Can't get IP from DSL Modem / changing routers, NICs

[White Widow]

I have Verison "FIOS" VDSL service, and have been using it in the default configuration with the DSL modem (D-Link DSL-6300V-I) connected to the Verizon/Actiontec wifi router. It's been working as expected for over a year.

I recently decided to experiment with PfSense and built a small sever box to host it. I used an extra copy of Win 8.1 and planned to run PfSense in an Oracle Virtualbox. In addition to the onboard Realtek network card, I installed an Intel Pro/1000 PT Dual-Port NIC. My plan is to directly bridge each of those two ports as the WAN and LAN side of the PfSense firewall.

Problem: I cannot get an IP when I connect the DSL modem to anything other than the Actiontec router. I've tried power cycling the DSL modem and using the "reset" button. No matter what I do, it refuses to provide an IP to anything else. I've tried connecting it to other routers, to the Intel NIC, everything. As soon as I connect it back into the Actiontec router, it gets assigned the external IP and everything works.

Is the DSL Modem somehow configured to work only with the Actiontec MAC address? Is there a way to change that? I can't find any documentation on the DSL Modem so I'm not sure what to do next.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[paul878]

Do you need to login to your verizon account?
On my DSL modem it need to login to verizon first.

 

[JackMDS]

The Verizon/Actiontec wifi router contains your credentials id you as a Verizon customer.

 

[White Widow]

Interesting...I've never had to login to the broadband.

More importantly, I looked through the entire Actiontec set of menus and the active "Broadband Connection" is listed as "Ethernet". If I view the settings for "WAN/PPPOE", the status is "disabled". My understanding is that Verizon used to use PPPOE many years ago but has switched over the DHCP entirely now. Also, I've hard reset the router many times and it hasn't affected my DSL connection at all or prompted me to reenter creds.

If for some reason I wanted to connect the DSL model directly to the PC, how would I "login" anyway? Since the DSL modem won't even give the network card an IP address, I have no way to proceed.

Maybe I have to DHCP-release the Actiontec router before I can get it to give the NIC a new IP? I'll try that and clone the MAC and see what happens....

 

[White Widow]

UPDATE:

All I had to do was "release" the IP in the Verizon router and then the NIC picked it up just fine.