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Blue Plus Throughput

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Ray Hamel

I have cable internet service with Rogers Cable.  The account I have is Ignite 500u (500Mbps Down, 20Mbps Up) - unlimited downloads.

Will the Blue Plus be the best solution to handle full throughput from my ISP cable modem for the many devices I have connected (approx 10 devices)? The modem is the Arris XB6 Wifi modem/router. 

Thank you.

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    Firewalla

    Blue Plus should not have any problems with 500mbits.  This box can burst up to 600mbits.

    The problem is XB6, it is one of the routers that's not compatible with simple mode,  DHCP mode you will need to do this https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009259414. use the trick here to disable DHCP server on XB6

     

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    Ray Hamel

    Thank you. I assume that if I enable bridge mode won’t work as this would disable all my wireless capabilities.

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    Firewalla

    The Blue+ is still a single port device, meaning, it can only operate when attached to a router.   When you turn the XB6 into a bridge, it will not work.

    Only the firewalla Gold can work with the XB6 in bridge mode since it is a router.  

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    Ray Hamel

    Thank you.  This has been helpful.  I really like the Blue Plus model for my home.  I hope the DHCP workaround you provided will work.  I assume I can just find a mac address of a random NIC and add it as a reservation "if" my router doesn't allow me to reserve the same IP address. 

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    Firewalla

    Can you double-check if your ISP allows you to turn off IPv6?  that configuration must be off for the XB6.  (Otherwise, IPv6 traffic will bypass Firewalla and go to your gateway directly)

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    Ray Hamel

    Thanks, I found out I am unable to disable DHCP on the Arris XB6.  Just waiting to find out if IPv6 can be turned off.  If the IPv6 traffice bypass Firewalla, what would be the problem?  I don't have any IPv6 devices as far as I know.  My computers and devices are only using IPv4.

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    Firewalla

    if your devices don't use IPv6, then you shouldn't have any issues at all.   Do double check, most of the modern hardware will have ip6 by default, and those devices prefer ipv6 over ipv4. 

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    Ray Hamel

    Finally, just to be clear, here is a speed test from my new work Dell desktop, hard wired into the XB6 Modem/Router port:

     

    I would like to maintain these speeds with the introduction of the Blue + device.  A typical day, I will have:

    My Desktop connected to my work VPN, mainly browsing, and email, 2 Chromebooks connected over Wi-Fi (my children doing home schooling with most of their day doing live video streaming with teacher), MacBook doing YouTube streaming, or Netflix, and an iPhone doing multiple tasks (gaming, video, surfing, chat).  

    I really like the packet monitoring Blue + offers, and the details it offers for Parental controls and monitoring, but I don't want any sacrifice to the cost of my bandwidth (as much as possible).

    Is Blue + still going to reliably perform based on this? 

    Thanks!! 

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    Brian Shimkus
    • Edited

    As a current user of a FWG (acting as a router), I have seen zero performance issues with all services enabled (geo blocks, 50+ rules, constant video conferencing with Zoom and Teams, streaming with Hulu/YouTubeTV, etc.).  I'm on a FTTH plan with 940Mbps up and down with roughly 70 devices connected.

    Granted, the cost is a lot higher with FWG versus FWB+, but in the end, I think it's well worth the extra cost.

    The FWG platform has a lot more potential simply due to the hardware used, which to me, would make it a much more viable long-term strategy, as each new feature and/or enhancement will require additional resources.

    Regardless of which direction you take, Firewalla development and support has been outstanding in my experience.

    bks

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    Sukumar Patel

    I guess a Firewalla Silver with 2 ports (1lan and 1wan) using ARM hardware would be a good middle ground. Just add your switch and AP's.

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    Ray Hamel

    Thanks @Brian - This is good information.  The only real concern I have as the moderator mentioned was setting up DHCP mode vs Simple mode.  My ISP won't allow us to disable DHCP server on the router, or IPv6.  I don't want to make the investment to "test it" and then it won't work.  I suppose I could re-sell it online if it doesn't work, but I really would like to use this product in my home.  It seems perfect!! 

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    Firewalla

    If you worried about compatibility, the best is to get the Gold and run that unit in router mode.  Here you will have to use the XB6 in bridge mode ... which means, you should just buy a docsis 3.1 modem from amazon/bestbuy and not rent this from your cable provider.  You will need a nice wifi system behind the Gold.  

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