broadband settings you'll find almost everything you need to set up your own router. What's missing for Fibre is:

VLAN ID = 101.

What are the form of the BB Username & pwd you are entering?

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 23:47:14 GMT

Hi,I've read over that a few times already; the Draytek automatically inserts a VLAN ID tag of 101 as of the last few firmwares, so it's not related to that.The username is the same as the one from the brightbox - PRODUCTIONHQNUNxxxxxxxx@fs, and is valid as if I change it I get a different error and no connection at all.At the moment I get a connection for a couple of minutes with PPPoE, but then it drops.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Mustrum — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 08:16:52 GMT

You mention username, but not password? Have you entered this as well?

I am sure there is an earlier post with links to pics of the correct settings, there should not be much you change from default from BT or other UK VDSL setting, MTU 1490 should work.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 09:21:10 GMT

Yup, I have the same username and password as the brightbox has (I called EE to double-check what they were).

If I don't set them, or change them, I get a CHAP error when connecting.

At the moment, the Draytek connects briefly, gets an IP, and the internet works for anywhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes - and then I get PPP Shutdown (Remote Terminated) and the whole connection starts again

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

XRaySpeX — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 09:35:39 GMT

@Mustrum : MTU = 1492.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

mikeliuk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 11:52:39 GMT

Hi @Alcoraptor ,

Have you been in touch with Draytek yet?

The circumstances seem similar to the below for a different service provider for which service provider-specific instructions were required which contradicted the publicly available documentation at the time.

The solution in your case may be nothing like this but the manufacturer is likely to have a fix if another customer has already reported the same.

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Product-Archive/PPP-Shutdown-with-DrayTek-Vigor2860/td-p/2181312

I guess the manufacturer's online instructions are now out of date at least with respect to the vlan on that firmware.

https://www.draytek.co.uk/support/guides/kb-isp-ee

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 12:31:08 GMT

I read that TalkTalk guide and a PlusNet one, which both say to use MPoA rather than PPPoE, but I haven't had any luck with the MPoA settings either (I did try all of the encapsulations, as well as RIP and Bridge modes).

That Draytek guide seems to be out of date, yes - it says that the settings I currently have should work, but the article looks a few years old now.

I do have a support ticket open with Draytek, but they haven't got back to me yet so I was asking here as well in case anyone had managed to get it working

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

mikeliuk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 19:03:52 GMT

Hi @Alcoraptor ,

If you are reasonably technically adept, the best play to have an idea of what is going on would be to mirror the WAN port and tcpdump or Wireshark the traffic

https://www.draytek.com/support/knowledge-base/5366

to check authentication goes as expected

https://www.draytek.com/support/knowledge-base/7528

and to see what traffic is passing immediately before a connection drop.

Easily 90% of technical problems are a case of user error and your firmware version and device are certified for use on OpenReach and known-good from what I can tell from online resources. If I did suspect user error, I would propose that a screenshot be posted of the settings for other Draytek users to eyeball (from posts on here there seem to be a number of Draytek users but not necessarily with the same device).

There are some reports of issues within the same ballpark for an older firmware version which leads me to suspect the issue may be real. http://www.broadbandbanter.co.uk/44944-vigor-2860-firmware-versions.html Draytek's delay in getting back to you and presumably their looking at the data/evidence you sent them suggests the same.

From what I can tell, EE hasn't done anything funny with their authentication but as you've gone down that route of debugging already you may as well mirror the WAN port and dump the traffic to see what is going on. The mention of Sky Broadband and Wireshark at https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/06/2018-update-best-vdsl-routers-for-uk-fttc-fibre-broadband-isps.html/2 prompted me to feel that it's better to know for sure rather than speculate and guess.

Under other circumstances I might suggest to wait for the manufacturer's input but the certified firmware and device combination suggests more specific data may be useful.

Probably the easiest non-expert approach is simply to use the service provider's device in front of your device but I guess you've not given up on using the Draytek in-built modem yet.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:11:28 GMT

After a lot of digging, and with some help from Draytek, I've managed to get it running.

It turns out that the 3.9.1_BT firmware is not compatible with EE's network, as it uses an incompatible modem code (576D17_A/B/C).

I've switched the firmware to 3.9.1_vector1, which uses the modem code 576517_A/B/C - and it's been completely stable.

The other settings (PPPoE etc) all remain exactly the same and as stated on the Draytek KB article; the firmware seemed to be the key.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

XRaySpeX — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:33:27 GMT

Well done!

Where did you buy the Draytek? Is the 3.9.1_BT firmware the standard current update for it or is it something special?

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

mikeliuk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:36:09 GMT

Great work! Making a note of the below to complete the record in case anyone else hits this issue.

Ironically, the fix is actually suggested in the release notes https://www.draytek.nl/wp-custom/uploads/DrayTek_Vigor2860_V3.9.1_release-note.pdf

If you're using a VDSL line, VECTOR named firmware may bring out better
performance; however, please consult your ISP to check if G.Vectoring is required. We also provide
two versions of modem codes to avoid the interoperability issue. You could just try the other one if
the one you use cannot synchronize or get the speed that you expected.

But I entirely discounted those firmware versions because of https://www.draytek.co.uk/information/our-technology/bt-sin-498

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

pip11 — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 21:16:17 GMT

There are very few Openreach cabinets that have vectoring installed or active. Openreach opted for G.INP on Huawei cabs and only implemented vectoring on a limited number of BDUK funded ECI cabs.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

XRaySpeX — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 01:01:24 GMT

So, @mikeliuk , referring to the Draytek references you provide:

Would you say that the 3.9.1_BT firmware is the 1 that is meant to be the BT/OR compliant version?
1. If so, shouldn't it work on EE BB, an OR ISP?
2. If not, why's it entitled "BT"?
There's a wealth of difference between "better performance" & fixing no performance at all.
The OP has shown that he had a BB connection with Fibre speeds but couldn't maintain connection with the Net with PPP errors, indicating authentication or at least a data link issue with the EE network rather than an incompatibility with the OR pipework. So isn't all this a red herring?

A lecture will not be appreciated!

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

pip11 — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 06:28:22 GMT

"When connecting a DrayTek Vigor router directly to a VDSL2 connection on Openreach's "Fiber To the Cabinet" (FTTC) network, we recommend to use the "BT" suffix firmware. Firmware versions that end with "BT", '3.8.4.2_BT' as an example, have passed Openreach's SIN498 MCT testing."

Link

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 13:14:51 GMT

While the official Draytek documentation recommends the firmware with the _BT suffix, the support person I spoke to said that is not always the case, and it depends on the line / network.

The _BT suffix attempts to negotiate settings like vectoring (it will disable it if the line doesn't support it, which EE does not), but the modem code in that firmware is not compatible with the EE network (they could not tell me why; just that it wasn't).

The support person also noted that on the _BT firmware, the DSL light on the front of the router was blinking - rather than solid - indicating that the modem was having trouble keeping sync with the line, which was causing the dropouts and PPP shutdown.

The _vector1 firmware also negotiates features on the line, but it uses a different modem code which is compatible with EE's network.

While this is out of date, the differences apparently still apply:

https://www.draytek.com/support/knowledge-base/4301

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

pip11 — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:02:25 GMT

Vectoring has nothing to do wiith the ISP It has everything to do with Openreach and as I mentioned earlier is only implemented on a small number of BDUK funded cabs.

Please note the "regardless of ISP".

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

mikeliuk — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:59:58 GMT

Finally found the "BT"/OpenReach firmware and release notes so leaving a note for someone who hits this some months later. URL makes it seem like the obvious first thing that would be hit. 😂

https://www.draytek.co.uk/support/downloads/vigor-2860

"nonvector" also omits G.INP so better to go for the vector variant even if not supported on the line (I guess reserving "nonvector" for debugging).

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

pip11 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 05:20:12 GMT

Pointless leaving a note containing incorrect information. There is only 1 BT firmware version of 3.9.1.

Re: Draytek Vigor 2860 Settings

Alcoraptor — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 09:28:15 GMT

For clarity, I should have said EE does not support vectoring in my area.

However, to be clear for anyone else hitting this issue - it is not related to vectoring (the working firmware I used also supports vectoring); the issue was the modem code used by the firmware and its compatibility with EE's network