How Do I Connect Multiple Computers To ADSL?

[kmcgrath]

Hi,

I have recently applied for Swiftel ADSL, just waiting on Telstra to activate it and for Swiftel to send me my modem.

My question: What is the best way to set up 2 or 3 PCs on a network on ADSL? I have the NetComm nb1300 modem, a hub, network cards and cabling up the wazoo.

Since the modem is a router as well, can I plug it straight into the hub, or do I need to go through a PC?

Anyone got a setup that works well? Any suggestions appreciated!

[Andrew]

The best way to network ADSL for 2-3 computers would most likely be to connect the modem itself into the hub.

This is what I am using at the moment, and it is working fine. I'll just give you a little information on how to set it up:

1) Plug the modem into "out" slot located on your hub. Connect your PC's in any other slots, preferably in order. (numbers 1,2,3 etc).

2) Install your modem, by typing http://192.168.1.1 into your Internet Explorer or Netscape browser.

3) Insert the settings given to you by Swiftel, and save settings.

4) Set all your computers IP's to "Automatically Detect" by going into: Control Panel > Network and Dial up connections > Click on the network card that you are using.

5) Go to properties. Click on "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" then click on "obtain IP automatically" and "Obtain DNS automatically"

6) Run your browser. The connection should be found automatically.

If you have any problems just reply to this thread.

[kmcgrath]

Thanks for the info mate, I'll give it a go as soon as I'm up and running.

Just one questions though, the cable from the modem to the hub, do I use a regular or crossover? (I usually have to use a crossover in that port)

Thanks again

[cathelest]

Ok i had some questions lat month (im new to adsl) well, i baught a 8 pirt skymaster hub/switch and a billion modem and router, usb and ethernet connections in 1, the router will only work vi ethernet, just connect the line to your modem/router, then the modem router to the hub switch, then all pcs to the ub switch,

on every pc on the network set up the tcp/ip settings, by right clicking on your network icon the desktops and selecting propertys, highlight tcpip and click propertys, for xp user, right click on my network places, select propertys, highlight and rightclick propertys on the local area network icon, then go to the tcp/ip settings,

you should know your mdems ip address, usally found in the manual of ur modem, used for setup purposes ect,

find your modems ip, and if it is for example , 192.168.1.XX

xx= what ever,

then select each pc to use the same ip from that pool, so for pc 1, 192.168.1.2, pc 2 192.168.1.3 ect..

but dont use the .1 , as its used for your router,
the subnet mask will be automaticly filled in
now for default gateway type in your modem/routers ip,

now for the primary and secondry dns, type in the swiftels server address which can be obtained from swiftel,

that should get every pc networked and adsl sharing enabled on all the pcs,

if you wanna set up a server, there is a setting in your router, virtual server or something similar, just route port external 80 and internal 80 to your pcs ip, you wont be able to get to your site from inside your lan, unless u use your local ip,

any probs ur welcome to post

[Andrew]

Use regular cable

[stealthy1]

Hi, I have an NB1300 modem and internal LAN setup as follows:

[ Swiftel ]
.........+|
.........+|
.........[ NB1300 ]
..................+|
.........[ 10/100 switch ]
..................+|
.........[ Linux firewall ]
..................+|
.........[ 10/100 switch ]
..................+|..........+|+++++|
..................+|.........................|
..................[ PC1 ]..........[ PC2 ]

PC1 is - Linux / Windows
PC2 is Windows

The reason I chose to use the switch between NB1300 and firewall was so that I could let the NB1300 dialup automatically to establish internet connection with Ethernet connection to firewall to avoid having to use any Linux PPPoe login s/w - so as long as Internet is alive from NB1300 my firewall justs listens/forwards via Ethernet connection. Another reason is that last time I connected my previous NB1300 directly without any switch in between, the NB1300 died mysteriously but Swiftel were very quick to send me a new one virtually the next day.

If you use this setup, you don't need to change many of the NB1300 default settings.

Assuming NIC1 is connected to NB1300, default gateway for NIC1 is NB1300 ip address (default 192.168.1.1), NIC1 needs an address like 192.168.1.10 and NIC2 is connected to your LAN switch and ip should be say 192.168.0.1.

On your workstations, your DNS server only needs to be 192.168.0.1 assuming you setup DNS
on firewall at this ip address - if you're workstations can't connect to Internet then firewall rules need to be checked/changed etc or you may be using the wrong DNS server address.

Hope this will help you or anyone else.

[kmcgrath]

Cool, I received the modem and I have both PC's browsing fine. My only problem is that I can't get the PC's to notice each other (ie can't get a LAN happening).

I have the Modem and both PC's plugged straight into the hub, am using XP, and am completely stumped...... any suggestions?

[kmcgrath]

Ok, I got it all fixed. Stupid *#$@^% firewall software built into my antivirus. Turned it off, punched myself in the head a few times and its all good!

[stealthy1]

May I ask which XP firewall your using?

I've tried Mcafee Firewall 4.0 which I believe is the latest.

However, I find that it gets quite annoying sometimes when it keeps popping up and it complains about some internal XP specific service trying to access the NET... I find it a little too simple in it's admin of the firewall rules... unlike firewalls available for Linux of various flavours you have more control of what comes in/out but with the Mcafee one, I could not find a way to manually configure a new rule - it seems to want to configure new rules automatically when it detects an "unknown" activity and when you're in the middle of something that's quite important you just don't want to have to configure a new rule on the fly...

Sometimes, it gets so annoying when for some reason you can't access the NET so ya just ALLOW EVERYTHING temporarily until you're done then FILTER EVERYTHING again...

That's why I switched to the dedicated firewall system... Well, Mcafee only cost about $49 or so unlike Symantec's firewall aimed at the same audience which costs a little more... I haven't tried it though so I don't know what it's like... Maybe someone here does...

[EDIT:]

I would also recommend you or anyone else BUY a decent ANTISPYWARE SOFTWARE... there are FREE ones but I reckon using these (in my opinion) may be a security risk as well since who knows what the program does under the bonnet - I'd rather spend some money on software that comes from a reputable source - so getting these free ones I reckon defeats the purpose...

[Sir Galahad]

i have found that using the nb1300 as is out of the box has some firewall protection but ports 21(ftp) and 80 (webpage)are open or only closed not actually stealthed.even after trying to turn them off in the advanced settings

i have recently enabled bridge mode (ie the nb1300 becomes a straight through modem no protection)

and then i downloaded a ppoe over ethernet protocol add on for microsoft windows 98,2k
set it up and installed nortons firewall
went to sygate and symantec security check on the web and found that the nortons has stealthed all my ports now my pc is even safer than using just the nb1300 basic firewall feature

if anyone wants some info on this technique just drop us an email
i am using win2k pro with nortons personal firewall and antivirus

[orca]

I have had some good success with Sygate Personal Firewall. While its free for personal use, I don't see a risk as they are an established security vendor. If you want you can pay to upgrade to the PRO version for additional features.

In particular the latest release of the free version allows you to manually add specific rules, which I also found really useful.

[stealthy1]

Sir Galahad,

Have you found any problems with the NB1300? I find that sometimes when writing a change to the flash the NB1300 stops responding totally - ie. the RDY LED stops flashing altogether even giving it some time... then I just turn it on/off and all is ok and the change is actually saved.

Now, I'm getting comflicting info on connecting the NB1300 in bridge mode to Swiftel... first of all, when I originally joined, I searched thru this Forum and found references about successfully enabling this mode to connect to Swiftel. However, one of the tech support guys at Swiftel told me that if I did enable bridge mode to connect to Swiftel, I would not be able to successfully get an Internet connection due to the design or infrastructure of Swiftel's ADSL network.

And, as I've mentioned in previous posts, my NB1300 died immediately upon enabling this mode. I would like to try again but I fear that if the NB1300 dies again, I will not be able to get it replaced as I've already been given a new replacement by Swiftel.

Now, out of curiosity, what exact settings in the Web Admin did you change?

ON A SIDE NOTE:

Does anyone know if anybody on the Internet can get access to the Web Admin on the NB1300? Or, is this unreachable by default factory settings? I have no other way to test this.

I'm not entirely fond of Web Admin of ANY system that only uses normal HTTP connections - call me paranoid but I feel alot safer using alternatives like HTTPS - well I'll probably query Netcomm about this issue and let ya know what I find unless someone already has this info at hand.

[orca]

Hi Stealthy,
I am using the nb1300 in bridged mode & it seems to be fine.

I am occasinally haveing a problem whe I cant access the internet for a few minutes, however all status reports indicate the link stayed up during this time. The NB1300 does repoet it lost its primary DNS. I am assuming at this stage its somthing to do with my setup rather than using the router in bridge mode. (I am using a Netgear FM114P as the router behind the NB1300.)

Also I believe that Others cant access the ROuter in web mode unless you enable that feature. Certainly my tests indicate my setup is secure.

[Cam]

Hello,
I'm using an Alcatel SpeedTouch-Home Modem and would like to connect multiple computers simultaneously to the Internet.
The Speedtouch Home does not include a PPPOE client built in - so there is nowhere to put a "username and password" ( so I'm currently using the winxp pppoe )

Is there any way that we can ALL connect without having to purchase multiple IPs? The swiftel sales staff assured me that additional IPs wouldnt be necessary with the Speedtouch-Home modem.

Previously we had additional accounts with Bigpond ( $11 per month/ per user :( ) and all was fine apart from the price !

Can it be done? or do I need to get a SpeedTouch Home Pro ?

This website seems to show how the Home can be upgraded to PRO. http://users.bigpond.net.au/muga/

What do you think ?

Thanks
Cam.

[DSL_Tech]

Originally posted by Cam
Hello,
Is there any way that we can ALL connect without having to purchase multiple IPs? The swiftel sales staff assured me that additional IPs wouldnt be necessary with the Speedtouch-Home modem.


You can use something like Wingate (http://www.deerfield.com/products/wingate/) which will make the computer your ADSL modem is connected to into a gateway for the other computers on you LAN.

There is other software available that does a similar thing, have a look at http://www.tucows.com/proxyserver95_default.html - there are a number of shareware and freeware proxy and gateway programs.

[orca]

even Microsoft internet connection sharing? Shouldn't this work as well?

[Cam]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but both solutions offered require me to leave my computer on. - this isn't an option.

I have a NET1008 8-port N-Way Ethernet Switch with both computers coming off that. With Bigpond they ran independent of each other.

I am guessing the only alternatives are:

1. Update the modem

2. Purchase a second IP.

Thanks.

[Cam]

Hi All,

Well, I "patched" my SpeedTouch Home modem.
( instructions here: http://users.bigpond.net.au/muga/ )

And its all working now ! :D
- no need for connection sharing software !

My speedtouch home now has the features of the PRO version which includes the PPPOE client. - therefore allowing for all computers to access the Internet directly through the one modem.

Thanks.

[rock]

Does anyone want to buy my SpeedTouch Home (hacked into Pro mode)? $100
Worked like a dream for the last two years.

[Darkr]

Why do you want to sell it ?

[rock]

I want to go wireless at home and want to buy Vigor 2600we from http://www.warcom.com.au/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=271

My SpeedTouch Home is in perfect condition, (but will come without instructions or original packaging).

[elboro]

thats nice. wouldnt mind 1 myself:D