new user to adsl.some advice pls?

[mayurh]

hi there guys and ladies

im new to adsl.jus got our line
going with the mwebt uncapped

few questions
mwebs modem is 599
my question is can this modem connect to my pc via usb? cause i already hav a network running here so my ethernet port is already used?

do i need a line filter? how much are they? can i jus install one from the main line feed? or should i put one for each telephone/fax?

please id really appreciate alll advice/help

 

[dj_jyno]

Since you already have a network, consider a D-Link DSL-2500U, which should be about R300. Just plugs into your current switch.

Yes, you need a filter for every phone on the line.

 

[mayurh]

hi there thanks alot
will that work with mwebs uncapped?
ive got a 512 line?

 

[InTheCube]

mwebs modem is 599
my question is can this modem connect to my pc via usb? cause i already hav a network running here so my ethernet port is already used?

What did MWEB give you? Is it an ADSL Modem/Router combo device? Does it have built-in wireless?

Most likely they have given you an ADSL Modem/Router combo device. What this means is that it can give you internet connectivity is well as serve as the central (controlling) device in your network. The modem/router should have 5 ports on the back - 4 ethernet ports, and 1 telephone jack. The telephone jack connects your modem to the phone jack in the wall using a regular telephone cable. All other devices (e.g. your PC, laptop, PS3, home theater system) will connect into an ethernet port for each device. Your modem/router will have a built in DHCP server (for assigning IP addresses and serving network settings and other info to all other devices on your network), some form of built-in firewall, and lots of other services and settings (DynDNS, NAT, Port Forwarding, QOS, Routing, etc), and it might even have wireless/WiFi so that you can extend your network wirelessly.

Most ADSL modems/routers don't have USB ports. There is no need for it. Everything is connected via Ethernet. So your existing home network can be set up to work off your modem/router. That way, no single device (except the modem/router itself) needs to be on permanently in order for your network to be alive, and have internet access.

Your ADSL modem/router is an all-in-one device.

do i need a line filter? how much are they? can i jus install one from the main line feed? or should i put one for each telephone/fax?

The line running from the wall jack into your ADSL modemdoesn't need a filter, as the filter is built into the modem. This applies to ALL ADSL modems. However, any telephones, fax machines, alarm systems, etc (basically any device that uses the voice services of the telephone line) will need a filter on the line running from the wall jack to the device. Each connection will need it's own filter. If the telephone line is only used for ADSL, then you don't need a filter. In any case, you should have gotten a filter in the box with your ADSL modem.

 

[mayurh]

thanks alot

one big problem
im using a 8 port switch at the moment and the mweb one only comes with 4 ports
do they have one with 8 ports?

 

[InTheCube]

thanks alot

one big problem
im using a 8 port switch at the moment and the mweb one only comes with 4 ports
do they have one with 8 ports?

I don't think you get consumer-grade modem/routers with more than 4 ethernet ports. You definitely get enterprise-grade ones, but these are overkill for home and small-office use.

You can just connect your existing 8 port switch into one of the ethernet ports of your ADSL modem/router, and everything will work fine. I highly recommend setting up the ADSL modem/router as the primary DHCP server. How is your existing network currently set up? Are you using statically-assigned IP addresses and network information on each PC, or is there a DHCP server running one of the machines?

 

[Vonnii]

hi mayurh,

what i would suggest is maybe looking at the following options:

1) rather buy a wireless router, then connect the DSL to the wireless router, then setup your network to rather run wireless ... shouldn't be to tricky and makes life much easier if you want to add new devices. I'm currently running 2 laptops and my Wii on our home network. The downside is you might not have wireless network ability on all your devices which would require usb wireless devices.

2) the important thing to look at is how your network is currently setup, if you're just running 2 machines via network cable without a router you'll have to connect both machines to the ADSL router and let the router machine your network, that'll allow both machines to access the internet. If on the other hand you already have a router, you'll simply have to connect an ADSL modem onto your router instead of directly to a machine. This will allow you again to share your internet ability to the entire network.

 

[mayurh]

I don't think you get consumer-grade modem/routers with more than 4 ethernet ports. You definitely get enterprise-grade ones, but these are overkill for home and small-office use.

You can just connect your existing 8 port switch into one of the ethernet ports of your ADSL modem/router, and everything will work fine. I highly recommend setting up the ADSL modem/router as the primary DHCP server. How is your existing network currently set up? Are you using statically-assigned IP addresses and network information on each PC, or is there a DHCP server running one of the machines?

i think the idea of connectin my existing switch to the router sounds good to me
but yes.we are running static ip addressed due to remote controling of pc's and power failures causing the i.p addreses to change
i've disabled dhcp so that even when the pwer failes the address stays the same

 

[InTheCube]

i think the idea of connectin my existing switch to the router sounds good to me
but yes.we are running static ip addressed due to remote controling of pc's and power failures causing the i.p addreses to change
i've disabled dhcp so that even when the pwer failes the address stays the same

You can still use DHCP, but have it assign IP addresses statically to each machine, based on the MAC address of the machines ethernet/WiFi card. A MAC address is a globally unique idenitier assigned to every piece of ethernet-based networking equipment on the planet. No 2 devices can/should have the same MAC address, ever (with exceptions of course). So each MAC address will always get the exact same IP address no matter what. So now you can keep all the network information and settings in one place, on the router. Most routers will support this. I have yet to find a router that doesn't support statically assigned IP addresses based on MAC address.

 

[mayurh]

so should i get the mweb 4port router with wifi for 599 and then connect my existing 8 port switch and configure the devices statically?

 

[InTheCube]

so should i get the mweb 4port router with wifi for 599 and then connect my existing 8 port switch and configure the devices statically?

That sounds about right.

Except that I would prefer to buy the modem/router myself, from a respectable hardware shop. I'd go for the Netgear DGN2000 ADSL Modem/Router combo with 802.11n compatibility, and all the features stated above. It costs about R1000, but is worth it.

Do you know what's the make and model of the ADSL modem that MWEB is selling? It might be something crappy. So be careful. Rather spend some extra cash and get something from a trusted well known brand, like Netgear, or Linksys, or D-Link, etc. Also, if you get the modem from MWEB, make sure you are not signing any form of 6/12/24 month contract. You don't want to be locked into contracts with any ISP at this stage. Things change so fast in this industry, you'd be stupid to lock yourself in with ANY ISP. Plus, MWEB is not to be trusted, based on their track record.

 

[mayurh]

the one they selling is the billion w40
its a once off fee and not a contract

 

[mayurh]

what about if i get a ethernet to usb conveter? and then connect the router to my pc only ?
will i able to share my internet connection?

 

[InTheCube]

what about if i get a ethernet to usb conveter? and then connect the router to my pc only ?
will i able to share my internet connection?

I'm not sure - maybe someone else can answer that. But it will probably be cheaper to just buy another ethernet card and stick it into your PC, and connect the modem/router to it that way. But then you are going to complicate matters - you'll have to activate internet connection sharing in Windows (yuck!) which comes with it's own built-in DHCP server (not sure how it works, but it's brought down a few networks I've worked on). Also, you'll know have 2 network connections, and possibly 2 different networks, depending on how you set it up, and what you want to do with it. Then you might have to stuff around with routing settings and routing tables.. It just gets messy.

Why are you insistent on connecting the router ONLY to your PC? What are you trying to achieve?

KISS!

 

[Savage152]

Mayurh, you might be thinking that this is more complex than it really is.

Easiest path is to get the modem, any modem, according to what you want from it, if you want wireless, get something with a wireless access point, if you want cheap, get a simple modem.

Plug your modem into one of your existing ports on your 8 port switch, and set up static IP's. You don't need to share a connection if your network is attached to the modem, once all is attached, all the computers on the network will have internet access! Just be sure to set up the static Ip's correctly, if you dont enter your modem as the DNS server address into the static IP's, then the computer wont be able to look up domain names, therefore no internet.

 

[mayurh]

thanks alot guys
yes i know it sounds more complicated than it is.

 

[InTheCube]

Plug your modem into one of your existing ports on your 8 port switch, and set up static IP's. You don't need to share a connection if your network is attached to the modem, once all is attached, all the computers on the network will have internet access! Just be sure to set up the static Ip's correctly, if you dont enter your modem as the DNS server address into the static IP's, then the computer wont be able to look up domain names, therefore no internet.

If you don't enable DHCP on your modem/router, and prefer to have statically assigned IP addresses (and other info) on each machine, than make sure that the Default Gateway and DNS Server settings on each PC points to the IP address of your ADSL modem/router. This will give each PC internet access. You can leave these 2 settings blank on 1 or more PCs, and then those PCs won't have internet access, but will still be connected to the network, and be able to see other devices on the network.

And yes, you are over-complicating things, unless you are trying to achieve something that you haven't told us about yet. Ask, and we can try to help.

 

[mayurh]

cool i think i must jus get the router first and take it from there
not trying to achieve anythign else
its just that at the moment i have a 8 port switch and im using mtn 3g directly on my pc and the connection is shared on my network

 

[mayurh]

cool i think i must jus get the router first and take it from there
not trying to achieve anythign else
its just that at the moment i have a 8 port switch and im using mtn 3g directly on my pc and the connection is shared on my network

 

[InTheCube]

cool i think i must jus get the router first and take it from there
not trying to achieve anythign else
its just that at the moment i have a 8 port switch and im using mtn 3g directly on my pc and the connection is shared on my network

OK.. I see now. You probably have an MTN data card connected to the USB port of your PC, using the MTN software to dial your 3G connection, and then using Internet Connection Sharing in Windows to give all the other devices internet access. Ouch! It works, but it's an ugly setup, and is probably costing you a fortune.

With the setup we've explained in earlier posts, it is WAY WAY simpler. You just need a little experience with it, and some help from the myBB community. You can probably even phone MWEB and they will assist you over the phone. Just remember to deactivate internet connection sharing in windows once your ADSL and modem/router is set up, otherwise weird things could happen. And definitely recommend enabling the DHCP server on your modem/router, and using that server static IP addresses, based on MAC addresses.