High Availability Install Guide

MSP Enablement

Premier Install Instructions

For use with BLR-108 and BLR-112 routers

Let's get started

Follow these steps to configure, provision, and install a Bigleaf router. If you have any problems or questions, reach out to Support. 

Tech Support: (888) 244-3133

General questions, helpful information, and Chat Support: Bigleaf Help Center

Email: Support@bigleaf.net

Step 1 - Consider IP-related changes

DNS records

Do you have DNS records pointing at your existing ISP IP addresses?  If so, you will need to plan to update those to your new Bigleaf IP addresses during the router install.

To do:

A day or two before the install, lower the TTL for those records to a small value like 10 minutes to ensure a quick transition.

Mail server

Are you hosting a mail server on-site? If so, Bigleaf will need to set up a reverse-DNS PTR record for the server. To set this up, email support@bigleaf.net with:

  • The Bigleaf IP address for the mail server
  • The full hostname of the mail server

VPNs

Do you have any VPNs, or other network resources that are statically configured with WAN IP addresses? If so, you will update these after the router is connected.

Step 2 - Configure the Bigleaf routers

Add a company or site

  1. Log into the Bigleaf Web Dashboard with Admin credentials, app.bigleaf.net
  2. Select Sites and then select Add Site (located on the bottom left of the page).
  3. You can select to either Create New Company or Add to Existing Company.
    If you create a new company, fill in the customer’s corporate address.
  4. If you add a site to an existing company, select the company name from the drop-down menu.
  5. In the Site Details pane, enter the customer site name and address. If this is a single site, most partners enter Main or HQ as the name.
  6. In the Service Tier dropdown, select Premier.
  7. Select the Service Plan for the site. Typically this is the combined plan for the total ISP bandwidth speeds.
  8. Select Create Site. The Configuration page opens.

Configuration page settings

  1. On the Configuration page, click Edit.

  2. In the Circuits section, select the + icon to create a WAN circuit and enter the information. You can enter up to 4 WAN circuits.
    Note: The Upload and Download speeds are the paid speeds from the ISP. 

  3. In the Site Settings section, in the Tunnel Endpoints panel, select the Primary POP that is closest to the service address of your customer. Then select the second closest location for Secondary POP.

  4. In the LAN Networks section, select the + icon to enter your LAN information. For the POP, select the same Primary POP that you did above and then select your Block Size.
  5. In the Primary CPE Routers section, select the + icon, and then select the first router you’re setting up, verifying by serial number.
  6. In the High Availability CPE Routers section, select the + icon, and then select the second router you’re setting up, verifying by serial number. 
  7. Select Save located at the top right corner of the page.

Download the router configuration

We’ve made downloading the latest router configuration easy. All you need is a reliable DHCP network connection and the Bigleaf Web Dashboard. For details about how to download the router configuration, see the Download Router Configuration page.

When you’re finished with the download, come back here and continue with provisioning the router.

Provision the routers

Scroll to the top of the Configuration page for the site you’re setting up, and select Provision Site.

To see the IP information for the site, scroll down to the LAN Networks section. You’ll need this information when you install the router at a customer site.

Tip: Select the Printer icon in the Provision panel to print or save the IP information.

Step 3 - Install the Bigleaf router at a customer site

Get to know the Bigleaf routers

This overview shows the general connection topology for the Bigleaf router models BLR-108 and BLR-112. Below are step-by-step instructions for all hardware connections.

Each port on a Bigleaf router is designated for a specific device, as displayed in the illustration. 

BLR-108
BLR-112

*A switch may be required as the connecting device between your ISP modem and the Bigleaf router.

Step 4 - Connect ISP modem(s) to Bigleaf routers

Do not connect the Bigleaf power supply until all other connections have been made.

  1. Plug each ISP circuit into the configured WAN port on Bigleaf Router 1.
  2. Plug each ISP circuit into the configured WAN port on Bigleaf Router 2.
BLR-108
BLR-112

Step 5 - Connect firewalls to the Bigleaf routers

Connect the LAN port on Bigleaf Router 1 to the WAN port on Firewall/Router 1. Then connect the LAN port on Bigleaf Router 2 to the WAN port on Firewall/Router 2.

BLR-108
BLR-112

Step 6 - Connect the Bigleaf routers together

Connect the AUX port on Bigleaf Router 1 to the AUX port on Bigleaf Router 2.

BLR-108
BLR-112

Step 7 - Connect the routers to a power source

Using the ports on the back of the devices, connect the Bigleaf routers to a power source. The Bigleaf router should be connected to an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).

Step 8 - Configure the customer's firewall or router

To connect the customer’s network to the Bigleaf service, re-configure the firewall or router with the new Bigleaf IP address information.

  1. Log in to your firewall or router interface and navigate to the page where you set the WAN or internet IP address information.
  2. Input the information for the internet connection:
    IP address
    Subnet Mask
    Default Gateway/Route
    DNS1
    DNS2
  3. Update any firewall policies, such as firewall or NAT rules, to use the new IP address information.
  4. Save and apply the new configuration. You may need to reboot the device.

Test connection and make final updates

The installation is complete. Open a web browser and browse to some pages to make sure everything is connected and working properly.

To-do:

If things look good, make any IP-related updates identified in Step 1, such as DNS, Mail Server, or VPN settings based on your new Bigleaf IP addresses.

If you have any issues or questions, contact Bigleaf support for help:

Tech Support: (888) 244-3133

General questions, helpful information, and Chat Support: Bigleaf Help Center

Email: Support@bigleaf.net

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