Anybody Have A Netgear RT314 With @home cable?

[Salvador]

Hi,
Does anyone have a Netgear RT 314 router with @home cable service?

I'm about to buy one and I want to make sure that it will work well for my situation.

I plan to network 2 desktops and one laptop off a single IP address. The @home service in my area only gives me one IP address and each additional one costs $6 a month.

Also.. @home is configured in DCHP, but I've been able to configure it statically as well. I had it configured statically when @home had a major national meltdown a months back. Which way should I be running it?

So.. If anyone has this setup, please give me your thoughts. I thought that going with a router was the best way to go in my situation. Comments?

TIA,

Salvador

 

[PrinceofWands]

I actually have a Linksys, but from everything I've seen the Netgear should be fine or better. As to which way to run it's up to you. I prefer static, but they're starting to do rapid node splits in my area so I'm having to call and get my new settings every month or so which is a pain. You should be aware that once you're set static you may not be able to use DHCP without tech supports help. The DHCP servers seem to forget about you if you don't log in once a week or so.

 

[Pyxis]

I just got a Netgear RT314 a couple of days ago and it works fine with Comcast@Home. I have two PC's networked together. So you should have no problems setting up your network

 

[dirtboy]

I have a RT311 on Comcast@Home without any router related problems.

 

[Salvador]

I guess I should've been more specific. I have ATT@home.

It does appear that I will not have any problems and it does seem like a good router to go with.

Thanks for the replies.

Sal

 

[vash]

I had my RT314 on @home service a while ago and it worked fine. You may need to do a few things to get it working properly.

1a. Call your support people and tell them you upgraded the computer and it has a new NIC card you would like to use instead. They'll have to reset their system for your new MAC address.

OR

1b. Unplug the cable modem from your NIC and put it to your router. Get all machines connected via TCP/IP (RT314 has built in DHCP server) with new IPs and "take" the MAC address of the NIC card that initially had the service.

Most cable providers hook the cable modem to a specific MAC address. Your router can spoof this MAC address, so the modem won't know any difference. It takes only a minute to get this done, but it works just fine afterwards.

vash

 

[Wik]

Att@home here does not use the mac address on a NIC. I can hook up any NIC or router to mine and it will always connect. The Netgear is a great router and the new firmware supports auto updating and port ranges. Ater you have the network setup and your settings made in the router, turn off the power to the router and then cycle the power on your cable modem. After the modem links to the net turn on the router.

 

[Salvador]

Thanks for all of your help!

Sal

 

[Muadib]

I just got the SMC7004BR router, thanks to this hot deal. It's a great router, at a outstanding price.

 

[Dunbar]

Just got cable yesterday, my RT314 works great with ATT@home. Just type in "mail" (on top) and your HST name (on the bottum) on the first page of the wizard and you're set. You will need to get the fully qualified mail and news server names. To do this hook the modem directly up to a computer, type "mail" and "news" as the respective server names in [Outlook] accounts. Then go to a DOS command line type "ping mail" and "ping news" and write down the server names. Use those in Outlook, reboot and you're set. The only problem with mine is I'm having a little trouble getting the ICMP filters I added to work.

 

[Bglad]

Just for your setup info, @home ip addresses are not static. You are assigned an ip with a time limit, don't know what the limit is. But if you leave town or something and don't use your computer, you may come home and find that your ip has been given away and you have a new one. As long as you use it daily, it will usually stay the same.

 

[BuckMaster]

Im using a Cable Modem and also have been using the Netgear RT314 for a few months. It kicks Ass! If you run into any problems while setting it up e-mail me and Ill try to help or just make another post for help.

Good Luck!

Bglad, Your right when I signed up with @Home they gave me a static IP address. Dont ever loose the paper work they give you. It has your static IP, the node your on ect.. But when I hooked up my Router I went to DHCP. This ran great for 4 months till one day I had ISP problems and had to switch back over to a static IP again because of trouble with @home servers. I was able to go back to my static IP after 4 months and use the same number again.

 

[Engineer]

The RT314 on Insight@home.com (ATT) has been the most solid router that I've tried. Better (IMO) than Linksys and SMC (tried them both).

Good Luck

 

[BuckMaster]

What Engineer said. Just because hes a KENTUCKY WILDCAT fan!

 

[Salvador]

I think I have the choice of running static or dynamic with ATT@home. Which would be better with the RT314 router and why?

When @home had a major DHCP server meltdown a few months ago, I got a tech that was willing to set me up statically. He told me to go back to Dynamic after the servers were back up (I did), but I still have the static settings.

It doesn't matter with one computer hooked up to cable internet as far as I can see, but I'm wondering if there would be a benefit to going back to static if I am going to run a WAN.

Thanks again,

Salvador

 

[Dunbar]

The probelm with static is if the connection goes down and they hand out your IP to someone else. Even with DHCP the IP is pretty static.

 

[BuckMaster]

Salvador,

That samething happened to me with @Home! I was using DHCP and running my router and had to switch over to a static IP address. I was also told after this was fixed to switch back over to DHCP. Regardless you can use both with the Netgear Router because I did. I myself prefer DHCP.

Im not trying to sell Netgear Routers its just I have one so I know what it can do and I really love mine. But by far a know it all with it!

They just came out with a 8 port Router now! Im jelious! I cant remmeber the model off hand. But the 4 port will be more then enough for most.

 

[Salvador]

Thanks! I have the RT314, I just don't have it set up yet. I think it will be more than fine for me.

Sal

 

[bomb99]

I have the RT314 and I think it's crap.
Maybe it's just me, and my friend, but the router seems to lag from time to time. I never had that problem when I used a win2k server with NAT. I thought using a router might save a little electricity, but I don't think Netgear is good, cuz my friend have a RT311(??) and he drops from starcraft very often. Since I got the RT314, I started dropping too, which never happened beofore. Did I configure the router wrong?

 

[BuckMaster]

bomb99,

Thats very odd. Most people love there Netgear RT314 encluding myself. Mine flys! If your sure the router and everything is setup right in your Network Neighborhood you could try flashing your routers firmware to the last version. Also is StartCraft the only game it drops from?? I have heard of some people having troubles using it along with GameSpy but I havnt had any troubles with mine. But again I updated the firmware not to long ago for my router. Not held responsible for the below link.

NetGear FirmWare

 

[bomb99]

thanks for the input.

I just got fed up with it, after I dropped and cost my friends the game, I went and unplugged my router and plugged in my server again, and the connections works fine for the rest of the night, no drops and even faster download speeds. My friend have the RT311 and he drops whenever I drop. When I use my WIN2K server with NAT, I don't drop when he drops. I'll try the firmware upgrade like you suggest and test the results.

Anyone know what kind of processor is in those router? I'm thinking that the cost of the lag might be that the router can't handle the load. I usually have my other comp download movies from the @home news servers. @home news server run at full cable speed, I would estimate about 6 to 7 mbps. So maybe the router can't handle such a big load?

 

[Dunbar]

On my laptop I do notice web slugishness when downloading a movie and surfing. I don't know if that's the slower processor/HD etc or the router. I test out really well (~3Mbs) and I'm not even using all the bandwidth. On my Athlon system it flies, the pages load up almost instantly.

 

[wonkajunk]

Having the same damn probs with the dropped connections. Know what? No one has a TRUE solution or ANSWER. The only thing that has come semi-close to solving my prob is this website and program:

http://edcheung.com/automa/gm.htm

Then this of course is just a pill to solve the headache of the otherwise disease.

WwWonka

 

[bomb99]

everyone was saying that NETGEAR is good and no problems, glad i'm not the only one with that problem.