Setting up a LAN with internet using a router - questions.

[mooojojojo]

hi. so I and the guys in my LAN want to get broadband which will be distributed by a stand-alone router.

the switch of the LAN is a DLink 8 port 100mbit. the router I'm looking at is a D-Link too (maybe that will ensure a smooth experience?). the router is - http://www.d-link.com/products/?pid=62

the internet is not DSL or cable but directly given by ethernet cable. now I know people who have setup their LANs by adding a second NIC to one of the PCs and leaving that PC on at all times. the company is not really agreeing with sharing the internet in such a manner but as I understand there's nothing they can do, and it works (with a second NIC in a PC).

is there any reason why it wouldn't (possibly) with a stand alone router like that? they (stand alone routers) are not really common in personal use in my country (Bulgaria) and no one can tell me for sure..

if it works - how do I hookup and setup the router?
- I reckon that the internet cable goes in the port on the router (I guess that there's a separate port for this and not just any port on tthe router/switch, right?)
- then I hook up the router from one of it's switch ports to the switch we already have with a straight or cross-over cable (which one?).
- so now hooked up, what do I do about setting it up? IPs and all? our network already runs IPs 192.168.0.1 to 5 - we can keep those right? but how does the router get its IP or how do I enter the confiruration console (if that's the way for setting it up) - is there like USB connectivity or maybe by telneting to it when it's already on the network (if so - how do I know where to telnet)?

sorry if those are some really dumb questions but any help will be appreciated

 

[FoBoT]

yes, that should work fine

the internet ethernet goes into the "WAN" port , then just plug your switch into one of the local ports (if your switch has an uplink port, you can either use a crossover cable into a normal port, or a straight thru into the uplink port)

then hit the admin web page of the router and set any options you want
the defaults should pretty much work out of the box (ip's etc), but go in there are see what your choices are. the manual for the D-links are pretty good and will explain the options you have. the dlink i have (DI-704) defaults to using 192.168.0.1 for the router, you just put that ip into your browser on one of the client PC's to hit the administration web page

you should be all set, you have a good plan

good luck!

 

[mooojojojo]

wow. that's a great reply Fobot, thanks

 

[mooojojojo]

one more question.

the WAN IP for the router (not the 192.168.0.1 to which it defaults - as I understand, that's the LAN IP, right?) - is it given by the company, or will the router aquire one automatically when plugged in?

 

[FoBoT]

you can set the LAN side to anything you want
most of the routers of that class (including the dlink you are looking at and my dlink i have at home) default to setting the routers LAN ip to 192.168.0.1 and with DHCP turned on for the LAN passing out .100 - .199 addresses to the dhcp clients on your LAN

the WAN ip will depend on your cable/dsl provider, or in your case using ethernet, depend on what you are plugging your WAN port into. you can set the WAN port to either do DHCP or a static ip address through the web admin page (192.168.0.1 from your LAN PC)

 

[mooojojojo]

thanks.

but now something else emerged. a friend told me that this particualr company makes you run a program where you use a user name and a password to access the internet.. now this sounds totally strange to me and I've never heard it before - but my question is, if there's an app required, will this thing with the router still work?

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: mooojojojo
thanks.

but now something else emerged. a friend told me that this particualr company makes you run a program where you use a user name and a password to access the internet.. now this sounds totally strange to me and I've never heard it before - but my question is, if there's an app required, will this thing with the router still work?

It's probably PPPoE (the same thing DSL uses frequently). The router you have does PPPoE, so it will most likely just be a matter of putting in the username and password in the web admin of the router. If it's some kind of proprietary authentication, then you might have a problem. You might check and see if it is indeed PPPoE just to be sure.

 

[JackMDS]

May be this can Help.

Link: AnandTech - FAQ. Basic Options for Internet Connection Sharing

Link: AnandTech - FAQ. Hubs, routers, switches, DSL, LANs, WANs...?

Link: Diagram of Broadband Connection with Cable/DSL Router.

 

[mooojojojo]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
May be this can Help.

Link: AnandTech - FAQ. Basic Options for Internet Connection Sharing

Link: AnandTech - FAQ. Hubs, routers, switches, DSL, LANs, WANs...?

Link: Diagram of Broadband Connection with Cable/DSL Router.

thanks, I already read the FAQs though, and everywhere the explained scenario is when the WAN comes from a Cable / DSL modem, so I wasn't sure whether my case applies. well now after the answers I know

 

[mooojojojo]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

Originally posted by: mooojojojo
thanks.

but now something else emerged. a friend told me that this particualr company makes you run a program where you use a user name and a password to access the internet.. now this sounds totally strange to me and I've never heard it before - but my question is, if there's an app required, will this thing with the router still work?

It's probably PPPoE (the same thing DSL uses frequently). The router you have does PPPoE, so it will most likely just be a matter of putting in the username and password in the web admin of the router. If it's some kind of proprietary authentication, then you might have a problem. You might check and see if it is indeed PPPoE just to be sure.

actually I can't find on the site where it says that it has PPPoE (although another router I was looking at had it specifically noted - but it was a Canyon brand, and I prefer to stay with the D-Link). can you point me to the place where you saw that? tahnks..

 

[Heisenberg]

If you look on the page linked in your first post, there's a link to the product manual. Just follow it and it will open a pdf file that shows PPPoE as an option in the installation instructions. In general, anytime a router is for DSL, it will support PPPoE. By and large all routers support it anymore anyway, even those not marked specifically for DSL.

 

[Reel]

I have a similar setup in my apt (though much more complicated, it has the same essentials). We run approximately 10 computers off of one ethernet connection. We have a page that we have to access that requires us to put in a username and password. The creates a cookie or something that maintains our connection. It is not something we can do with our router but rather through a web browser on any of the computers.

 

[mooojojojo]

thanks, guys - you've been a great help. will tell you how it goes once it's all set up

 

[mooojojojo]

ok, just found out that the company looks at the nic mac address. as I understand the router 'clones' the nic mac address. but how exactly does that work? say I have installed 'their' nic, with 'their' mac address in a machine on the network. so how does the router know which mac address to clone? do I set that too in the configuration console? do I just take the nic mac address (which ever nic I choose) and enter it somewhere? and if so - does that lan card ever come to play or when I get it's mac address I can just remove it?

also - where do I see my current nic's mac address? is that the pysical address thing at Local Area Connection > Support > Details?

thanks.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: mooojojojo
ok, just found out that the company looks at the nic mac address. as I understand the router 'clones' the nic mac address. but how exactly does that work? say I have installed 'their' nic, with 'their' mac address in a machine on the network. so how does the router know which mac address to clone? do I set that too in the configuration console? do I just take the nic mac address (which ever nic I choose) and enter it somewhere? and if so - does that lan card ever come to play or when I get it's mac address I can just remove it?

also - where do I see my current nic's mac address? is that the pysical address thing at Local Area Connection > Support > Details?

thanks.

To put it roughly, the MAC address is the fingerprint of a network card. There should never be two from a factory with the same MAC (but it does happen). However, many are configurable which allows you to do stuff like cloning the MAC. What your ISP is doing is saying "only allow connections from this MAC" so it checks the fingerprint which is signed on network communications before allowing the connection. Your router will use the MAC from your NIC and sign with it so that it can connect and it should be seamless once you have it configured correctly.

As far as setting it in the router, I do not know specifically how to do it. Either you can plug in the letters/numbers by hand to the router or you connect to the router from that computer and tell it clone THIS computer.

You are correct about where the MAC is located.

 

[mooojojojo]

Originally posted by: ReelC00L

Originally posted by: mooojojojo
ok, just found out that the company looks at the nic mac address. as I understand the router 'clones' the nic mac address. but how exactly does that work? say I have installed 'their' nic, with 'their' mac address in a machine on the network. so how does the router know which mac address to clone? do I set that too in the configuration console? do I just take the nic mac address (which ever nic I choose) and enter it somewhere? and if so - does that lan card ever come to play or when I get it's mac address I can just remove it?

also - where do I see my current nic's mac address? is that the pysical address thing at Local Area Connection > Support > Details?

thanks.

To put it roughly, the MAC address is the fingerprint of a network card. There should never be two from a factory with the same MAC (but it does happen). However, many are configurable which allows you to do stuff like cloning the MAC. What your ISP is doing is saying "only allow connections from this MAC" so it checks the fingerprint which is signed on network communications before allowing the connection. Your router will use the MAC from your NIC and sign with it so that it can connect and it should be seamless once you have it configured correctly.

As far as setting it in the router, I do not know specifically how to do it. Either you can plug in the letters/numbers by hand to the router or you connect to the router from that computer and tell it clone THIS computer.

You are correct about where the MAC is located.

thanks. so just to summarize. I connect to the router and I either tell him to clone the MAC address of the PC I'm connecting from, or I can specify the MAC address symbol by symbol (and the MAC address is the Physical Address which is located at the connection properties window). this way to the ISP the entire network would look like _one_ PC with _that_ MAC address?

 

[Reel]

yes