Questions about Routers

[SMHarman]

Have you tried pulling the power out of the back and then rebooting it to see if that fixes it.
Have you tried putting access restrictions on differently to see if that fixes it, e.g. restrictions on a physical port, or an IP address to see if it is restrictions or mac restrictions that does not work.

[bbwannabe]

I've not tried the reboot thing. So will prob give it a go later.

I've put both the mac address and ip address of the computer I want to restrict but that didn't work, but ive never tried just the ip address. Only issue I can see if it does work is that the IP address of the computer changes pretty often so its not always easy to keep tabs on it.

Its a shame that the QoS doesnt let you specify a specific % portion of bandwidth to be allowed for each computer. Think I'll look around for a software app to see if can do that, but i doubt it.

[bbwannabe]

I'm beginning to think the wireless router is interefering with our cordless telephones. I tried to make an outgoing call but they guy on the other end couldn't hear us, i've once got a incoming call that I couldnt hear except what sounds like background noise, even though i've managed to take a lot of other calls before that.

So could it be the case that the router is affecting the phones? or not?

If it is, how can I solve things?

Thanks.

[handyman]

Go into your router config (192.168.1.1 or whatever it is) and change the channel it is on. Make sure you change it by 2. So if its on 11 use 13 or 9 that way you will move out of the band of the intererence. Worth noting that bluetooth also operates in this sort of band and can interfere with cordless phones and wireless networks as well.

[bbwannabe]

Cheers Handyman, any reason why 2 though?

[handyman]

AFAIK the channels overlap a bit so moving 2 channels away makes sure you dont move into the next one suffering the same interference.

Further reading here

Channels: If you do add more than one base station to your home, make sure to set them up on separate channels. Two base stations on the same channel can interfere with each other †“ drastically reducing the performance and range of your network. But it's not like TV †“ wireless networking channels overlap each other. To be safe, stick to channels 1,6 and 11. They are guaranteed not to stomp on each other.

Channel Overlap: Even if you only have a single base station at home, you still may run into channel conflicts with your neighbors. Since most base stations are configured out of the box to run on channel 6, sticking with the defaults could cause trouble. If you live in an apartment, condo or closely-spaced housing development with tech-savvy neighbors, check for other networks before installing your own.

Originally Posted by bbwannabe

1) I assume a router splits a connection up?
2) The plan is to use a router to split it up for 4 computers... Is that a realistic value or is to high?.
3) We plan on getting rid of our dialup connections - is our service just discontinued without any physical involvements (ie phones lines cut? - stupid question most likely).
4) Do routers allow you to control the % of broadband speeds to be allocated? Say I want to use 50% and allow 15%, 15% and 20% to the other computers could I do that?.
5) How hard is it to configure one?
6) Anything else I might need to know?.

1) Yes
2) I have had a 4 port Linksys router for 2 years and just tonight used 4 gaming pc's for the first time without any ping problems or other problems.
3) I left AOL along time ago and they just stopped the dd's per month and stopped my service.
4) No idea, never looked into that personally. Using 4 comps now and I cant see any slowdown on my comp.
5) Very easy. Bear in mind I use ethernet with WinXP - it was all plug and play.
6) I have the Linksys BEFSR41 router and the option I like is DMZ. (it allows one comp on the network to have full access to the net without the NAT butting in) - this is helpful when you want to set up a server for games or teamspeak.

Hope this helps...