Suggestions for hooking up cable internet

[jtr1962]

As I mentioned in this thread my brother will be moving back in with us soon, and he has gotten used to high-speed Internet. As a result, we need to hook up to RoadRunner. I'm planning to use the cable in my bedroom for the cable modem, and from there want to have several PCs sharing the same Internet connection. I have several questions:

1 ) Is a router and network cards in each PC the most effective way to do this?

2 ) Is a hardware firewall good enough as I really don't like running antivirus or other similar software on any of my machines. These types of software always seem to cause stability and other problems, making the cure worse than the disease. Please offer suggestions regarding hardware firewalls as I'm clueless in that area.

3 ) What is the easiest way to physically disconnect a PC from the Internet when I'm not using it, and what problems will this cause? I do not want to have my machine "online" all the time for a variety of reasons.

4 ) Does anyone know if RoadRunner offers dynamic IP instead of static? This one thing will go further protecting me from hackers than any hardware or software firewall would.

5 ) Is there any cable ISP out there cheaper than the $40 per month RoadRunner will cost? Although I plan to split the cost with my brother for now, and with my mother after he leaves, the $20 I'll be paying represents a 100% increase over what I'm paying now, and I'm not exactly rich.

6 ) Any experiences good or bad with Road Runner, and what can I expect in the way of connection speed? Will it usually be at least twice as fast as I get on dialup, and does it regularly connect at the advertised "50 times faster" than 56K?

7 ) Does Road Runner offer web space as part of the deal? I'm going to need this soon to host pictures when I start selling on eBay.

8 ) Any advice on the pitfalls of networking PCs will also be appreciated as I'm clueless in that area.

 

[Mercutio]

1. Yes, a network card and router is the most effective way to share the connection. Windows ICS is kinda lame.

2. Hardware firewalls are probably a better idea than software. Software firewalls are complicated to set up and can cause compatibility problems with other software.

Most home-type routers are NAT boxes that aren't set up to pass any ports internally. Better ones also do Stateful packet inspection and offer you the ability to write your own firewall rules. Both of these are good things.

3. The easiest way, if you're using 2000 or XP, is to right click on the little connection icon you can put down in the system tray, and choose "Disable".
If you're using 98, it's probably easier to create hardware profiles with and without the NIC. If you're using linux, there's a pretty simple command line program "ifconfig" that can bring your connection up and down.

4. Most broadband ISPs charge extra for static addressing. It's not a problem.

5. WideOpenWest might be cheaper, but in general, you pay the local cable monopoly whatever they tell you and you like it.

6. Check the DSLreports forums.

7. See #6. If not, I bet you could work something out with Handruin or Buck.

8. Buy router - something from Linksys or Netgear. Run cable as appropriate. Plug Cable or DSL access device into WAN port on router (you MAY have to attach the access device directly to a PC to configure your ISP's stupid software - e.g. I couldn't use Verizon's SMTP server until I did that on mine - but when you're done, the device goes on the WAN port). Leave the PCs set to obtain IP and DNS info automatically. Assuming your ISP doesn't do something stupid like map your access to a particular MAC address, or require PPPoE, you're done.

 

[time]

1 ) Is a router and network cards in each PC the most effective way to do this?

Yes. In my experience, it is much better than using one of the PCs as a gateway with ICS (Internet Connect Sharing) or Sygate Home Network. Note that you do not want a combined DSL modem and router.

2 ) Is a hardware firewall good enough as I really don't like running antivirus or other similar software on any of my machines. These types of software always seem to cause stability and other problems, making the cure worse than the disease. Please offer suggestions regarding hardware firewalls as I'm clueless in that area.

I think it's good enough. Personal firewall software can be defeated by some software, plus it's a PITA and almost never works as well as people think.

3 ) What is the easiest way to physically disconnect a PC from the Internet when I'm not using it, and what problems will this cause? I do not want to have my machine "online" all the time for a variety of reasons.

Switch it off. Or, right click on the 'Local Area Network' tray icon and select 'Disable'. Or, if RoadRunner requires a login, you could tell the router to log out. You could also configure the router to only permit access between certain times. But the easiest way is probably to pull the network cable out of the modem.

NAT (Network Address Translation) through a router effectively hides your PCs from the Internet, so I don't know that you need to worry that much about staying connected.

4 ) Does anyone know if RoadRunner offers dynamic IP instead of static? This one thing will go further protecting me from hackers than any hardware or software firewall would.

Even if you physically disconnect, you may find you still get the same IP address back when you reconnect. Don't sweat it. It really won't help a hacker as long as you have some kind of firewall or NAT.

6 ) Any experiences good or bad with Road Runner, and what can I expect in the way of connection speed? Will it usually be at least twice as fast as I get on dialup, and does it regularly connect at the advertised "50 times faster" than 56K?

I can't comment on RoadRunner specifically, but most people would be pretty unhappy if it was only twice as fast. You might find your upstream speed is capped (cable tends to have many more channels for downstream - partly for legacy purposes). If it was limited to say, 128kbps, that's still four times faster than the 33kbps maximum of dialup uploads.

Downloads, on the other hand, should be many times faster. My cable connection tops out at about 5Mbps - but that's not often. When things get busy, this can drop by several times, but I'd still expect at least ten times dialup throughput.

However, latency can be quite high on cable networks, presumably due to their shared nature. As well, being in Oz, I find speed to be limited by site bandwidth etc. SF, for example, is fairly slow for me - at its worst no faster than dialup.

 

[Clocker]

I've been really happy with Wideopenwest.

But, you may want to just buy a router with wireless capability and see if there are any idiots in your building that are unknowingly sharing their internet connections. THAT would be cheaper. :roll: IIRC, you're in an apartment??

C

 

[Clocker]

Also, with regard to disabling the network connection, you can create a shortcut to the lan connection to put on your desktop so that it is easily renabled after you disable it as Merc mentioned. It's easier that going into the network connections panel and then re-enabling it.

Another option is to buy a router that has scheduling built into to. That way you can specify when the internet connection is enabled. I think my Netgear WGR614 (802.11g + 10/100) has that but I never use it.

Finally, WOW offers tiered packages so you can pay based on what internet speed you want. I've found the Advanced Internet package (2MB down/300kb up) to be great for my needs.

C

 

[Tea]

What you want, JTR, is a Smoothwall. Easy, cheap, very secure. Quite a few of the members here use them, so you will have a ready-made support netwrk if you need help. Here is what you do.

Step 1 Find an old PC - just about anything will do: a Pentium-133, a 6x86-166, whatever you have lying around. You can get away with less, but it's nice to have 16 or 32MB RAM, and an 850MB hard drive. Helps if the BIOS allows you to boot off CD-ROM. You do not need: floppy drive, CD-ROM, keyboard, mouse, or monitor. (You will need to borrow a CD-ROM to install off).

Step 2 Fit the old PC with two network cards. (Any speed - 10Mb/s is enough, faster makes no difference. You won't need drivers for them, but try to select ones that are reasonably commom.)

Step 3 Go to www.smoothwall.org and download SmoothWall Express 2.0 Final . It's an ISO file. Burn it to CD using Nero's built-in ability to make ISO disk mages. (Or probably any other CD burning software.)

Step 4 Plug the cable modem into the wall, plug the Smoothwall into the cabe modem, plug your network hub into the second NIC on the Smoothwall.

Step 5 Boot off the CD and follow the prompts. This leaves you with a very secure firewall/router/DHCP server that cost you nothing at all and works better than the $AU200 hardware firewalls you can buy from companies like Linksys. It's easy to administer, and you don't need a sceen because you can do everything from one of your other machines, just using a web browser.

Step 6 Set all your machines to "auto" - i.e., no fixed IP addresses, just get everything from the DHCP server (which is the Smoothwall).

Smoothwall is free. It's a locked-down Linux version with everything stripped out except the firewall/router stuff. It runs on any old PC. You can run as many machines as you like off it. (There is probably a limit, but you will never reach it.) Your ISP does not even know that you have multiple machines hooked up, let alone care. Outside traffic (the Storage Forum we server, for example) has no way of knowing that it is talking to one of (say) 5 different machines behind the Smoothwall, it sees the Smoothwall's IP address and that's it. Similarly, your entire network (so far as the outside world can tell) has a single MAC address (the address of the red NIC in the Smoothwall).

 

[sechs]

Not running antivirus software on each computer is irresponsible. Remember when viruses spread via floppy disks? The Internet does an even better job.

 

[Mercutio]

I disagree. All AV software is buggy, slows a computer down, and unnecessary for a responsible and sensible person.

Yes, I'm serious.

The day I have to install AV software on my home PCs is the day I'll stop using them.

 

[Clocker]

I disagree with Tea. You can get a 802.11g dual channel 108mbps wireless router with 4 10/100 ports for as little as $37.

A Smoothwall is not worth all the set-up hassel and lost reliability, IMO. Plus the extra space and power that it takes up is another negative.

 

[sechs]

I disagree. All AV software is buggy, slows a computer down, and unnecessary for a responsible and sensible person.

All software is buggy, slows a computer down, and is unnecessary for a responsible and sensible person. Windows is a prime offender here.

If you want to keep your computer free from malware, then leave it in the box!

 

[jtr1962]

Thanks for all the ideas so far. It doesn't seem as daunting as I thought at first.

I am seriously thinking about using one of my old P200MMX boxes as a Smoothwall (thanks, Tea! ). I have to buy the NICs, cable, and hub regardless. If it doesn't work out I can always buy a purpose-made router later. I downloaded the ISO yesterday (it took 2:20 ) and I'm browsing the docs. As for the PC I'll be using, it will have a monitor/mouse/keyboard simply because I already have a 4 to 1 switchbox and one open channel. I'll otherwise strip the machine down to it's bare essentials, probably remove the unneeded case fan for noise purposes, and use one of my old spare several hundred MB drives. If I have a spare 56K modem I'll see if the netwroking works with my 56K connection before I have RoadRunner hooked up.

I'm in a private home, Clocker, not an apartment, but the wireless idea might work anyway in theory. Houses are pretty closely spaced around here as the lots are 40'x100'.

I agree with Merc on the A/V software. I haven't seen one yet that doesn't cause more problems than it solves. Just by avoiding questionable sites and not opening SPAM seems to practically eliminate the possibility of virii. I haven't gotten anything yet in the four years I've been online. I think my brother picked up something once. I'd say spyware is a bigger concern but AdAware seems to mostly take care of that (I usually find a few questionable cookies whenever I scan).

 

[Tea]

By the way, you don't have to know anything about Linux to install and use a Smoothwall. (I am living proof of that!) But some background will help.

The basic idea is that you have two NICS.

The RED NIC is the one that connects to the danger zone (i.e., your cable modem and thus the Internet). It gets it's IP address from the cable service via DHCP. You don't even need to know what the address is (though it's easy to find out if you want to).

The GREEN NIC connects to your network. In your case, it will go to your hub. Everything connected to the green NIC is safe. You choose the IP address for the green NIC when you setup the Smoothwall. It can be anything in the non-routable ranges. For example:

192.168.0.1
192.168.1.1
10.1.1.1

Any of those will do.

Also in the setup process, you will be asked for an address range for thte Smoothwall's DHCP server to use. These are the addresses that the Smoothie will hand out to your machine, your brother's machine, and so on. These also need to be non-routable addresses, and they need to be within the same subnet as the green NIC.

So, if your green card is 192.168.0.1, set this to something like:

192.168.0.100 - 192.168.0.200

( Or, for the other examples, 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.200 and 10.1.1.100 - 10.1.1.200.)

That will give you 100 possible IP addresses on your internal network - I doubt that you'll need more than 100 machines at once!

Any other little tops? Yup. One flaw in the Smoothwall install process is that there is no way to specify which of the two network cards is the red and which the green. Mostly, it seems to select the NIC closest to the AGP slot for the green, but not always. The best workaround for this is to use two different network cards - for example, a Realtech and an Intel Ethernet Express. This way you can tell which one has become the red and which one has become the green. (If you don't have two differents cards handy, don't worry: you can guess it. If you guess wrong, the network doesn't work, the Internet doesn't work, something is obviously wrong. Just swap your network connections over in the back of the Smoothie.)

(Written yesterday, posted today. Is it still relevant? Whatever, I'll post it anyway and hope for the best.)

 

[time]

I have to buy the NICs, cable, and hub regardless.

No, you don't. A router like Clocker suggested (I have two of that model in front of me right now) already includes a 4-port switching hub.

Unlike DSL, Cable usually needs a separate modem, although there are integrated units available.

You don't want to buy NICs until you have decided whether or not you want wireless. BTW, routers don't have to be wireless! A garden variety router with 4 LAN ports should cost even less. A D-Link DI-704P includes a router, SPI firewall, 4-port switch and even a parallel port print server for AU$108 (slightly more for USB).

Unfortunately, I think Smoothwall's time has largely passed. It's still useful for mid-size applications, but comparing it to pocket-sized multi-function routers is like comparing a Compaq sewing machine with a modern laptop.

Tea, if you haven't already tried a Netgear WGR614 + WG311 setup, it's time you did.

 

[Tea]

Ahh, but the thing with a Smoothwall is that you are in complete control of it. Perhaps it's largely familarity, but I can do things with a Smoothie that I wouldn't have a hope of doing with a box full of firmware. (It probably is largely familiarity!)

And, of course, at a net cost of zero, it's hard to beat for value.

And it lets me use up some of that old hardware that Tannin is so ridiculously fond of. Hell - I'm lucky there is no SCSI support in Smoothwall (or at least there wasn;t the last time I looked) - otherwise the Big Bald T would press that pair of beautiful old 4.5GB Mark 1 Seagate X15s into service in the office Smoothies - and I wouldn't be able to hear myself think.

What brand of hardware firewalls are we using? Oh yes: Linksys. I don't like them. Guess we wil get rid of the existing stock - there are two or three lying around - and look at your advice again after that.

Mind you, now that Mutiah and the Soup Nazi have become competent Smootwall jockies, I'd have to do some retraining too. Not to mention retraining me[/i[.

 

[blakerwry]

A linkys/dlink/netgear router will pay for itself because you'll spend more on electricity and air conditioning to counter act the heat in a year on your smoothwall box compared to the purpose built gateway.

 

[Mercutio]

I'd rather have the control, myself.
That and every so often you hear something about the "black boxes" doing someone either monumentally stupid or insecure. They certainly aren't perfect.

On recent example comes with the Netgear 54g router, which was found to have an external port 80 backdoor with an unchangable default password. They claimed to fix it with a BIOS update, but all they really did was hide the backdoor better and add some more characters to the password.

 

[Buck]

My first choice for a home network would be one of those small purpose-built boxes that Blakerboy mentioned. Looking at most of the new homes being built around me, the cable connection (most people are using Cable) is in a closet. It is real handy when you can hook up a cable modem and the wireless router in the closet, and neatly hang them on the wall. Now for a larger, more commercial environment, I would be tempted to try Smoothwall.

 

[blakerwry]

For my parents I built a coyote firewall.. it is basically like smoothwall, but stripped down to run from a floppy instead of requiring a hard drive...

Offers a GUI installer that can run from windows for setting up static, DHCP, PPP, or PPPoE setups. Supports QoS, SPI, etc. Web admin as well as SSH administration. Based on 2.4 kernel.

Less moving parts, less power consumption. I'm running it on a 486/66 w/ 24MB RAM, but it can be run on less.

 

[Clocker]

On recent example comes with the Netgear 54g router, which was found to have an external port 80 backdoor with an unchangable default password. They claimed to fix it with a BIOS update, but all they really did was hide the backdoor better and add some more characters to the password.

Merc- IIRC, the one you are referring to is a Linksys WRT54G. Just wanted to clairify that incase JTR wanted to know which model to avoid. I'm not aware of any issues like you described on the Netgear 54g routers.

C

 

[Mercutio]

Nope, Linksys fixed their stupid security flaw shortly after it was discovered. Netgear's was discovered a week after that one, and to my knowledge still hasn't fixed their "fix" yet.

 

[time]

On recent example comes with the Netgear 54g router, which was found to have an external port 80 backdoor with an unchangable default password.

That would be the WG602 Wireless Access Point, which is neither a router nor a firewall. As it would not be directly connected to the internet, the security breach isn't terribly serious. The weakness doesn't apply to the current version 2 of the product.

The Linksys WRT54G, on the other hand, is a router that can be remotely administered from the internet. Unfortunately, disabling remote admin didn't work, thereby meaning anyone could use the built-in backdoor password to crack into it!

Whether or not it was worthwhile for Netgear to release an interim fix with a changed password is a moot point. It might have worked if people hadn't immediately posted the new password on slashdot. :-? I assume there will eventually be a full fix, but obviously it's going to take more than a week or two. :roll:

 

[jtr1962]

Since my brother is mostly moved in I'm getting close to the point where I need to decide what to do. Wireless is out-the components are way out of my price range and I'm less than thrilled with the idea of my Internet browsing being broadcast to the whole world, or at least anyone with the know how to decipher the signal. For example, I occasionally design devices that are/may be patentable, and I don't need those to fall into a competitor's hands. Anyway, I'm left with two choices-Smoothwall or a hardware router. Any particular hardware routers with a good bang for the buck?

My second problem is routing cable. The router and cable modem will be in my bedroom. I want it to look neat so I'm thinking of having a wall plate with several CAT-5 jacks. I'll plug short CAT-5 cables from the router into these jacks. The wires which connect to the inside of the wall plate will run up the wall, through the attic, and drop down in the other rooms, each of which will have it's own wall jack. From there the other PCs just need to run a CAT-5 cable to their NICs. Any problems with this setup, especially with signal attentuation issues? The longest cable run will be maybe 50 feet. I don't want to do some thing sloppy like just run one cable from each PC to the router, and snake it along the baseboard or over doors. There's no carpeting here to run cables under so that's out as well. Any ideas here?

 

[i]

Having done some rearranging, my trusty OpenBSD firewall has had its parts confiscated for use elsewhere. As a result, I've been using a D-Link DI-604. My brother-in-law uses one. So do my parents. It's cheap and functional.

It's available pretty much anywhere you'd expect. Even the local office supply store chains seem to have them. Prices vary a bit (even between those two links I included).

I've found it to be trouble-free. I plugged it in and went through the settings (configurable using a web browser). That was about 10 months ago. I've unplugged it in order to reset it a few times after the ISP network service went down, but that's about all.

It gives you a firewall, and the routing setup you need to share a single IP address (dynamically or statically assigned) across 4 devices.

 

[i]

Oh, the one thing I do miss sometimes about using a dedicated computer as a firewall (I will be switching back to OpenBSD as soon as I have the cash to replace some components):

These hardware firewall/routers use DC power. And that apparently means there's no cheap way for the manufacturers to include accurate time clocks in these things (no easy-to-monitor 60Hz I guess). In the case of the DI-604 (and I presume other similar devices), you can configure it to check a local NTP time-server if you want to. I think it has to check every minute or something to keep its clock accurate. This appears to use a miniscule amount of bandwidth. It just strikes me as being a bit funny that this approach is easier for them than incorporating a built-in chronometer of some type. Time server goes down, or is not configured? No problem at all. It's just the logs (if you enable them) probably won't have the correct time.

So ... if you're in to analyzing log files to see who's been knocking on your Internet door, that's one reason to consider a dedicated computer setup like Smoothwall (or OpenBSD, if you are looking for an adventure). You get a lot more log analysis ability with a full-fledged computer as a firewall, starting with the simple fact that the timestamps are more likely to be correct.

 

[jtr1962]

Thanks, i. That seems very inexpensive and with quite a few features. I priced some cable, wall jacks, and other stuff at cyberguys. Anyone know what is the difference between CAT5 and CAT5e other than speed (and price)? Are they wired the same? Which is more universally compatible?

Regarding the Smoothwall, would there be any problems putting one in between the cable modem and router later on for any an extra layer of protection? Would this even make any sense? I still like the idea, but I really don't have the time right now to set one up.

P.S. Sorry if I'm asking any stupid questions. As I said, I know next to nothing about networking, and because of the time frame in which I need to get this done I haven't been able to do my usual thorough research. I've spent most of the last week helping my brother move his stuff and cleaning up to make more room.

 

[Fushigi]

Cat5 is fine for 100Mb. Cat4 usually works fine for 100Mb as well. Cat5e should be able to handle GbE. I don't think there's much difference other than the # of twists/foot.

You can add as many layers of firewalls as you want. While they may not offer much additional protection, they do provide the potential of protection from flaws/exploits in the other FWs you may be using. They will, though, add a little extra latency. Nothing noticeable when surfing; maybe noticeable when doing online gaming. Bad for Voice over IP.

 

[jtr1962]

I called to have the service activated today and picked up the self-install kit. The cable modem has the option of either a USB or an Ethernet connection. Since both my USB ports are in use I chose Ethernet. Unfortunately, I'm not able to connect because the RoadRunner software wants to set my NIC to the DHCP protocol and my card appears unable to accept that. The card is dated 1994 and I got it from a friend along with other "goodies". Is the age of the card a problem here or might it just be a driver problem (I used Windows default drivers for the card)? I was hoping to at least have my computer on broadband today, and then I would do the networking when I order the rest of the parts.

 

[mubs]

Shouldn't have anything to do with the card or drivers. The DHCP client has to be enabled.

IIRC, you're running W98, right? In the TCP/IP properties for the network card, in the "IP Address" tab, make sure "Obtain IP Address Automatically" is selected. You may have to enter DNS information in the "DNS Configuration" tab.

The self-install kit should have had detailed instructions. If you need more info, just ask!

 

[jtr1962]

The self-install kit just has software that checks if the system meets minimum requirements and then sets everything up automatically. There are no detailed instructions whatsoever to do anything manually. The part where it hangs up is when it tries to set my network card to use DHCP. I click yes, the program supposedly sets the card up to use DHCP, and then it asks to reboot the system. After rebooting the same problem occurs. I've been through the same routine about a hundred times already, and I've tried several sets of drivers for my NIC. Time Warner apparently assumes everyone doing a self-install is an idiot, and supplies no info on what to set up manually.

I did make sure "Obtain IP Address Automatically" was selected in the "IP Address" tab. As for "DNS Configuration", that was disabled. I have no idea what info to enter if I enable it.

What you're basically telling me is I'm going to have this problem no matter what NIC I use.

Never mind what I just typed above. The stupid self-install program runs via IE. They make the windows look like a normal executable program so I had no idea IE was running. Since I'm running IE with a proxy server I need to have Proximitron running for my connection to work. I just ran the self-install after I typed the above 3 paragraphs and apparently I have a connection.

I'll finish setting up the account and see if everything works.

 

[jtr1962]

I tried to activate my account via RoadRunner's online activation and it hangs up at the system requirements part (undefined is in all the fields). The activation program is apparently too stupid to get some basic info (O/S, memory, IE version) about my machine, and there are no buttons to skip that part. I HATE wizards. The easier they try to make things the harder it gets when something goes wrong.

I'm seriously thinking of just forgetting the whole thing at this point and staying with dial-up. :x

 

[jtr1962]

I had my account activated by tech support rather than relying on RR's buggy activation software. Everything seems up and running(and fast!).

Should I expect any further issues once I set up the router?

No comparison to dial-up. Even though one of my regular download sites is capped at 20KB/sec that still beats 56K by a huge margin. I'll try some unbandwidth-limited sites late tonight to see what kind of speeds this connection is capable of. Ebay and a few other sites seem easily 10X faster

 

[i]

Should I expect any further issues once I set up the router?

I'm tempted to say "no" just because ... well, because.

That said, things can take a bit of patience to get the router working simultaneously with your computer(s) and the cable modem. Not usually that bad though. (And you face the potential for a brief RoadRunner squaredance regardless of the type of router you select.)

Your cable modem is probably now trained to look for the hardware/MAC address used by the network card in your computer. When you disconnect your computer, and place the router in between it and the cable modem, the cable modem is now seeing the MAC address of the router's (outside-world-facing) WAN port. The cable modem may object to that change initially.

Usually just leaving everything powered and running, then unplugging only the cable modem for a couple of minutes, and then plugging it back in will solve this issue. The cable modem may reset itself after having been powered off and go looking for the first MAC address it comes across ... which will now be the one belonging to your router's WAN port, instead of the one belonging to your computer's network card. Problem solved.

If that doesn't work, then there is a function within most hardware firewalls (like that DI-604) to actually fake a different MAC address for its WAN port (referred to as "cloning"). That means you can change the WAN port on the hardware router to use the exact same MAC address as the one on your computer, and thus fool the cable modem that's now looking for that particular MAC address.

Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if you can just plug in your firewall/router and go. Cable modems these days seem a bit more flexible in terms of the number of MAC address they'll communicate with on the LAN side.

 

[i]

Oh, and once your firewall/router is in place, you'll need to hit the "Release & Renew" in winipcfg on your computer. The DHCP server will have changed from being a RoadRunner DHCP server, to the one in the hardware firewall/router. Again, that's assuming you're going for something like the DI-604.

 

[jtr1962]

With winipcfg would I use "Release" followed "Renew" or "Release All" followed by "Renew All" ? I assume in both cases I select "Fast Ethernet Adaptor" from among the choices in the drop down box.

 

[jtr1962]

BTW, thanks all for the assistance. :cat: I think I would have spent many more frustrating hours on the phone with tech support otherwise.

 

[i]

With winipcfg would I use "Release" followed "Renew" or "Release All" followed by "Renew All" ? I assume in both cases I select "Fast Ethernet Adaptor" from among the choices in the drop down box.

Try Release All/Renew All. To be honest, it's been a long time ... I'm not sure what the difference is.

 

[Fushigi]

Release just tells the DHCP server you're no longer using that IP address. Essentially you're dropping TCP/IP on that interface. Renew asks the DHCP server to renew your address for whatever the configured lease time is (typically 1 day). Typically, just hitting Renew or Renew All is sufficient as when it talks to the DHCP server (now your router), the DHCP server will ship down the new address and overwrite any old, incorrect address.

And don't worry about the lease time - when the time (1 day or whatever) is up, the PC will auto-renew it's lease with the DHCP server. It'll typically even get the address back after rebooting.

Finally, if you migrate to W2K or XP, WINIPCFG becomes a command line util: IPCONFIG and you use command line parameters. Ex: IPCONFIG /RENEW

 

[mubs]

Glad you're up and running, jtr, and sorry I was away for a while. But I think i and Fushigi have you covered better than I could.

Fast Internet access is like a narcotic. Once you have it, it'll be excruciating torture to go back to dial-up again.

 

[jtr1962]

I just tried a couple of online connection speed tests. Naturally, the closer the server is to NYC the faster the connection. Results varied from 711 Kb/Sec to 2679 Kb/sec. The latter result is about 60 times what I usually got on dial-up. Depending upon the site and time of day my download speeds vary between 35 KB/sec and 335 KB/sec. Upload speed seems to be around 300 Kb/sec.

BTW, Time Warner added Roadrunner as part of a package deal so it only costs about $36/month extra above and beyond the normal cable TV charges. Split 3 ways between my mom, me, and my brother my share is $12. I was paying $9.95/month for 56K before this.

Unless the rate is raised dramatically at some time in the future I don't see myself ever going back to dial-up.

 

[jtr1962]

The router came today along with three new network cards. Setup was easy. First I took out the old NIC (10 only) and put in the new one (10/100), installed the drivers, powered down the cable modem, powered it back on, and restarted my machine. No problems-my connection was fine.

Next I setup the router following the instructions. Once again no problems. The last hurdle will be to see if my brother's machine can get the Internet through my router.

I also want to set everything up so I can transfer files between machines. I suspect that will be the hardest part after physically installing the wire (I have to go up into the attic-yuck :crap:

As a consequence of my new NIC I think my upload speeds are a bit better. In some speed tests yesterday I was getting 2800 kbs down/~250 kbs up. Today the downstream speed was about the same but the upstream speed hit about 350 kbs. I think RoadRunner advertises 3 mbs down/384 kbs up. I'm coming pretty close to that. Tweaking my RWIN setting two days ago increased my download speed by 10 to 15%.

Only after being on cable for a few days am I seeing how pathetically slow dialup is (or was). :rant: I did a 105 MB download last night in about 5 minutes. :thumbright: That would have taken something like 5 and half hours on dialup.