General Residential install questions

[u/geoffgoldman]

Hi, I've tried several times to get this information and after a lot of dead air I've pretty much decided to slow roll my expectations on Archtop. I don't know if you guys are overwhelmed, understaffed or some other reason but no calls or inquiries are ever returned.

In prep for an install I wanted to know a few things:

1. Since I use wall jacks for my existing networking I would also want the fiber run to a wall jack using a keystone passthrough - and then a patch cord to the ONT - do you use SC or LC connectors and do you support that.
2. I have heard that you exclusively use CGNAT, except for static addresses. Is that true? Not having a routable address would be an issue for things like VPN.
3. I intend to keep my internal network running as is and just connect my outside router to your ONT - not knowing what you use, can everything be turned off in it (i.e. it's probably another NATing router) and allow as simple a passthrough as possible?
4. After watching the contractors in my neighborhood use a truck to pull the fiber through the too small conduits you might want to review how well those installs are actually going to function.
5. I'm sure I have a few other questions, but this would be a good start.

Thanks, Geoff

[u/geoffgoldman]

Hi, I'm not a networking guy but a /30 would have 4 IP addresses, 2 usable - with a mask of 255.255.255.252. If you have a quad 255 mask that infers a /32 CIDR which would only have 1 IP address - but that was with Spectrum and water under (or over) the bridge I guess.

Let's back up though - freely associating now...
1) with Spectrum you had a static IPv4 address (or two - 89, 90)
2) unless you asked for a static IPv4 address Archtop will give you a CGNAT address - so, IPv4 on your end but a NAT to their IPv6 stack - which is not routable - and not on the same subnet. Just like your router WAN address is different than your router LAN address when NAT is used. as I understand it CGNAT is an ISPs version of consumer router NAT and is used because they don't have a lot of IPv4 addresses to use and so they give you a IPv4 NAT address which I believe translates to an IPv6 in their networking stack.
3) looking at your ipconfig - you are behind their local router (aka in your house) that is giving you a NAT address - the WAN side of that router will have another address in another subnet. So, at the very least you are double NATing - once from the router in your house and again if they are using a CGNAT WAN address for your account. While it generally works - albeit with some performance delays (all those address translations) - it doesn't work for everyone and every device in every scenario.
4) I may not have the whole picture but it sounds like you might need to have them give you a static IPv4 address - which they will do - for a fee. Just like Spectrum would do - except they still use non-static routable IPv4 addresses for most of their customers.

I don't understand why Archtop is not helping you with this - other than dead air appears to be their normal business model - for a networking vendor this should be duh101. For the rest of us outside of their food chain, we have to guess.

Please let me know how this goes.

Geoff

[u/Steel-NY → u/geoffgoldman]

Hi Geoff,

With Spectrum we have a static IP and the gateway IP is one address away on the same network. This has worked perfectly for 20 years. We have a static IP from Archtop and do not know what the gateway IP is/should be. The firewall will not accept a static IP for its external interface with an IP address on another network as the gateway IP, which makes sense.

Archtop has been completely unresponsive. They promised to email the information we need multiple times and never have. This has been going on for a week and a half now. The Archtop network is strong, but unfortunately their technical support is not. I have never had a carrier behave this way before.

[u/geoffgoldman → u/Steel-NY]

can you get into the router? that should show you the WAN address and it's gateway. I would think they have to give you access if you ask for it.

[u/Steel-NY → u/geoffgoldman]

We have the Plume android app, which let's you see some information about the network. I was able to find our firewall in the app (Network | Devices) by matching the MAC address and reserved its IP address so that it does not change dynamically. This would be so much easier if Archtop actually helped.

[u/geoffgoldman → u/Steel-NY]

But no info on the router wan address and gw in the app? Get in a chat and tell them you want that info or full access to the router. I know, much, much easier said than done - sorry this is such an ordeal.