Caveat emptor: avoid Inseego 5G products unless you still believe in classful routing
In the category of "I can't believe I still have to worry about this in 2023" comes an unfortunate discovery I made recently when setting up a network for a local non-profit. The Inseego FX2000 5G router looked like a nice product, it supports OpenVPN out of the box, flexible firewall rules, etc. What I did *NOT* expect from a device made in 2023, and didn't think to ask about ahead of time, is whether it supported classless routing. Setting the unit up, I discovered the hard way that the developers are apparently still working from 1989 textbooks. The only netmask the router will accept for a 10.x.x.x. subnet is 255.0.0.0. Absolutely refuses to accept a different length netmask. Even the user manual reflects the inherent classful assumption: " IPv4 IP Address: The IP address for your FX2000, as seen from the local network. Normally, you can use the default value. Subnet Mask: The subnet mask network setting for the FX2000. The default value 255.255.255.0 is standard for small (class "C") networks. If you change the LAN IP Address, make sure to use the correct Subnet mask for the IP address range of the LAN IP address " So, before anyone else makes the same mistake I did, I thought I'd give the community a heads-up to avoid the Inseego line of 5G products, as they're woefully behind the times in their understanding of IPv4 subnetting as it exists in 2023. ^_^; Thanks! Matt
On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 2:25 PM Matthew Petach <mpetach@netflight.com> wrote:
In the category of "I can't believe I still have to worry about this in 2023" comes an unfortunate discovery I made recently when setting up a network for a local non-profit. The Inseego FX2000 5G router looked like a nice product, it supports OpenVPN out of the box, flexible firewall rules, etc.
What I did *NOT* expect from a device made in 2023, and didn't think to ask about ahead of time, is whether it supported classless routing.
Setting the unit up, I discovered the hard way that the developers are apparently still working from 1989 textbooks. The only netmask the router will accept for a 10.x.x.x. subnet is 255.0.0.0. Absolutely refuses to accept a different length netmask.
Even the user manual reflects the inherent classful assumption:
" IPv4 IP Address: The IP address for your FX2000, as seen from the local network. Normally, you can use the default value. Subnet Mask: The subnet mask network setting for the FX2000. The default value 255.255.255.0 is standard for small (class "C") networks. If you change the LAN IP Address, make sure to use the correct Subnet mask for the IP address range of the LAN IP address "
So, before anyone else makes the same mistake I did, I thought I'd give the community a heads-up to avoid the Inseego line of 5G products, as they're woefully behind the times in their understanding of IPv4 subnetting as it exists in 2023. ^_^;
Thanks!
Matt
But how is their IPv6 support? ;) Matt Harris VP OF INFRASTRUCTURE Follow us on LinkedIn! matt.harris@netfire.net 816-256-5446 www.netfire.com
v6 support is good, actually! I am using it to good effect. The classful part is very surprising. This site doesn't use a lot of v4 so I hadn't given that much thought. -- Hunter Fuller (they) Router Jockey VBH M-1C +1 256 824 5331 Office of Information Technology The University of Alabama in Huntsville Network Engineering On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 2:44 PM Matt Harris <matt@netfire.net> wrote:
Matt Harris VP OF INFRASTRUCTURE
*Follow us on LinkedIn!* <https://www.linkedin.com/company/netfirecloud/> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/netfirecloud/> *matt.harris@netfire.net* <matt.harris@netfire.net> *816-256-5446* <816-256-5446> *www.netfire.com* <https://www.netfire.com/> On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 2:25 PM Matthew Petach <mpetach@netflight.com> wrote:
In the category of "I can't believe I still have to worry about this in 2023" comes an unfortunate discovery I made recently when setting up a network for a local non-profit. The Inseego FX2000 5G router looked like a nice product, it supports OpenVPN out of the box, flexible firewall rules, etc.
What I did *NOT* expect from a device made in 2023, and didn't think to ask about ahead of time, is whether it supported classless routing.
Setting the unit up, I discovered the hard way that the developers are apparently still working from 1989 textbooks. The only netmask the router will accept for a 10.x.x.x. subnet is 255.0.0.0. Absolutely refuses to accept a different length netmask.
Even the user manual reflects the inherent classful assumption:
" IPv4 IP Address: The IP address for your FX2000, as seen from the local network. Normally, you can use the default value. Subnet Mask: The subnet mask network setting for the FX2000. The default value 255.255.255.0 is standard for small (class "C") networks. If you change the LAN IP Address, make sure to use the correct Subnet mask for the IP address range of the LAN IP address "
So, before anyone else makes the same mistake I did, I thought I'd give the community a heads-up to avoid the Inseego line of 5G products, as they're woefully behind the times in their understanding of IPv4 subnetting as it exists in 2023. ^_^;
Thanks!
Matt
But how is their IPv6 support? ;)
participants (4)
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Fred Baker -
Hunter Fuller -
Matt Harris -
Matthew Petach