smcwbr14-G installation
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From: Jeff on 26 Jul 2008 18:43 Lem wrote: > Jack (MVP-Networking). wrote: >> Hi >> You do not need any CD. Connect a computer via network cable to one >> of the LAN ports (Not the Internet side). >> Use your browser to log to the Router's menu (using its default IP >> and password as describe in the manual) and configure the Router to >> work as an Access Point. >> The principle is described here. >> Wireless Router as an Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html >> Jack (MS, MVP-Networking) >> >> "Jeff(a)unknown.com" <JeffMalka(a)orthohelp.com> wrote in message >> news:uQ3GqC17IHA.1080(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >>> I have an old smcwbr14-G router that I want to install on an XP PC >>> and then >>> use it as an additional wired access point but I can no longer find >>> its installation CD. I went to their website to see if I could >>> download it but >>> all I could find to download is the manual. >>> >>> Is it possible to install a router without its setup CD? >>> >>> I reset it pressing on the reset button. >>> When I connect it (Ethernet cable) with my PC and go to >>> http://192.168.2.1/ >>> (from the manual I downloaded) all I get is that the browser cannot >>> connect. >>> >>> Anything else I can do? >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> Jeff >>> >>> >>> >> > > It's not clear from your posts how you have things set up, but here's > some info that may help you figure out what's going on. > > On any single local area network (LAN), no matter whether some of the > computers are connected via wire and others via wireless, all must be > in the same subnet in order to communicate properly. The subnet is > configured with a combination of the IP address and the subnet mask. > Moreover, each computer must have a unique IP address. > > In most home LANs, including yours, the subnet mask is set to > 255.255.255.0. What this means is that the first 3 octets of all IP > addresses on the LAN *must* be the same, while the last one can be > anything from 001 through 255 (although 255 generally is reserved for > "broadcast" messaging). > > Thus, if the IP address of your router (the one that you use to access > the router's configuration utility) is 192.168.1.1, all of the other > computers on the LAN should have IP addresses between 192.168.1.2 and > 192.168.1.254. The "default gateway" in this example would be > 192.168.1.1 because the router *is* the gateway between the LAN and > the Internet. > > In general, home routers include a DHCP server that automatically > provides IP addresses to all of the computers connected to the router > (it doesn't matter if they are connected via wire or wireless). A > router's DHCP server should be configured to allocate IP addresses in > the same subnet as the router. > > You should have only one DHCP server on any given subnet. If you > forgot to disable the DHCP server of the second router, that may be > the cause of your problem. If the second DHCP server is allocating > IP addresses in a different subnet, some computers will not be able > to communicate with others, but should be able to get to the > Internet. On the other hand, if you have two DHCP servers allocating > IP addresses in the same range, that easily could result in two > different computers obtaining the same IP address. That, as you have > discovered, will not work. > As far as your wireless connection is concerned, you should get to the > list of wireless networks (e.g., View Available Wireless Networks > > Change Order of Preferred Networks) and delete all of the entries. Then go > back to the View Available Wireless Networks screen, refresh > it, and then login to your wireless network. This should take care > of any lingering incorrect wireless configurations. Thank you very much. As you probably guessed from my panicked emails losing internet access was quite stressful for me. So, now that it is working I'm going to leave things alone for a while - at least until tomorrow ;-) I have the main router setup to only accept access from certain MACs. Does this influence whether I would be better allowing the network to automatically set IPs or assigning them myself. I think I recall reading that assigning the IPs (or the defrault IP?) myself results in more rapid connections. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer in such detail. I do not know how people managed before the internet ........ Jeff
From: Lem on 26 Jul 2008 19:06
Jeff(a)unknown.com wrote: > > Thank you very much. As you probably guessed from my panicked emails losing > internet access was quite stressful for me. So, now that it is working I'm > going to leave things alone for a while - at least until tomorrow ;-) > > I have the main router setup to only accept access from certain MACs. Does > this influence whether I would be better allowing the network to > automatically set IPs or assigning them myself. I think I recall reading > that assigning the IPs (or the defrault IP?) myself results in more rapid > connections. > > Thank you so much for taking the time to answer in such detail. > > I do not know how people managed before the internet ........ > > Jeff > > MAC address filtering doesn't provide much, if any, additional security. It can be a problem if you are trying to add another computer to your LAN and forget that you have configured MAC filtering. Aside from that, whether you use MAC address filtering isn't related to whether you have IP addresses assigned manually or automatically. I suppose using static IPs rather than automatically-assigned IPs might be faster, but I doubt you'd notice the difference. The main issue I've seen where static IPs help is where you have a resource, such as a printer, that is directly connected to the network (i.e., not connected to a computer and shared). If computers on the network are configured to print using a printer port with a fixed IP address and the printer's IP address changes (because, e.g., it was turned off for a relatively long time and in the interim the router's DHCP server allocated that IP address to a new computer that connected to the LAN), you'll have a problem. -- Lem -- MS-MVP To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm |