Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

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bawjkt
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:11 pm

Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

Post by bawjkt »

There's another product I use as a QOS-only device.

Like a router, it takes WAN in and sends LAN out. It sits between the core router and the switches distributing the LAN.

But, it operates as an Ethernet bridge. It is not a gateway. It steps in and queues and drops packets as needed. And generates comprehensive stats via NTOP. But it is not a gateway. And it doesn't act as a DHCP server either. The core router does all of that.

This QOS device just does QOS and so of course it's downstream of the core router, which is typically doing aggregation. For that reason, the aggregation router is going to be *a* gateway in this scenario like it or not.

Sure, I could double-NAT (and have done so) by putting the Gargoyle router downstream of the aggregation router. Then the Gargoyle gets gateway from the aggregation router. And in turn Gargoyle becomes the gateway and QOS device for all of the clients on the LAN. But that's double-NAT.

Is there a way of harnessing the QOS features of Gargoyle without having it act as gateway? Having it act purely as an Ethernet bridge yet managing the congestion and providing stats?

Environments I am contemplating have 100-400 active DHCP clients at a time and perhaps it's better to let the aggregation router handle the DHCP service.

It looks like the Gargoyle GUI doesn't anticipate any more than 254 clients anyway.

On the basic configuration page, does selecting "Wireless Bridge/Repeater" instead of "Gateway (Default)" also enable the device as a *wired* bridge with QOS and ACC? I'd specify the ISP's gateway as a custom ping target so as to manage congestion through the aggregation router. I'd also be shutting off the WiFi on Gargoyle as the LAN has its own APs.

Where am I going with this?

I'm wondering if a 1043ND or Buffalo WZR might be able to serve as a wired Ethernet bridge doing QOS for networks up to 50Mbit-class.

pbix
Developer
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Re: Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

Post by pbix »

Sorry but you must enable the router mode to do QoS in Gargoyle. Bridge mode deactivates QOS.
Linksys WRT1900ACv2
Netgear WNDR3700v2
TP Link 1043ND v3
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 v1
Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH2
WRT54G-TM

bawjkt
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:11 pm

Re: Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

Post by bawjkt »

Double-NAT it is then...thanks for the clarification.

jezzaaaa
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Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2018 6:41 pm

Re: Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

Post by jezzaaaa »

Reviving an old thread...
pbix wrote:
Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:24 am
Sorry but you must enable the router mode to do QoS in Gargoyle. Bridge mode deactivates QOS.
That's sad news. Has this been addressed in versions released in the intervening 8 years? The QoS options are showing in the GUI even though bridge mode is enabled.

If not possible in the GUI, I'm wondering if there's a way to activate QoS from the command line. I'm reasonably familiar with UNIX/Linux but I'm mostly lost when it comes to QoS, so using the GUI/default QoS settings would be a big help. I need something for my bridging wifi router, to avoid buffer bloat.

The reason I'm stuck in bridge mode is that I'm using my Gargoyle for wifi backhaul (my house is long and skinny and my ISP router doesn't reach the back of the house). The ISP router provides fallback to 4G, so had to be the NAT router. The ISP router has no QoS features, but there aren't too many high-bandwidth devices at the front of the house, so if I can at least cap the traffic through the Gargoyle router, I might be able to eliminate most of the bufferbloat.

Lantis
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Re: Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

Post by Lantis »

jezzaaaa wrote:
Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:17 pm
Reviving an old thread...
pbix wrote:
Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:24 am
Sorry but you must enable the router mode to do QoS in Gargoyle. Bridge mode deactivates QOS.
That's sad news. Has this been addressed in versions released in the intervening 8 years? The QoS options are showing in the GUI even though bridge mode is enabled.

If not possible in the GUI, I'm wondering if there's a way to activate QoS from the command line. I'm reasonably familiar with UNIX/Linux but I'm mostly lost when it comes to QoS, so using the GUI/default QoS settings would be a big help. I need something for my bridging wifi router, to avoid buffer bloat.

The reason I'm stuck in bridge mode is that I'm using my Gargoyle for wifi backhaul (my house is long and skinny and my ISP router doesn't reach the back of the house). The ISP router provides fallback to 4G, so had to be the NAT router. The ISP router has no QoS features, but there aren't too many high-bandwidth devices at the front of the house, so if I can at least cap the traffic through the Gargoyle router, I might be able to eliminate most of the bufferbloat.
No, is the short answer.

QoS operates at the firewall level. A bridged (wireless or wired) router does not push traffic through the firewall, and hence can't do any QoS.

Best option is to run Gargoyle directly behind your ISP modem (double NAT, but it's not that big of a deal), then use other generic APs to cover the rest of the house.
Gargoyle won't gracefully handle the large speed difference when 4G backup is used, so QoS won't operate very well in this (hopefully rare) case.

For what it is worth, i ditched my RSP's 4G backup (and home phone) and just put their modem into bridge mode and was done with it. If you have a stable connection, their backup is pretty useless.
http://lantisproject.com/downloads/gargoyle_ispyisail.php for the latest releases
Please be respectful when posting. I do this in my free time on a volunteer basis.

agrohe21
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:51 pm

Re: Using Gargoyle as a wired Ethernet bridge for QOS only

Post by agrohe21 »

I have similar config where I use gargoyle wired to ISP modem as gateway and the use orbi as AP and wired backhaul satellites. Works like a charm.
Linksys WRT32x Wired Gateway, Orbi RBK20 Wifi
Linksys WRT32x Wired Gateway, Orbi RBK50 Wifi

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