Configuring Linksys Router a different way
Picture the scene. You get a nice shiny new Linksys router, and try to follow the instructions, and it doesn't take long before they are suggesting changing your DSL modem settings. What gives?
Here's what they are trying to do -- make it so that only one machine on your network creates IP addresses for your network. I imagine it's a hair faster to do that than to have both machines doing the same job, translating the IP on the routed packets.
The Problem
However, what happens if your router dies or otherwise is removed? Now you have to recall what you did to your DSL modem and redo it. Not too hard, but you might not be the person sitting at the computer performing this operation.
On one setup, I wasn't able to get the recommended changes to work at all! Then, I had no choice -- I had to set up the Linksys router to work with my existing DSL modem's setup.
Another disadvantage is that if you hook it up the recommended way, you can no longer log into your modem directly via a web interface. If you need to adjust something on the modem, you'll need to unplug the LAN connector from the router and plug it directly into a computer.
The Solution
The DSL modem is already configured to act as a DHCP server and hand out a new IP address to your computer when needed. The actual IP address that is seen on the internet is probably completely different than what your computer is using locally.
The router is designed to do the same thing. I wanted to set it up so that the router got the IP address from the modem, then the router creates temporary IP addresses for the rest of my home network (which includes wireless devices).
The trick to getting this to work is to put the router on a different subnet. So, when configuring the router, I needed to force it to a IP address that didn't interfere with the modem: 192.168.2.1.
That's it, as far as what differs from the normal router setup -- everything works great! And if I need to pull the router out of the loop, I don't need to mess with the modem. The only downside is that it might be affect performance slightly, but if it has, I cannot tell the difference.
Here's what they are trying to do -- make it so that only one machine on your network creates IP addresses for your network. I imagine it's a hair faster to do that than to have both machines doing the same job, translating the IP on the routed packets.
The Problem
However, what happens if your router dies or otherwise is removed? Now you have to recall what you did to your DSL modem and redo it. Not too hard, but you might not be the person sitting at the computer performing this operation.
On one setup, I wasn't able to get the recommended changes to work at all! Then, I had no choice -- I had to set up the Linksys router to work with my existing DSL modem's setup.
Another disadvantage is that if you hook it up the recommended way, you can no longer log into your modem directly via a web interface. If you need to adjust something on the modem, you'll need to unplug the LAN connector from the router and plug it directly into a computer.
The Solution
The DSL modem is already configured to act as a DHCP server and hand out a new IP address to your computer when needed. The actual IP address that is seen on the internet is probably completely different than what your computer is using locally.
The router is designed to do the same thing. I wanted to set it up so that the router got the IP address from the modem, then the router creates temporary IP addresses for the rest of my home network (which includes wireless devices).
The trick to getting this to work is to put the router on a different subnet. So, when configuring the router, I needed to force it to a IP address that didn't interfere with the modem: 192.168.2.1.
That's it, as far as what differs from the normal router setup -- everything works great! And if I need to pull the router out of the loop, I don't need to mess with the modem. The only downside is that it might be affect performance slightly, but if it has, I cannot tell the difference.
Labels: computers
