[LEDE-DEV] [PATCH] BT Home Hub 5A: configure Red Ethernet as DMZ interface (FS#490) and fix Red Ethernet switch port (FS#390)

[Mauro M.]

Hello Felix,

Thank you for your comments.


On 11/02/17 21:49, Felix Fietkau wrote:
> Hey Mauro,
> please don't take Mathias' feedback as hostile, it really isn't. His
Please see the threads on FS#390 and FS#321 there is a pattern.
> patch seems to take the same basic approach as yours, so I would
> consider his request for testing his staging tree reasonable.
I am sure that technically Mathias' patch will work. The problem is not 
technical, but rather in the prioritization of the Red Ethernet Use 
Cases that I documented in my previous post.
> While you can treat the extra port in your configuration as a 'dmz'
> interface, I don't think it is reasonable for the default config.
> You should be able to make your configuration work even with his changes.
> Could you please run the test even if you still like your change better?
I understand the logic to name the Red Ethernet as "wan". This would be 
aligned to the majority of routers that do not have an xDSL port. 
However, since I want to have full control from the wire entering my 
premises, I always prefer a router with an actual xDSL WAN port. In my 
area the upgrade from xDSL is an actual Ethernet IP/IP Subnet (no pppoe 
necessary).

Therefore I never had any use for routers with a WAN Ethernet as WAN. I 
just use the WAN Interface with a static IP on the DMZ.

On xDSL routers the DSL port has always been the WAN interface.
The Red Ethernet on BT Home Hub 5 xDSL router is an extra bonus.

I believe that renaming the current "wan" to "xwan" on xDSL routers 
would be a mistake because it is not backward compatible.

An impact scenario for an "end user" is: I have routers in unmanaged 
remote locations, if I upgrade my routers to a firmware that renames the 
WAN interface, they will fail to reconnect the WAN on reboot. I could 
prepare the new configuration in /etc/config/network before flashing the 
new firmware, but without testing it would be a risk that might cost me 
a 3000Km round trip.

If you want to configure the Red Ethernet as a WAN, please name it 
something which isn't WAN. It would be ok for my use cases, because I 
can always turn it into an interface with a static IP.

Best regards,
Mauro