BEFSR41 PPPoe DHCP SBC Yahoo DSL Questions.

[cyde]

Hello,
I am running a Linksys BEFSR41 with a SBC Yahoo DSL connection. I realize this ISP uses PPPoe and have successfully configured the router for this and have connected to the Internet. About a week later I lost all Internet connectivity. I have the router set to receive an IP address from the ISP using DHCP, and have enable the DHCP feature on the router for the two Win2K clients I am running in a workgroup. I am wondering since the router is getting a dynamically assigned IP address from the ISP, can it still function as a DHCP server? Or should I assign static IPs to the clients and disable the DHCP feature on the router? Also would it be a good practice to set up a routing table on the router so the clients will always see each other on the intranet? Oh, one more thing.. Is it better to enable the Keep Alive option for the PPPoe connection on the router? Or is the Connect on Demand acceptable? Any relavant advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[cdogg]

DHCP is being handled on the backend of your network distributing IP addresses usually within the 192.168.x.x range or whatever you specify. It shouldn't be affected at all by the dynamic IP being assigned on the frontend from SBC. In other words, just leave it to DHCP.

The "Keep Alive" option is good to have if you leave your PC on for long periods of time. The setting is neither good or bad to have - strictly optional.

Perhaps if you could explain the problem in more detail (error messages, what do you mean by not connecting, etc), we might be able to point you in the right direction. Make sure that on the Status tab of your router configuration screen, it says you are connected. If it does, then the problem is probably has nothing to do with your router.


~cdogg
[tab]"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"
[tab][tab]- A. Einstein

 

[cyde]

Thanks cdogg,
I did some reconfiguring on the router before I had a chance to read your post. I re-established Internet Connectivity by by-passing the router. Once I was on, I got the MAC and DNS information from ipconfig. and then set the MAC cloning feature on the router to the MAC address I got from the Client will connectivity. I then disabled DHCP on the router and configured both clients with Static IP's of 192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.101 respectivly, subnet mask 255.255.255.0 and Gateway of 192.168.1.1., and then configured each with the DNS addresses I got from the client with connectivity. I set the Keep Alive option on the router. I then powered everything down. Re-cabled the network back to a DSL modem to Router to Clients configuration and then powered the DSL modem up, waited for the lights to go solid, brought the router up, and then the clients. Internet Connectivity has been restablished. Thank GOD!! But.. I am unable to get the clients to see each other on the network. Both are running Win2k Pro, in a WorkGroup. Both systems are running Client for MS Networks, File and Printer Sharing for MS networks, and TCP/IP. No permissions/policies to any resources have been set on any machine except for the defaults. Both clients can ping each other by IP, but when trying to connect via My Network Places, I get "network path could not be found". If I try to connect via IE with an IP I get "we could not find 192.168.1.100." Do you, or anyone else have any ideas on this?
Thank you for your help and quick response.

 

[bcastner]

Some thoughts:

1. MAC cloning is for DOCSIS, not for PPoE. Remove the cloning;
2. IE does not work to connect to other clients unless they are running something like a ftp server, or a web server;
3. You would be far better off returning to the DHCP services on your router. You have no gaurantee that the DNS information you received will remain valid;
4. Leave the routing tables alone on the router. They are their for router-to-router communications, and your Win2k clients are not routers.
5. Use the keep alive setting on the router and set it to 30, although some use 180 on the BEFSR41. With newer firmware the 30 value is the default and I recommend it.
6. Speaking of which, is your firmware up-to-date? There have been two updates in the last two months.
7. And they key question: did your clients in the workgroup ever see each other, or is this a new problem? Restore the router's DHCP service, set the clients to obtain an address automaticly, and report back.

 

[cyde]

Thanks Bcastner,
For some history on this issue. I am troubleshooting this remotely. The network I'm speaking about is in Chicago and I'm down here in Dallas Tx. When I was in Chicago I set it for my aunt, and everything worked fine. The router DHCP service was enabled, they could get on the Internet at the same time, and the clients could see each on the network. We were even able to share out a printer connected to one client and install it and print to it from the other. I left for Dallas, and about a week later my aunt called me saying she could no longer print to the shared printer. When I told her to try to connect to the client via My Network Places, she was getting "the network path could not be found". I will have her update the firmware when I get home tonight. They just bought the router a month ago.
Thanks again,

 

[cdogg]

cyde,
One last note:

Although the router was purchased only a month ago, that's no guarantee that it has the latest firmware. I purchased the same router for a customer a couple months back and the firmware was more than a year out-of-date. These products have a long shelf life and the BEFSR41 model has been out since at least the summer of 2000.

I understand you are trying your best to get this thing going again remotely. However, using the default settings on the router as bcastner pointed out is your best option and should work fine.


~cdogg
[tab]"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"
[tab][tab]- A. Einstein

 

[bcastner]

1. Do not rule out the possibility the router is defective.

2. The most common source of the problem is a firewall being installed, even the default XP firewall being enabled. The subtle cause is the "hidden" firewall that sometimes comes with anti-virus packages. PC-Illan is one that has tripped up many on this board over the last two months. Its default firewall will block any local LAN traffic and should be disabled.

 

[cyde]

Thank you so much Bcastner!!!!!
I feel so stupid. Yes, the client we can't see on the network is running Black Ice. I told my aunt to turn it off and just use the router as a firewall for now. She has anti-virus protection so I'm not too worried. Do you know of the way to configure Black Ice to allow local connections?
Thank you again!!!