Connecting to NBN HFC with a linux router

Update 2021-03-04: for a modern setup with dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 and systemd, see this post.

Internode recently migrated me from an ADSL connection to an NBN HFC connection. Here’s how I configured the connection using my own Debian GNU/Linux router instead of the TP-Link VR1600v internode supplies…

NBN Co supplies an Arris CM8200 NTD, which is a modem that bridges local ethernet to the ISP via DOCSIS over the coaxial cable.

Additionally, Internode’s configuration requires PPPoE encapsulation with 802.1q VLAN tagging.

I’m using physical interface eth1, so in /etc/network/interfaces I have:

# See interfaces(5)
auto eth1
iface eth1 inet static
    address 192.168.1.2/24

# VLAN ID 2 for Internode's NBN HFC.
auto eth1.2
iface eth1.2 inet manual

auto nbn
iface nbn inet ppp
    pre-up /bin/ip link set eth1.2 up
    provider nbn

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