Set Up Question
Hello,
Very novice network person here. Forgive me if this is the wrong forum to post this.
Just purchased blue+. I have looked at the set up guide but I have a set up that seems to not be covered. Please help me address where to put the new firewall device in my network.
Currently using fiber that comes in to home. House is wired with Cat5e. I have the ISP provided modem router/wireless combo that have 4-5 ports on the back. I have a massive switch where all the Cat5e's come out of the wall and into that switch. I also have a Plume mess wireless network. So, right now fiber goes into the ISP router/modem/wireless (wireless is disabled). A line goes from that router into the big switch which then provides internet to all the ports in the house. Had a CUJO that is going away.. it was also plugged into the ISP modem router with another line.. and from CUJO it went to Plume mesh main pod (and then all the individuals pod go to it). Please don't dog the original set up.. it probably was all wrong to begin with.
So my question now is.. should I put the Firewall Blue+ between the fiber from the wall into the ISP router? Do I put it just into one of the 4-5 ports in the back of the ISP router? Do I add it to one of ports on the huge switch.. or do I follow the mesh wireless guide in the install (just worried that method won't then protect the hardwired lines).
My knee jerk is to put it between the fiber from the wall and the ISP router. I don't really plan on doing anything fancy.. just want to make sure everything is protected (as far as I am concerned, it's all black magic anyways... lol, j/k)
Thanks!
Dave
-
The short answer is to place the blue unit in the same network as your main router. Remember the Blue+ has only one ethernet port, so it doesn't go physically between two networks. (it will suck packets virtually). The Firewalla DHCP mode is a lot like the CUJO single port DHCP mode.
-
Thank you very much for the reply!
It sounds like if I plug Blue+ into the ISP provided modem/router, since the mesh (main Plume) pod goes into the same modem/router... and one of those lines feeds from the modem to the big switch to the home hardwire lines.. then everything will be covered by the firewalla firewall...? Correct?
By the way, just saw an interview with the creator of firewall on a youtube video talking about making something his neighbor could use (since he's a former Cisco engineer)... well, I'm the prototypical neighbor who barely understands what's going on. I'm looking forward to using firewalla. Thanks again!
Dave
-
You need to double-check if your Plume is in router mode or bridge mode. Meaning, if you do not know what bridge mode is, it is highly likely that you need to connect firewalla to the network that's managed by your plume.
If you have questions, please do contact us, we don't have many users using the plume. I do remember in 2019 one user had issues with it.
-
Hi! I can confirm that my Plume is set up in bridge mode. I found it in the advanced network settings and it literally had two choices.. “Auto/Bridge” or “router.” Auto/bridge was checked. So would I connected it to the master plume pod? (Ie: do the instructions for mesh routers in the start up guide) If yes, will it then still help protect my hard lines in the house that are fed from the isp modem/router to the big switch?
Thanks,
Dave
-
Ok, so my last reply last night was kinda late and I was tired. After rereading your last comment it sounds like I should plug Firewalla blue+ into the isp supplied modem/router since it’s assigning the numbers. If I am incorrect please let me know.. otherwise I will give it a shot later today and post back if there are any issues.
Thanks,
Dave
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
6 comments