After years of waiting I finally have broadband, via xplornet wireless. For now I am using an old d-link router to share the connections with 3 computers, but I want to get a wireless router so I can use it with my laptop. I've been told linksys is the way to go for consumer grade routers, but to make sure I get one that is dd-wrt compatible or something like that..
I know little about this technology, are all the linksys WRT54G wireless routers compatible?
JPnyc
07-27-2006, 12:11 PM
I'm not sure myself, and I have one. I can tell you that they're very compatible with their own aircards. The router is brand new, the aircard a few yrs old, and they work together just fine.
M/Q
07-27-2006, 12:42 PM
First, I would like to inject that you should not throw the DLink away right away. Your first step, when you get the device is to play with it and find the physical location that will give you sufficient coverage where ever you use the notebook. Too many people just replace the existing unit and it is in a corner of the house in the basement and has terrible wireless coverage.
Second, most SOHO or consumer devices are about the same. Everyone has their favorites. I suspect that you are just wanting a device that works. Whether the firmware can be upgraded to DD-WRT, may not even be important to you unless the existing features are not sufficient.
More important issues are if there are any other wireless networks or other potential interferences (ie 2.4GHz cordless phones) nearby, that could cause interference and random drops on your network.
Glenstr
07-27-2006, 02:01 PM
The main reason I want to replace the dlink is that I dont think it has built in firewall protection and there is no wireless capability. And your right, I'm not even sure if I want it to more that it can out of the box without the OS firmware, but I'd like to keep that optin open..
M/Q
07-28-2006, 07:58 AM
I would like to point out that I think you missed my main point. I understand your reasons for replacing the device, but I just want to make sure you realize that physical location of the new device is extremely important.
PsiDOC
07-29-2006, 05:39 AM
Perhaps I can shed some light on the matter for you.
All wrt54g variants can run the DD-WRT firmware, however be wary of the newer ones you may find on the shelves. The WRT54G Version 5 and the WRT54GS Version 5 only have a 2 mb flash and run on VxWorks firmware. These can be changed to run the DD-WRT micro firmware, but it is a little more complex to do than the usual firmware upgrade also because it's the micro firmware you don't get the full whisles and bells..
If you are buying off the shelf and want full functionality that the DD-WRT firmware offers the look for the WRT54GL model as the L on the end is for the Linux model, which will upgrade in the normal way.
Hope this help.
Regards,
Psi
M/Q
07-29-2006, 08:38 AM
I again would like to humbly point out that you said you have little experience with this technology. I might suggest baby steps here and just get the system working before changing firmware as from your posts, the off the shelf device will work just fine.
Glenstr
08-11-2006, 11:16 AM
Thanks MQ
Lately I've done a bit of research and found out that my dlink does have a firewall, and I've been playing with port forwarding etc.
I am still undecided on how to add wireless, I was even thinking about keeping the dlink and adding a wireless access point on my middle floor as I have the high speed ethernet coming into my basement and that would make my wireless source on the same floor where I would be using it 90% of the time. However having the main router on the main floor is still doable as I'd just have to run two wires thru the floor rather than one, and it looks like I can get a wireless router for the same price. So I am still considering having a wireless router replace the d-link, and while I'd likely just use it "off the shelf" I've been reading quite a bit about what the dd-wrt firmware upgrades can do and I want to keep that option open, so it looks like it would be the WRT54GL or something else that was upgradeable to DD-WRT.
Which brings me to another question, can another wireless access point (or wireless router) be added?, and (theoretically speaking), say if my neighbor wanted to 'piggy back" on my connection, would it be possible to do this and make sure that only them and no one else in my area hopped on? I am asking because they are interested in high speed, but for what they use it for they can't justify the cost of setting up the satellite or wireless.
M/Q
08-11-2006, 11:55 AM
I always recommend using access points and leaving the router where it is. You hit upon the reason with my prompting. You can locate the access point where it will do the most good for the coverage area and not have to worry about the Internet connection.
Second you can setup a second AP strictly for your neighbor and have that use a different encryption scheme and SSID. You can add a directional antenna to that one or setup a bridge link with another AP at your neighbors house. That would only allow your neighbor to link to it.
One word of caution though. By doing that you are allowing your neighbor access to your network as well as the Internet. That poses several possible problems. Please take no offense, as I do not know the neighbor, but I want you aware of all issues.
First that means you are responsible for any nefarious downloading or wrong doing done by them as it will point to your public IP address. Second, you should make sure it is OK with your ISP as typically there are clauses that restrict this. Finally, with reference to having access to your network, unless you move them to a separate subnet via a router they will have access to your computers, just like if they were connected to your network. For example, if they get a virus/malware it will very easily transfer over the wireless link to your computers as well.
Glenstr
08-18-2006, 09:42 AM
Thanks again for your help - those are good points and I'll for sure keep them in mind..
Back to my hypothetical question about allowing a neighbor to piggy back on my connection, this got me to thinking, in the next year I was thinking of building another building with living quarters in it to rent out to seasonal industrial workers, and one of the "perks" offered would be office space with broadband internet as most of them want this now and few if any of the local hotels are offering it. This building would be separate from my main residence and about 30 meters away so wireless would be the preferred method here although for such a short distance an ethernet cable would not be out of the question.
Your comment about me being "responsible" for what they used this connection for is a good point. This brings up a whole new set of questions, namely would I be best advised to put 3rd party software in place to monitor and/or block sites?, can I limit download capacity by pc or ip address?
M/Q
08-18-2006, 10:40 AM
In cases like this I would suggest getting another static public IP address. You will have to most likely as ISP's typically frown on sharing one connection the way you are planning on. That way you will have the ability to have a contract with the workers and any issues will point to that public IP address. You also then can have that building isolated from your network via a route.
What you mentioned in your last post is doable, but IMO will cost more and be much more of a headache due to the need to constantly configure and check logs.
Here is simple diagram of what I might do
Internet perimeter device
|
| Signifies wired connection
|
>- Gateway router
.....|..|
.....|..>- Wireless router with one public IP addr
.....|.......<>
.....|.......<> Signifies wireless connection
.....|.......<>
.....|........>- Access Point at remote building in AP client mode
.....|.............|
.....|.............>- Switch or another AP depending on how you want to attach
.....>- Wireless router with one public IP addr
..........|..<>
..........|...>- Wireless clients on your internal network
..........>- Wired clients on your internal network.
Glenstr
08-18-2006, 10:59 AM
Actually the static ip address is a good idea, and iirc my isp offers them for a reasonable price.
umdivx
08-18-2006, 01:00 PM
going off of what M/Q said this is what I did...
I setup an old PC with 4 network cards in it and installed Ipcop (www.ipcop.org) its a linux install that turns an old pc with network cards into an advanced router. It has features such as QOS, Traffic shaping, Web proxy, ect....
What I did from the box is install 4 network cards, one for the WAN (aka RED network), one for my wired LAN (my safe network aka Green network), then I have one for my servers (aka Orange network) and one for my shared wireless network (aka Blue network)
take a look at my diagram to visually see what I am talking about:
http://homepage.duluthmn.com/~umdivx/wifi_planet/Securenetwork.jpg
Off of that diagram you can see that I have a buffalo tech wireless router on my green network, I run that for my personal wifi network that no one else connects to.
Then off of my blue network I run two buffalo tech wireless routers, these two routers run two seperate networks that I share with neibhors.
The way IPcop is setup is that when your connected to the wifi on the blue network there is no way of accessing the files or PC's on the Green network. Same goes for my Orange network for my servers, if I forget to patch my mail server or my web server and a one of the machines gets hacked then they are seperated from my Green (secured) network and won't comprimise any of my home systems.
Also with IPcop I run a webproxy built into it, so that I force my neighbors web traffic to be filtered through the web proxy, I also traffic shape their connections so they don't kill my connection, and each other for that matter, and I also block all Peer to peer apps, and any other controversial websites and applications, that way my back is covered and I know that they aren't doing something on my internet connection that could get me in trouble by the RIAA or Feds ;)
Granted what I am doing (sharing my ISP connection) is frowned upon by most ISP's I was able to get permission from my ISP so what I am doing is perfectly legit.
So hopefully from what M/Q has said and what I have showen you you can easily come up with a solution if needed.
- Josh
Glenstr
10-16-2006, 04:09 PM
thanks - interesting setup you have there!
anyway, I went ahead and bought a WRT54GL router, used it for a couple of days then flashed it with the latest dd-wrt firmware, the reason I did that is that out of the box the linksys was dropping the internet connection for no apparant reason, and I was getting weirdness like haveing the linksys easy config utility saying my connection to the internet was down while I could still ping out, open pages etc. Anyway, I was going to eventually go to dd-wrt anyway so I installed it. The router is still acting up and does not seem as solid as the d-link. I'm not sure if its a settings issue or compatibility with my wireless ISP. Currently I am researching settings etc. on the dd-wrt page and asking tech support at xplornet some questions.
In any case the dd-wrt software is very interesting, and should be good for a few late nights playing with it..
I may send it back and try a Buffalo router if I can't get it cleared up, but your solution is intriguing. I have a few old boxes sitting around with linux already loaded, and I am familiar enough with Linux to give this a whirl. I take it the Buffalo components you have are access points?
The wireless coverage is quite good, even through floors, but tends to drop sometimes even when the signal is string and in one corner of my house where my wife wants a pc (and NO network cables) it is weak, so I found a WRE54G range extender for 50$ and will give that a whirl, hopefully it will have no problems with the dd-wrt enabled router, I see no reason why it should.
All in all, it's an interesting and fun ride, albeit time consuming!
M/Q
10-16-2006, 05:11 PM
What DD-WRT application did you flash? DD-WRT should make it as stable as a rock. It is the only way I will use the LinkSys WRT’s. You really did not have to get the WRE54g as you could have gotten another WRT54GL and had more options as well as the repeater ability.
I have used the WRT’s for quite awhile, but was concerned about publishing that fact here as I was not fully convinced that they were compliant with FCC regulations. After several months of emailing and phone call to the FCC and still not getting anywhere I felt what the heck, I tried. I am an emphatic proponent of DD-WRT and use them in business situations all the time.
So I feel there is either something wrong with the connection or you got a lemon as that WRT54GL typically is the perfect device for DD-WRT and problem free.
Also, have you checked for other wireless networks in the vicinity as they may cause connection drops.
umdivx
10-16-2006, 05:24 PM
In any case the dd-wrt software is very interesting, and should be good for a few late nights playing with it..
I may send it back and try a Buffalo router if I can't get it cleared up, but your solution is intriguing. I have a few old boxes sitting around with linux already loaded, and I am familiar enough with Linux to give this a whirl. I take it the Buffalo components you have are access points?
Correct I am running the buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless routers. I also was running linksys routers and had issues before and so I dumped them and went to buffalo. The buffalo's are the cheapest, most stable, most powerful routers you can get to run DD-WRT that are out there.
The wireless coverage is quite good, even through floors, but tends to drop sometimes even when the signal is string and in one corner of my house where my wife wants a pc (and NO network cables) it is weak, so I found a WRE54G range extender for 50$ and will give that a whirl, hopefully it will have no problems with the dd-wrt enabled router, I see no reason why it should.
If your trying to get a desktop up and running in that corner of the house try one of these:
that or just setup a second Buffalo router and run it in WDS repeater mode. The second AP setup closer to the room (between where the main AP and the PC will be) and it'll easily extend the wifi to that location.
- Josh
M/Q
10-16-2006, 05:50 PM
Hey Josh,
Did you read my other post about how the FCC is really not playing nice with reference to the DD-WRT?
Also is the antenna removable on the Buffalo device? I did not find that information on their site. But, it looks like a a RP-SMA connection.
Glenstr
10-16-2006, 06:01 PM
I used the latest mini and standard generic versions. dd-wrt.v23_mini_generic.bin and dd-wrt.v23_generic.bin from the SP2 directory
I still have more testing to do, just have to find the time to do it.. I plan on bypassing the router for a day or two and see if the drop offs still happen, and then again with the d-link. One thing I noticed right away with the linksys was that my speeds on speakeasy.net are almost always at close to or just over 3 Mbps down and 700 Kbps up, which is what I am supposed to get, with the d-link I it was usually closer to 2 Mbps 500 Kbs up, and and on testmy.net they are also proportionatly higher than I was getting with the dlink. This could merely be coincidence though, I will find out when I get the d-link back in place and bypass the router completely. The leaves have gone off the trees, and given that I am on a wireless ISP that could have something to do with it as the reciever antenna is pointed thru some treetops to the tranmitter.
I didnt know I could use another WRT54GL as a repeater as well, thats interesting.
What is happening as far as my drop offs go is this:
Before the dd-wrt was installed I would get timeouts on web pages more often than I did with the d-link. I'm talking from my main wired pc here, not my laptop. I downloaded the easy link advisor from linksys and it would constantly report that the internet connection was down, and then walk me thru checking cables etc.. and eventually powering off the router and modem. Sometimes it would just fix itself, but most of the time I'd have to power off and and on again and it would be fine for awhile. It was strange because I would even log in from work using logmein.com and it I could run my desktop from work, where the easy link advisor would still tell me the connection to the internet was down, even though I was connected thru it!
That was when I decided to install dd-wrt. I am still getting disconnections, and since the ELA software no longer talks to the router I am just cycling the power to the router and all is ok for a while again. They do seem less frequent now though with the dd-wrt in place. Remember this is from a wired pc, the wireless has even more drop offs but I'm not going to worry about that until I get the wired ones working reliably. I am thinking its some setting somewhere I have to tweak, I've done the router slowdown advice on the dd-wrt wiki and I think that the frequency has decreased somewhat. I've also turned on syslog and am looking at some programs to decipher the output into something understandeable to me before it does me any good. The rflow connector looks interesting too but I havent looked into it yet.
I am thinking that I may have done something wrong in the setup page, and am waiting to hear back from xplornet about the screenshots I have sent them to see what they say. Their tech support is kind of vague though and I get the feeling that they dont know much more than me, which is not a lot.
Since you are familiar with dd-wrt I will try to explain what I did do here when setting it up:
First there is the Internet Connection Type, which I have set to auto-DHCP as per my ISP's instructions,then I left the STP enabled, which was the default - is this ok?
Then under the Optional settings I changed the name from dd-wrt to linksys, I am assuming that this is ok.. I put the host name as xplornet, and domain name xplornet.com as per the ISP tech guys advice. I then left MTU on auto - all ok so far?
Now is something I'm not clear about.. under the network setup I have this:
Nework setup
Router IP
Local IP Address - 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.1.1
Local DNS - 207.179.130.2
At first I put in the gateway the IP address 169.254.1.1 that I got from the ISP, as it says to in the help page, but then changed it back to the gateway number I get from ipconfig /all thinking it might help the constant drop offs (it didnt) In any case, the gateway that shows up under the configuration type on the status page matches what the ISP told me no matter what I enter in here. Which gateway am I supposed to have in the setup page? In the configuration page it is showing 169.254.1.2 for the routers IP and 169.254.1.1 as the gateway, I take it this is how the outside world sees the router..
And in the local dns setting I put in 207.179.130.2 as per the tech's instructions, and put in 207.179.130.3 in as static DNS 1 like he said too. I told him that my ipconfig /all was also showing the number 192.168.254.2 and asked if I should enter that number, he said no it wasnt even one of theirs, but I think he may be mistaken as it is still showing up on the status page as well as the other 2, and they also all show up in ipconfig /all. I think I also used this dns nameserver setting when giving my pc a static ip address.
I'll attach the screen shots to this as I probably havent explained it very good.. perhaps you can see something that I am missing.
umdivx
10-16-2006, 06:23 PM
Hey Josh,
Did you read my other post about how the FCC is really not playing nice with reference to the DD-WRT?
Not exactly sure. Meaning they don't want us talking about it no here or something? I know its not FCC aproved but I still think thats silly about not being able to talk about it or use it if your still running with within the 1watt max EIRP specifications under the FCC rules.
Also is the antenna removable on the Buffalo device? I did not find that information on their site. But, it looks like a a RP-SMA connection.
and yes the antenna is removable. Its a single antenna, with RP-SMA. Same as dlink AP's.
- Josh
umdivx
10-16-2006, 06:39 PM
I used the latest mini and standard generic versions. dd-wrt.v23_mini_generic.bin and dd-wrt.v23_generic.bin from the SP2 directory
I still have more testing to do, just have to find the time to do it.. I plan on bypassing the router for a day or two and see if the drop offs still happen, and then again with the d-link. One thing I noticed right away with the linksys was that my speeds on speakeasy.net are almost always at close to or just over 3 Mbps down and 700 Kbps up, which is what I am supposed to get, with the d-link I it was usually closer to 2 Mbps 500 Kbs up, and and on testmy.net they are also proportionatly higher than I was getting with the dlink. This could merely be coincidence though, I will find out when I get the d-link back in place and bypass the router completely. The leaves have gone off the trees, and given that I am on a wireless ISP that could have something to do with it as the reciever antenna is pointed thru some treetops to the tranmitter.
What ISP? Where you located? what equipment do they use?
I didnt know I could use another WRT54GL as a repeater as well, thats interesting.
Yup. I run a huge MESH network in a aprtment complex for one of my jobs I did. One AP is connected to the net, and then I run 12 buffalo AP's in a repearter mode, giving you constant connectivity through out the building. All running dd-wrt of course.
What is happening as far as my drop offs go is this:
Before the dd-wrt was installed I would get timeouts on web pages more often than I did with the d-link. I'm talking from my main wired pc here, not my laptop. I downloaded the easy link advisor from linksys and it would constantly report that the internet connection was down, and then walk me thru checking cables etc.. and eventually powering off the router and modem. Sometimes it would just fix itself, but most of the time I'd have to power off and and on again and it would be fine for awhile. It was strange because I would even log in from work using logmein.com and it I could run my desktop from work, where the easy link advisor would still tell me the connection to the internet was down, even though I was connected thru it!
Try downloading and running pingplotter. or opening up a dos promot. Start > run > type in command > in the dos prompt type in "ping -t google.com" and see if your having packet loss, it could be just that your ISP is having packet loss or your connection isn't stable on their network.
I think its more your ISP than it is of your router. Try connecting one of your PC's directly to the ISP's equipment and see how the connection is. Thus bypassing all of your equipment and showing you where the breaking point is.
That was when I decided to install dd-wrt. I am still getting disconnections, and since the ELA software no longer talks to the router I am just cycling the power to the router and all is ok for a while again. They do seem less frequent now though with the dd-wrt in place. Remember this is from a wired pc, the wireless has even more drop offs but I'm not going to worry about that until I get the wired ones working reliably. I am thinking its some setting somewhere I have to tweak, I've done the router slowdown advice on the dd-wrt wiki and I think that the frequency has decreased somewhat. I've also turned on syslog and am looking at some programs to decipher the output into something understandeable to me before it does me any good. The rflow connector looks interesting too but I havent looked into it yet.
I am thinking that I may have done something wrong in the setup page, and am waiting to hear back from xplornet about the screenshots I have sent them to see what they say. Their tech support is kind of vague though and I get the feeling that they dont know much more than me, which is not a lot.
I suspect they know there is an issue with their network and they are just playing dumb and pretending they don't know whats going on jus to mask the issues.
Since you are familiar with dd-wrt I will try to explain what I did do here when setting it up:
First there is the Internet Connection Type, which I have set to auto-DHCP as per my ISP's instructions,then I left the STP enabled, which was the default - is this ok?
Then under the Optional settings I changed the name from dd-wrt to linksys, I am assuming that this is ok.. I put the host name as xplornet, and domain name xplornet.com as per the ISP tech guys advice. I then left MTU on auto - all ok so far?
Now is something I'm not clear about.. under the network setup I have this:
Nework setup
Router IP
Local IP Address - 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.1.1
Local DNS - 207.179.130.2
Leave Gateway and local DNS blank. Those two settings are only for second APs that you run in WDS mode.
These settings are for your local network not your WAN network.
So say you have AP#1
local IP addy: 192.168.1.1
subnet: 255.255.255.0
gateway and local dns blank
then AP#2
local IP: 192.168.1.2
subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1 <=== note this is the IP address of the first AP
local DNS: 192.168.1.1 <=== note this is the IP address of the first AP as well
so again if your just running one AP then leave the last two blank.
At first I put in the gateway the IP address 169.254.1.1 that I got from the ISP, as it says to in the help page, but then changed it back to the gateway number I get from ipconfig /all thinking it might help the constant drop offs (it didnt) In any case, the gateway that shows up under the configuration type on the status page matches what the ISP told me no matter what I enter in here. Which gateway am I supposed to have in the setup page? In the configuration page it is showing 169.254.1.2 for the routers IP and 169.254.1.1 as the gateway, I take it this is how the outside world sees the router..
And in the local dns setting I put in 207.179.130.2 as per the tech's instructions, and put in 207.179.130.3 in as static DNS 1 like he said too. I told him that my ipconfig /all was also showing the number 192.168.254.2 and asked if I should enter that number, he said no it wasnt even one of theirs, but I think he may be mistaken as it is still showing up on the status page as well as the other 2, and they also all show up in ipconfig /all. I think I also used this dns nameserver setting when giving my pc a static ip address.
I'll attach the screen shots to this as I probably havent explained it very good.. perhaps you can see something that I am missing.
Now for the Network Address Server Settings (DHCP) in this section is where you'll put your ISP's DNS. You don't need to add your ISP's gateway info anywhere becuase your WAN port is running HDCP. So again just throw out the ISP's gateway info.
also if you want to try other DNS servers try:
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.6
those I belive are ATT dns servers but they are fast as hell and work great, they'll probably work better than your ISP's DNS servers.
- Josh
Glenstr
10-16-2006, 09:44 PM
What ISP? Where you located? what equipment do they use?
Try downloading and running pingplotter. or opening up a dos promot. Start > run > type in command > in the dos prompt type in "ping -t google.com" and see if your having packet loss, it could be just that your ISP is having packet loss or your connection isn't stable on their network.
I think its more your ISP than it is of your router. Try connecting one of your PC's directly to the ISP's equipment and see how the connection is. Thus bypassing all of your equipment and showing you where the breaking point is.
I suspect they know there is an issue with their network and they are just playing dumb and pretending they don't know whats going on jus to mask the issues.
Leave Gateway and local DNS blank. Those two settings are only for second APs that you run in WDS mode.
These settings are for your local network not your WAN network.
So say you have AP#1
local IP addy: 192.168.1.1
subnet: 255.255.255.0
gateway and local dns blank
then AP#2
local IP: 192.168.1.2
subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1 <=== note this is the IP address of the first AP
local DNS: 192.168.1.1 <=== note this is the IP address of the first AP as well
so again if your just running one AP then leave the last two blank.
Now for the Network Address Server Settings (DHCP) in this section is where you'll put your ISP's DNS. You don't need to add your ISP's gateway info anywhere becuase your WAN port is running HDCP. So again just throw out the ISP's gateway info.
also if you want to try other DNS servers try:
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.6
those I belive are ATT dns servers but they are fast as hell and work great, they'll probably work better than your ISP's DNS servers.
- Josh
My ISP is xplornet wireless, they provide satellite and wireless up here north of the 49th, and unfortunatly are the only player in town for me right now. Their website is xplornet.com (http://www.xplornet.com/whatis/wireless-tech.asp?lang=EN) and I think I am using the 2.4 Ghz subsciber module (have to double check) I could be using the 5.7 though, as I am quite close to the transmitter tower
I've done the ping many times, sometimes I can ping away forever to outside sites, or else it just times out. Same goes for inside addresses.
I just had to power down the router again, sites were still loading slow or not at all. I tried the names servers you suggested and when the router rebooted pages were loading fast again, now they are timing out again. I just rebooted BOTH the router and modem, now I am getting fast connection again. (The modem it self doesnt power down, there is a power cord running right to where it plugs in the router)
If I get time tonight I'm going to bypass it and leave it that way for a day or so. Right now it's off to pick a kid up at soccer...
thanks again for your help!
M/Q
10-16-2006, 10:18 PM
As umdivx mentioned try using the command tracert or pathping. When the system is running correctly run the command and keep track of the baseline and then when you are having the slowdown run it again and see where the problem is happening.
Glenstr
10-16-2006, 11:13 PM
thanks - I'll give that a whirl and go from there, hopefully it'll tell me something.
I do have a question now though, what would cause a ping (or tracert) to a well known site like google.com to continually time out, as it is right now, but the site loads in a browser no problem, in fact they are loading quite fast right now and I am reporting a speed of 2Mbs on speakeasy.net
umdivx
10-17-2006, 12:14 AM
thanks - I'll give that a whirl and go from there, hopefully it'll tell me something.
I do have a question now though, what would cause a ping (or tracert) to a well known site like google.com to continually time out, as it is right now, but the site loads in a browser no problem, in fact they are loading quite fast right now and I am reporting a speed of 2Mbs on speakeasy.net
Major packet loss for one thing. If your ISP is having interfearance issues or routing issues that's where I'd look first. Or if your ISP has limited upload conectivity to the outside world such as if they are using a T1 to the broadcast tower and they have 20+ users connected to that tower at the same time and if you all are online at the same time downloading or taxing the connection, basicaly flooding the pipe would also cause time out issues.
Or if you ISP does QOS and blocks ICMP packets. Lost of wireless isp's will block ICMP packets to mask issues they might be having. and if you ask them why they are blocking ICMP packets they'll give you a BS excuse like they are trying to prevent DDOS attacks.
- Josh
M/Q
10-17-2006, 06:26 AM
I thought I would just mention that you have to be careful about how fast a website loads. Remember that your browser has a local cache and it maybe loading the web pages from it instead of actually going out to the source and retrieving new source. So you would be best served by refreshing or going to a different web site.
As for SpeakEasy, that is a different story. What is your up and download throughput when you are having the slow down.
I reread the thread and I did not see anywhere if you told us the results of just connecting a computer directly to the Internet gateway and seeing if this still occurred?
Also Josh, I was making reference to the fact that I was staunchly against advertising DD-WRT, because of the possible implications to the forum and to the members. But why suppress a wonderful open source application when there is no response after nearly 4 months of emails and phone calls to various FCC departments. I got the complete run around on the phone and never had one answer to my many email/snail mail inquiries. I just wanted to make sure I mentioned that.
Glenstr
10-17-2006, 09:47 AM
Major packet loss for one thing. If your ISP is having interfearance issues or routing issues that's where I'd look first. Or if your ISP has limited upload conectivity to the outside world such as if they are using a T1 to the broadcast tower and they have 20+ users connected to that tower at the same time and if you all are online at the same time downloading or taxing the connection, basicaly flooding the pipe would also cause time out issues.
Or if you ISP does QOS and blocks ICMP packets. Lost of wireless isp's will block ICMP packets to mask issues they might be having. and if you ask them why they are blocking ICMP packets they'll give you a BS excuse like they are trying to prevent DDOS attacks.
- Josh
I am trying now to figure out why ping is not working at all, pinging within my LAN and trying to ping outside sites. Tracert or pathping wont return anything, so I am assuming its the same problem as ping returning timeouts. The name and ip addresses are resolved, everything just times out. This is an on again off again thing, so I am wondering if I have something amiss in basic networking components within XP?
Once I get this issue resolved I can then start looking at tracert and pathping results.
M/Q
10-17-2006, 10:04 AM
Just to make sure, you are not able to ping another computer on your local network and get a positive response? Do you have firewalls or any Internet security applications enabled and maybe blocking ICMP traffic?
Glenstr
10-17-2006, 11:15 AM
Just to make sure, you are not able to ping another computer on your local network and get a positive response? Do you have firewalls or any Internet security applications enabled and maybe blocking ICMP traffic?
I was not able to ping anything from my main PC, the XP firewall was turned off but the trend-micro one was enabled. I turned it off and can ping away now from that PC. I dont want to leave it off, so I'll have to find out what to put in the exceptions list and turn it back on.
Anyway, here are the results of some initial tracert and pathpings:
C:\Documents and Settings\Dad>ping oracle.com
Pinging oracle.com [141.146.8.66] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 141.146.8.66: bytes=32 time=122ms TTL=237
Reply from 141.146.8.66: bytes=32 time=126ms TTL=237
Reply from 141.146.8.66: bytes=32 time=123ms TTL=237
Reply from 141.146.8.66: bytes=32 time=120ms TTL=237
Ping statistics for 141.146.8.66:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 120ms, Maximum = 126ms, Average = 122ms
C:\Documents and Settings\Dad>tracert oracle.com
Tracing route to oracle.com [141.146.8.66]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
Tracing route to golflaclabiche.com [64.29.145.9]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 newpc [192.168.1.200]
1 192.168.1.1
2 * * *
Computing statistics for 50 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 newpc [192.168.1.200]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 1ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 192.168.1.1
100/ 100 =100% |
2 --- 100/ 100 =100% 0/ 100 = 0% newpc [0.0.0.0]
Trace complete.
C:\Documents and Settings\Dad>
From what I can gather here the tracert and pathping are being stopped at the router, not sure effect, if any, this may have on things in general.
I did manage to activate some things in the firewall that allowed pings (I think it was broadcast address outgoing & incoming) but the tracert timed out on everything until I disabled the firewall, then it returned one hop from the router and timed out on the rest. I thought that a site like Oracle may be blocking certain things, so I tried a site that I know isnt and get the same result..
M/Q
10-17-2006, 11:30 AM
For now , you may want to disable any firewall or Internet security application on all devices. You may have something configured incorrectly that is blocking, as you noticed from the Trend firewall.
Can you diagram the exact layout from the Internet device to the main computer you mention?
This thread is getting long and hard to read. I might also suggest that you do not need to requote the previous post as it then becoms even more difficult to follow.
Glenstr
10-17-2006, 12:30 PM
thanks, I was considering starting a new thread, but dont want this to die on the vine when it seems I am getting some headway. My setup is this, there is an antenna mounted on my roof, (that is aimed at the transmitter) from there an outside ethernet cable goes to a modem in my house, which then has another regular ethernet cable going to the another short ethernet cable/connection that has a power cord going to an ac adaptor and an ethernet connection to the router or pc. (I've attached an image from xplornets manual and a crude diagram), in my case my WRT54GL router. I then have my main pc, as well as two others connected via ethernet to the ethernet ports in the router.
The ISP has a more detailed explanation on http://www.xplornet.com/whatis/wireless_xpress_installation.asp?lang-EN
umdivx
10-17-2006, 12:42 PM
what operating systems are you running, if XP are you running SP2? Also if your running XP and not SP2 you could have a worm like sasser and blaster on your machine, those two worms can time out connections easily.
Also if your running XP, turn of the XP firewall, it does more harm than good, if your running a router like you are there is onl reason for running individual firewalls on each machine.
also are you running any security software like norton internet security or mcaffe? if so turn them off as well.
once you done all that see if icmp works again.
- Josh
M/Q
10-17-2006, 12:46 PM
Great information. I just have to check as this confuses me. Are you sure it is an Ethernet cable that runs to the antenna? I suspect that it is a coaxial cable. Other-wise there is another device involved that is not normally used here in the US. The reason this is important is that I am trying to determine where the ping and tracert end.
I am assuming that the 192.168.1.1 is the WRT54GL’s IP addr. What does the output of the ipconfig /all command look like on your computer? Forgive me if this information is already published, I tried to find it but did not succeed. Also what is the configured default gateway IP address on the WRT54GL? Can you ping that from your computer? If not that is where the connection drops.
Again, I can not remember, but have you tested all of the Ethernet cables? Have you tested to make sure the PoE adapter is not acting erratically? Sometimes, just one slightly poor contact can cause symptoms like this.
If anything please clarify what the cable is exactly that runs between the antenna and the modem. If that is Ethernet then we have another cable and link that could be suspect.
umdivx
10-17-2006, 12:47 PM
just re-read:
trend-micro one was enabled. I turned it off and can ping away now from that PC. I dont want to leave it off, so I'll have to find out what to put in the exceptions list and turn it back on.
I'd honestly uninstall it, internet security software on PC's is just pointless. Virus software is ok, I'd highly reocmend either NOD32 or AVG for antivirus. But internet security software like Mcafee, Norton, and trend-micro espceically their firewall software just screws up PC's more than it helps. I bet half the issues your having is that damn POS software in the first place.
I'd say disable it and run your pc for a week wiht out it on and see how that goes.
- Josh
umdivx
10-17-2006, 12:53 PM
Great information. I just have to check as this confuses me. Are you sure it is an Ethernet cable that runs to the antenna?
M/Q yes that is eithernet, what his ISP is using is a client/subscriber unit from Motorola, their canpoy equipment. Its a powe over ethernet setup. So instead of running long coax runs from a radio insdie the house and then to an antenna they just do POE.
When I was working In duluth we were starting to get more into POE setups with the radio and atenna built into one box, we were mostly working with Trango braodband stuff.
In that pic it just looks like they are using a shitty peice of cat5 and that why it doesnt look like cat5.
I suspect that it is a coaxial cable. Other-wise there is another device involved that is not normally used here in the US. The reason this is important is that I am trying to determine where the ping and tracert end.
Like I said already its the POS trend micro software that is probably screwing with everything. Being in the tech support buisness I find I get more issues with "security" software over stepping what they should be doing and causes more issues and headaches than it does to fix shit.
I am assuming that the 192.168.1.1 is the WRT54GL’s IP addr. What does the output of the ipconfig /all command look like on your computer? Forgive me if this information is already published, I tried to find it but did not succeed. Also what is the configured default gateway IP address on the WRT54GL? Can you ping that from your computer? If not that is where the connection drops.
Again, I can not remember, but have you tested all of the Ethernet cables? Have you tested to make sure the PoE adapter is not acting erratically? Sometimes, just one slightly poor contact can cause symptoms like this.
If anything please clarify what the cable is exactly that runs between the antenna and the modem. If that is Ethernet then we have another cable and link that could be suspect.
Also if you try connecting the cat5 from the subscriber unit directly to a PC with no routers attached, what is the IP address you get from your ISP?
- Josh
M/Q
10-17-2006, 01:07 PM
Josh I understand the CPE, I have many Trango units in place already. I am using one right now. If you look at the second image there is the antenna unit and then a modem. IMO the modem would not be required if the device on the roof was an antenna/CPE combination. At least as far as I have ever seen. All you would need is the Trango style unit running to the WRT54GL.
What keys me into this is that the PoE device is downstream of that modem. If it was used to power the antenna unit it would be upstream of it for PoE considerations as well as grounding considerations.
If you look at the WISP's diagram it mentions that cable from the antenna is Cable Exterieur Termine and not CAT5. The CAT5 cable that shows up later in the list.
umdivx
10-17-2006, 01:34 PM
I think is that he drew the second thing up and he's thinking the modem is seperate from teh antenna. (could be wrong though) but everything on his ISP's website is just copies of motorola pictures so I am guess thats what they are using.
I don't know french so I can't comment on the rest of it. (damn cunnooks ;) )
- Josh
M/Q
10-17-2006, 01:43 PM
Could be we will have to let them tell us. I would also be concerned that there is no ground attachment on that PoE device, at least none that I can see.
umdivx
10-17-2006, 01:53 PM
Also Josh, I was making reference to the fact that I was staunchly against advertising DD-WRT, because of the possible implications to the forum and to the members. But why suppress a wonderful open source application when there is no response after nearly 4 months of emails and phone calls to various FCC departments. I got the complete run around on the phone and never had one answer to my many email/snail mail inquiries. I just wanted to make sure I mentioned that.
My thoughts exactly, they've got bigger and better things to do than come after someone for running a third party firmware on a grabage band device in teh first place.
2.4ghz spectrum is already polluted enough, if someone is gonna complain let them. thats my take on the whole thing.
The advantages of firmware like DD-WRT give you is just plane awsome. It turns a $40 wireless router from buffalo tech and turns it into a $400+ router with wifi.
- Josh
M/Q
10-17-2006, 02:02 PM
I agree totally. I am just disappointed at the lack of response. I have had dealing with them on amateur radio issues and was taken care of. Must be overwhelmed as you suggest.
Glenstr
10-17-2006, 05:26 PM
thanks gents - lets see if I can get your questions covered off.
firstoff, not sure why that link showed up in french, I pasted the link from the english version. The site is bilingual so its easy enough to find again..
I am running XP with SP2 on all machines, trend micro pc-cillon on one and avast anti virus on the kids machines. I justed turned off both firewalls, on the trend micro and XP's. I kind of thought they were not needed anyway with the routers own firewall, but wasnt sure.
As Josh said, it is ethernet from the antenna/reciever to the "modem", not sure if its a "modem" per se, but it is mounted on my wall where the ethernet comes into the house. It was mounted in a place where it could be grounded, and from there another ethernet cable goes to the short cable with the as power supply which then plugs into the WRT54GL. When I get home I can get more details on it if that would help.
a quick question - why is it showing dhcp enabled = no when it is enabled on the router?
192.168.1.1 is the routers address, and I can ping it.
On the status page of the router it is showing this:
Connection Type
Automatic Configuration - DHCP
Login Status
IP Address 169.254.1.2
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.248
Gateway 169.254.1.1
DNS 1 4.2.2.2
DNS 2 4.2.2.3
DNS 3 4.2.2.4
Remaining Lease Time 29 days 17:09:57
The ISP told me that all my ip's are "hidden" behind a NAT, when I asked them why the DNS I set up in DYNDNS was not visible to the outside world. (I was trying to set up an ftp server) The IP address I get for my pc from dslreports.com/whois or dyndns.org is 64.141.118.148
umdivx
10-17-2006, 05:37 PM
thanks gents - lets see if I can get your questions covered off.
firstoff, not sure why that link showed up in french, I pasted the link from the english version. The site is bilingual so its easy enough to find again..
I am running XP with SP2 on all machines, trend micro pc-cillon on one and avast anti virus on the kids machines. I justed turned off both firewalls, on the trend micro and XP's. I kind of thought they were not needed anyway with the routers own firewall, but wasnt sure.
As Josh said, it is ethernet from the antenna/reciever to the "modem", not sure if its a "modem" per se, but it is mounted on my wall where the ethernet comes into the house. It was mounted in a place where it could be grounded, and from there another ethernet cable goes to the short cable with the as power supply which then plugs into the WRT54GL. When I get home I can get more details on it if that would help.
the "modem" is not a modem at all. All it is, is a power injector, to power the subscriber unit.
Your talking about this:http://forums.wi-fiplanet.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140 right?
you think thats the modem? or is there something else?
a quick question - why is it showing dhcp enabled = no when it is enabled on the router?
Becuase your running a static IP address on that pc. If you right click on your network connections icon on your desktop, right click on the ethernet adapter and right click on properties.
Then go to the TCP/IP settings of the PC there, you'll see that you have set your PC to static and not hdcp.
192.168.1.1 is the routers address, and I can ping it.
On the status page of the router it is showing this:
Connection Type
Automatic Configuration - DHCP
Login Status
IP Address 169.254.1.2
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.248
Gateway 169.254.1.1
DNS 1 4.2.2.2
DNS 2 4.2.2.3
DNS 3 4.2.2.4
Remaining Lease Time 29 days 17:09:57
The ISP told me that all my ip's are "hidden" behind a NAT, when I asked them why the DNS I set up in DYNDNS was not visible to the outside world. (I was trying to set up an ftp server) The IP address I get for my pc from dslreports.com/whois or dyndns.org is 64.141.118.148
Your ISP isn't giving you a "real" world IP address. Many ISP do this for a couple reasons, first to prevent you from running servers like FTP, WEB, ect.. also when you force users behing a NAT it also protects you from virus's and other vulnerablilities so you've got good and bad things about being behind a NAT.
More and more ISPs are moving to setups like this and it ****s. you can call them and see if they can give you a "real" world static IP address but I doubt they would.
- Josh
Glenstr
10-17-2006, 05:55 PM
Yes, I forgot that I set up static ip for this particular pc - should have realized that!
Npe, thats not what I was talking about, I realize thats the power supply in that pic, one end of that plugs into the router (or pc), what I call the "modem" may not be a modem at all, (I just assumed it was) is on the other end of the ethernet cable that plugs into what you call the power injector unit. It's about 6"x5", and about 1" thick, the ethernet from outside plugs in one end of it and the ethernet going to the power injector plugs in the other side. I'll attach a jpeg of it later tonight if I get time..
The ISP does offer static IP's for $10 a month, or the "business" package that costs $10 more than my residential package includes a static isp. And they did tell me that one was not available at this time as an add-on to my package...
M/Q
10-17-2006, 05:56 PM
I bet it is just an unmanaged switch as anything else does not make any sense. Typically an unmanaged switch or hub will pass PoE, but if this is the case I would get the PoE adapter upstream of the device and ground it right away.
As for the device, just a make/model or link would be plenty enough.
One last thing, are you masking the real IP addr or is the 169.254 addr what is actually configured? That is typically an address IP autoconfiguration address scheme used by MS. That has been confusing me as well.
Glenstr
10-17-2006, 11:34 PM
Here is a picture of it with the cover off, the ethernet cable on the left goes to the ac powered unit to the router/pc and the one on the right is from the reciever/antenna mounted on the side of the house. The middle one is grounded.
The 169.254.1.1 address is what the tech support from xplornet told me to put in if I had to enter in a gateway, he said it was the gateway they used. The 169.254.1.2 that shows up on the status page under the 'internet-configuration type-ip address" setting and I just assumed it grabbed that from the ISP somewhere..
There is also a picture of the power unit where it goes into the router.
umdivx
10-17-2006, 11:51 PM
yea the 169.xxx.xxx.xxx addressing is confusing as well. I am guessing that since the ISP is running nat, they figured that most of their customers will use a router of some sort and those routers run 192.xxx.xxx.xxx address's. So in order to prevent major double nat issues they are runing the 169.xxx.xxx.xxx addresssing.
I would have done it differently, probably run a 127.xxx.xxx.xxx or a 10.0.0.0 addressing scheme instead of the 169. but it sounds like this ISP is running by the seat of their pants and really don't know squat.
If they can't supply you withe a real world static IP address is sounds like the broadcasting tower you comming off of is a comercial connection of some sort, T1/T3, cable, who knows but it sounds like they can't get static IP's from the upstream providor they are using and in return can't provide you with one either.
Thats why I hate small mom and pop wireless ISP's. Don't get me wrong I thing the whole technology and the fact that you can get high speed internet to rural areas easily is great and all. But the way some of these companies run their shop and how they do business just pisses me off to no end.
But now back to you. that last pic you just attached, all that is, is a grounding block. it comes with all the motorla equipment, i've installed a crap ton of those in my day (and I aint that old either ;) ) but anyways, all that does is prevent your pc/router from getting damaged in teh even of a power surge/lighting strike.
The actual "modem" is built into the antenna thats attached to your home. The subscriber unit is a wireless radio/modem and an atenna built into one. Kinda slick as its extreamly easy to install and manage.
So anyways I think to fix your issues first just try not running any security software, firewalls, ect...
fix the correctoins on the router I talked about already
even try connecting your PC directly to the eithernet cable comming from the power injector and see if you can run fine for a few hours/days having the pc directly connected to the subscriber unit without a router at all and see if the issues still happen. If so you know its your ISP and not your equipment.
- Josh
M/Q
10-18-2006, 06:18 AM
Glad that is resolved. I knew it was not another device. I also now understand why it is downstream of the PoE injector.
I agree with umdivx, I might even suggest as a test remove the grounding device and see if tht might be the culprit due to faulty connections.
Also can you ping the 169.254.1.1 device? From your tracert results that should be showing up, unless they have ICMP traffic disallowed.
Glenstr
10-18-2006, 08:43 AM
Since I turned off the firewalls (other than the routers) it's been running ok for over a day, at least I havent had to cycle power to the router yet. I just logged in to it from work here and all is still ok so my fingers are crossed. It does seem odd that a firewall on one machine could wreak enough havoc with with a router that other machines could not connect though, if that was the case.
Either all the stars were lined up properly last night or this router just seems to be working better. I turned on the laptop last night and ran it for about an hour connected to the network with no problems. Thats a first! I was even very surprised that I could play a .vob file from my main pc in the basement with the dvd player on the laptop with no problems. I didnt think that was possible over a 54 Mb connection. (Maybe those d-link wireless media players do work?!)
I dont have a problem turning the XP firewall off, but the trend micro on my pc scanned incoming & outgoing email and I think that is part of the firewall.. The other PC's I have Avast running on because its free (my company pays for my trend micro license because I use that pc to remote log into my databases) so I turned them off too.
Depending on how robust the dd-wrt firewall is, I may just leave it with that, or as an alternative dust of one of the P3's I have kicking around (and my linux skills) and see how practical it is to have a linux firewall in front of the windows boxes. I'll have to do some reading up on that..
M/Q
10-18-2006, 08:52 AM
Being a Systems Admin, I feel that you should be abiding by their policies. Especially if you are remoting into their facility.
Now that you have it working, you should be able to manipulate that particular firewall application to allow your internal network to be considered an exception. It is just a matter of changing just one configuration and seeing if it works. Then try again until it does.
Glenstr
10-18-2006, 09:04 AM
I can ping, tracert and pathping both the 169.254.x ip's now
My connection to work is secure thru citrix and I am not to concerned about the local firewall affecting that whether its on or off. They bought a block of trend micro pc-cillon licenses so that those that use home pc's for company work can keep them virus free, I had the firewall portion turned on because I figured it was better than the XP one, but I dont think its neccesary now with the dd-wrt firewall in place.
On another note, I have the syslog turned on to high, should I keep it at this, and if so, is the logfile self truncating or does it have to be manually cleaned out once in a while?
M/Q
10-18-2006, 09:12 AM
Do you mean on the WRT54? It will self truncate if required. It uses processor cycles to log everything, after awhile you may want to drop it down to medium if the logs get repetitive.
Glenstr
10-18-2006, 09:23 AM
yeah the syslog on the dd-wrt firmware. I was looking at some 3rd party utilities to decipher it as well, and if it doesnt seem to be showing anything new I'll drop it down.
umdivx
10-18-2006, 09:36 AM
I'd just shut of the logs, I personally don't run them. If someone really wants to port scan me then so be it, all it does if fill up the logs with BS. I don't need to fill up my logs becuase of that.
Glad to hear everything is working for you know.
- Josh
Glenstr
10-18-2006, 09:55 AM
I probably will shut the logs off tonight if all is still ok.
Just had a quick boo at the Buffalo G54 unit, I can get one of these for about the same price as I paid for the WRT54GL (maybe less on ebay) and from what you said and I read these work very well with the dd-wrt firmware. I might just pick one up to play with and configure it as a repeater, or swap it with the linksys and configure it as a repeater or another access point..
Glenstr
10-19-2006, 11:29 AM
Well it has been a couple of days not without having to reboot the router, so it looks ok now. I still dont quite understand how firewall restrictions on one pc could affect the other pc's connectivity, but as long as its working I'm happy!
I'd like to thank Josh and M/Q for their help and patience with this issue. This is by far the most helpful board I've seen in a long time!
thanks again guys!
M/Q
10-19-2006, 11:34 AM
Thanks Glen,
It could be one of many things. Without a server, peer to peer network using MS OS's requires a Master Browser election and there maybe some contention going on as to which one that is. That, along with the firewall blocking traffic might have lead to network issues. Check the event logs on the computers to see if there was any indication of such problems.
umdivx
10-19-2006, 11:34 AM
Well it has been a couple of days not without having to reboot the router, so it looks ok now. I still dont quite understand how firewall restrictions on one pc could affect the other pc's connectivity, but as long as its working I'm happy!
I'd like to thank Josh and M/Q for their help and patience with this issue. This is by far the most helpful board I've seen in a long time!
thanks again guys!
Glad to help. I've been doing wireless, tech support, pc support for a while now, well ok not a long time maybe 6/7 years now so I know how to be paitent and work things out.
Plus I get bored at work so I spend alot of time on forums ;)
- Josh
sequoia1
10-30-2006, 03:49 PM
The ISP told me that all my ip's are "hidden" behind a NAT, when I asked them why the DNS I set up in DYNDNS was not visible to the outside world. (I was trying to set up an ftp server) The IP address I get for my pc from dslreports.com/whois or dyndns.org is 64.141.118.148[/QUOTE]
Here is some fun for you Glenstr ...
MY ip address is 64-141-118-148 ...
so is EVERYONE who is using xplornet pointing at the BR. Tower ... you know where it is :)
Now, I have read the thread from the beginning and Josh (I think it was) is right .. they KNOW there is a problem. They play dumb and make is seem like it is OUR problem.
Just to help you with what I have been able to figure out in the past 8 months ... (I was originally pointing at the hilltop tower, with only the 900mhz system until the BR tower came online in June) ... for some unknown reason the Linksys routers do not appear to be agreeable with xplornet modems. They say there is not a problem; but I have 3 brand new linksys routers ... and they all have a habit of dropping the DNS ... and it takes many, many attempts to get them back online.
The dlink ... NEVER has this problem.
IF you do a google search of "our" ip address ... you will notice that we are blacklisted; blackballed; blocked ... by many different services.
I personally have been dealing with Richard at Spamcop trying to resolve the blacklisting ... but nothing can be done until the machine with that IP address has cleaned up their act.
I have suggested to xplornet that they shut down the tower for "service" while they attempt to find the culprit ... they still claim that is MY ip; and only mine ... so I guess now I want to know why you have it?? and why one of the guys at work has it; and why everyone coming off the BR tower has it?? LOL ...
So the suggestion that some of your problems are being caused by a worm, virus, etc ... it is true; but you, like me may not actually have control of the machine which has the issue ... tell whoever you know on our tower .. make sure they are running spyware, adware, virus protection ... make sure they know how to use it ...
Tired of being blocked; tired of xplornet pretending it isnt "their" problem.
Sequoia
M/Q
10-30-2006, 04:08 PM
Did either of you read the SLA from the WISP. I suggest that the public IP address is theirs and they are not willing to give public static IP addresses to the customers. So, they run private static IP addresses on their entire network, and only require public IP addresses at their perimeter. It is very common to do with smaller WISP’s as they do not have to purchase that many public IP addresses that way. But, it is difficult and more than likely impossible to use a service like DynDNS.
Does the WISP even offer public static IP addresses? If not and the SLA mentions this, you then are without any real leverage.
umdivx
10-30-2006, 06:09 PM
If you looking for a way to remotely connect back to your home pc's from the road and can't get a public IP address check out
http://www.hamachi.cc/ its a cool little service, runs almost like a vpn service but similar to how sykpe works, hamachi connects to a server to announce connections so if your at work or on the road with a laptop you can connect to hamachi and then do file sharing and such with the program.
Hamachi is big with video gamers because you can run a LAN type game with hamachi instead using internet based servers.
I know this won't fix being able to run a full FTP server but its the next best thing.
back back to the ISP thing, is yes they are restricting you via nat, its cheaper to get a T1 or some industrial wired connection and then share it via wireless to all the subscribers, exactly what Sequoia was saying.
and the way it sounds is like they are the only high speed ISP in the area?
- Josh
M/Q
10-30-2006, 07:38 PM
Good point Josh,
I use LogMeIn all of the time and they actually own Hamachi as well. Much easier to use that Remote Desktop and all versions are secured even before the username and password are sent. That is the part I like.
umdivx
10-30-2006, 10:12 PM
The only part I don't like is that the session is initiated through a server but if you don't have a real world IP address then its pretty much your only option. I do ssh tunneling myself into the buffalo router running dd-wrt. But hamchi is just as good.
- Josh
Glenstr
10-31-2006, 11:50 PM
The ISP told me that all my ip's are "hidden" behind a NAT, when I asked them why the DNS I set up in DYNDNS was not visible to the outside world. (I was trying to set up an ftp server) The IP address I get for my pc from dslreports.com/whois or dyndns.org is 64.141.118.148
Here is some fun for you Glenstr ...
MY ip address is 64-141-118-148 ...
so is EVERYONE who is using xplornet pointing at the BR. Tower ... you know where it is :)
<snip>
Sequoia
Interesting - I would think that we must be on the same tower then, but BR tower is not ringing a bell here...
In any case, good info and I'll have to keep an eye on this. Supposedly within the near future we'll have another wireless ISP offering service, and Telus has indicated that DSL will be here within the year...
As for remote access, I have been using the Logmein free version for the past week or so and it has been working fine for what I need it for.
Just had another, albeit rarer issue where I could not connect to the outside world, after it has been running for over a week. Did a hard reboot and I can connect outside again and As I write this again I am running into the situation where I can't ping the outside world but can load web pages no problem.
I think I found out what was causing this before, but I just returned from a week long conference and my brain hasn't adjusted back to normal yet, and I just haven't thought a lot about the router.
Interesting about linksys and xplornet though, and even though this one seems to be working more or less ok now, I think I'll try a buffalo router.
Glen
M/Q
11-01-2006, 05:46 AM
I was going to ask about the LinkSys problem as it was somewhat confusing. The DNS is hard coded typically unless you have it configured to automatically accept DHCP information. I would not recommend that approach, unless specified by the ISP.
umdivx
11-01-2006, 11:56 AM
the latest revisions of linksys equipment has had some quality control issues and I have seen alot of the newer linksys ap's fail alot, So I tend to not use them much any more. I highly recommend the buffalo ap/routers
- Josh
Glenstr
11-01-2006, 01:42 PM
the latest revisions of linksys equipment has had some quality control issues and I have seen alot of the newer linksys ap's fail alot, So I tend to not use them much any more. I highly recommend the buffalo ap/routers
- Josh
I'm thinking seriously of trying a Buffalo - any great difference between the WRH 54G or WRH 54GS models as far as flashing with DD-WRT goes?
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