Linksys RT31P2 router 1

[TudorP]

Hey everyone -
I bought this device from Vonage in order to do VOIP. I already had a router from SMC so I wanted to plug the RT31P2 into an existing port on the SMC.
Well - the phone works OK, but computers plugged in the Linksys cannot access the internet.

Does anyone know how to configure the freaking thing so that the setup above will work?

BTW - their email tech support is a joke. I explained the problem and they sent me a boiler plate answer about plugging my computer in the cable modem and checking that all the little lights go green when powering on their devices

 

[ironwill]

You can get on the net if you Disable the DHCP capability of the Linksys device and make sure that you'd have to change the IP address of the Linksys box same with the IP segment of your SMC router.
Obviously, you can't get on the net if both devices are running DHCP.You may get these work by going to the Linksys Kbase by typing in the keyword,"RT31P2".

Hope this helps.Goodluck.

 

[TudorP]

Hey ironwill -
here is what their knowledge base article says:
"The above configuration (cascading two routers) effectively creates two different networks (192.168.15.0 and 192.168.1.0) that cannot be routed together due to WAN/LAN separation. Computers or devices connected to the RT31P2 (2)’s network will not be able to communicate with computers or devices connected to the RT31P2 (1)’s network. File and Printer sharing will also not be possible." - well that sucks!!!
But I still want to know whether it will be possible to acess the internet from behind the second router.
That - they are not able to answer

BTW I already tried your suggestion, and unfortunately it did not wok.
This is really ironic though:
if I plug the uplink cable into the Linksys Internet (WAN) port - then I have phone service but no internet for my computer.
if I plug the uplink (crossover) cable into one of the ethernet ports (LAN) on the Linksys, then I have internet access but the phone does not work

Now Linksys config menu allows me to configure the routing table. Assuming I continue to use the WAN port (since I need my phone service), can anyone tell me how to configure the routing table so that computers behind the Linksys make it to the SMC router? Or should I read between the lines of the above mentioned article and just give up...

 

[bcastner]

Have you tried two cables between the routers?

. the WAN connection
. an ethernet port on one router to the ethernet port on the other router. If either router does not autosense, you might need a cross-over cable for the connection.

 

[TudorP]

Yes i did...cross over from ethernet port on router 1 to ethernet port on router 2. The internet connection worked but the phone did not

any thoughts on the routing table configuration?

 

[thanosrox]

I'm having the same problem, and I'm willing to bet a lot of other people are too. I'm sure I've tried everything you've tried, and my next to last option resides in the routing tabels and the advanced routing menu. But I have absolutely no idea whether or not reconfiguring the routing tables will work (I never knew what a routing table was till I started on this problem). I've spent close to nearly 5 hours on the problem, and at this point I'm about to give up. I'm just going to make the Linksys RT31P2 my main router, and have my other router behind it and turned to a switch/hub. But I don't want to do this because it requires rewiring my network, moving a bunch of crap around, and reconfiguring my network.

There might also be another solution found in the DMZ/Firewall configurations of your main SMC router.

If you've found a solution by all means let me know.

 

[thanosrox]

Oh, and I'm willing to bet that this problem will be dealt with in the new Firmware release of the Linksys RT31P2 router (which could of course be months from now).

 

[TechieX]

Well i don't know weather your issue is resolved but I have the same problem but i have it resolved. The reason is being that the Linksys RT31P2 should be the first device in your topology and the disable the dhcp on your SMC module so that the linksys would issue the address I am pretty sure that this should work... let me know if you can't I have another way to connnect this and if your ISP is comcast this type should work. but I don't know where your are but if you are in the north american region and your ISP ( as I said previously ) is comcast i will work. post in here if this does not.

 

[TudorP]

Hey Techie -
the problem (and the reason) why I dont want to switch the Linksys with the SMC is that the SMC is upstairs and I dont want to run for the phone every time it rings.
I know there are options for this problem - like buying a phone with another base - but you know what?? I really want the damn thing to work
thanks anyway

 

[kameleon25]

I also am having a few issues with the vonage setup and the linksys RT31P2 adapter. Mainly the phones work but the PC's can't get to the internet or see each other. But instead of just one RT31P2 adapter I have 3. The office that we just moved into was pre-wired and I really don't want to rewire it. I thought of a solution though. Behind my business cable modem put my SMC network hub, then on the hub put my 3 Linksys RT31P2 devices and my Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless device on it. To get the phone lines to the offices I am going to make an adapter that takes the cat5 cable and splits the 4 wires that the NIC actually uses and put it throught to the normal RJ45. But the unused 4 wires in the CAT5 will go to regular phone plugs like a RJ11 or so. I will post how this works as soon as I get it going. This should be a happy medium that will allow the RT31P2's to get to the internet and still allow my BEFW11S4 to route for the pc's.

kameleon

 

[locman]

hey i'm having the same problem with the same router and this vonage service. I csn hear a dial toneon my phone but i usually get busy signals when i make a call but i cannot get online with my router

 

[kameleon25]

I ended up just putting all the Vonage adapters with my linksys wireless router directly behind my cable modem. Here is a diagram... crude but should make the point.

X = RT31P2
W = BEFW11S4
H = Hub (10/100 switching hub)
C = Cable modem
--- and ||| Cat5 cable
|---C
|
X X X W |--|
| | | |---|H |
| | | ----|U |
| | ------|B |
|---------| |
PC1----| |
PC2----| |
PC3----|--|

Hope that helps. Just my little work-around.

Kameleon

 

[TudorP]

Hey Kameleon -
as I said before, having the Linksys first does not really do it for me due to the layout of the house. I would have to walk up a flight of stairs every time the phone rings.

Locman -
make sure you log into the Linksys and check that the router is connected to the server (there is a tab for it). If it is not, you need at least to reboot the Linksys, at worst, you need to troubleshoot your connection.
cheers

 

[kameleon25]

YudorP: Yes I know. I thought I had the same problem in this building as I did not want to have to run new phone wire throughout the office. But I just tied into the exesting lines and did it that way. I will continue to test the adapter I was trying to make to see how it works.

 

[TechieX]

well TudorP if i understood correct you have a 2 storied house and you have network in the second floor with a SMC Router and you would like to have the Linksys RT31P2 Router downstairs so that your phone will be in reach. so there is only one thing you can do which is have the DHCP Service on in SMC and Switch of NAT and DHCP services on the Linksys RT31P2 Router. so that this setup is to give your data the prefference over the VOIP Data if you switch the linksys and smc in the setup i just told then that will the VOIP is preffered over the DATA. so you need to pick one either VOIP / DATA. so that the other will also have connection but not prefference over the first one.

 

[TudorP]

Techie -
everything you said is correct except the conclusion -
it DOES NOT work.
I tried the "data over voice prefference" scenario above. Here is the layout
Modem
|
SMC (No DHCP)
|
Linksys (Static IP, No NAT, No DHCP)
| |
Computer Phone

IF I use the WAN port on Linksys to hook up with SMC, the phone works, but the computer does not
IF I use the LAN port (with a cross over IP cable), the computer works but the phone does not

I exhausted all reasonable configuration. The only thing I am not sure of is how to use the routing table on Linksys to force the computer to use the WAN port to go into SMC and then the Internet
cheers
TP

 

[gartm]

I just found this link, it might help you

http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2004/12/connect_linksys_rt31.php

I just rec'd by Vonage setup; I intend to try this tomorrow.
good luck

 

[TudorP]

Thanks for the post Gartm. That is not a bad idea: configuring the liksys statically using the info from the internet facing router. The instructions dont clearly state, but from what I gather, the guy is using the LAN ports for the uplink, which is a little counter intuitive since I would expect the DNS info to be relevant when using the WAN port.
None the less - it opens up at least two interesting possibilities...I will update as soon as i try it - hopefully tonight.

I did not expect the post to get this much attention. Thank you all for your inputs. I guess there is a gathering mass behind the VOIP movement

 

[wahootom]

I just ordered a RT31P2, so what I'm writing here is "theoretical" but is extrapolated from several experiences of daisy chaining two or more linksys routers (with and without a Motorola VT1000 phone adapter in the mix).

It is possible to connect the WAN port of one router to a LAN port of another, and some or all devices connected to one may not see some or all devices connected to the other. This can be useful in a number of situations. However, I don't think that's what anyone here wants.

What you probably ought to do here is keep the routing and DHCP functions of the router that's "closest" to your broadband modem (cable or DSL), and disable these functions on other devices. This effectively turns the other devices into switches. Also make sure that the other devices either have static addresses in the range that the first router has for it's LAN clients, or allow them to get DHCP addresses from the first router.

Okay, you can find any of this information if you dig around on the Linksys site, but what I have never found there is the hint that you want to connect the LAN (*not* the WAN) port of the second (and third...) router to a LAN port on the first. If you connect the WAN port, you will get just enough functionality to make you think you're on the right path, but in my experience it will never fully work.

Can't wait for my RT31P2 to get here. With network traffic in and out of the house increasing, my phone connections have degraded, and since I require VPN passthrough, putting the Motorola phone adapter in front of the router is not an option.

 

[bcastner]

I know I am missing some key fact about the issue, but daisy-chaining the routers is not hard.

1. DHCP enabled only on the first router, all others have DHCP disabled;

2. There is an "Uplink" port on each router. You go from regular LAN port with a straight-thru patch cable to the uplink port on router #2.

3. You go from a regular LAN port to uplink port on router #3

Or, you go from regular LAN port to regular LAN port using a cross-over patch cable.

You never use the "WAN" port other than on router #1
You always disable the router DHCP server on all but router #1.
To be fancy, you set the router mode from its default of "Gateway" to "Router"