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Welcome to my Broadband page, I am a fairly new customer of broadband, and Tiscali is currently my Internet Service Provider, they have had many bad reports in the press and on the internet, but I have had no problems or issues with them. I however use my own equipment (i.e. ADSL Modem / Router) rather than the small USB modem that they provide free of charge, at first the idea seemed daunting of buying and configuring a broadband router, which I also wanted to use for Xbox Live.
However it proved to be very simple, after reading the instructions carefully and acquiring the necessary settings from the ISP I was able to quickly configure the device for use with my broadband service.
I purchased the Zoom X3 ADSL Modem / Router for my broadband connection, as I wasn't sure whether I needed just a router or modem, so I thought a combination device would be safest, at the time I purchased it from PC World for £70.00. but I'm sure it is available cheaper on-line. If you want to use a router, you will need to have a network card installed in your PC these can be purchased for under £10, and a Ethernet Cable (CAT5) which is usually included with the router.
The basic settings you will need from you ISP are:
Service Username: Usually in the format of an email address (i.e someone@tiscali.co.uk) Service Password: A password decided by you when you ordered the broadband IP Addressing: If Static you will need the range, however it is usually Dynamic Primary DNS: In the format of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where x equals a number between 0 - 9) Secondary DNS: In the format of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where x equals a number between 0 - 9)
If you require further settings they are as follows, but they are usually only require for advanced configuration:
VPI = 0, VCI = 38 ADSL
Modulation: Auto, then try G.DMT, then try ANSI T1.413
Note: Many Routers on the market only support PPPoE this is not the type of encapsulation used in UK, ensure that if you purchase a router it is compatible with PPPoA
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Router
Configuration
You will usually configure the router by a USB connection or the Ethernet connection, make sure that the installation CD-ROM is in the PC, and it will usually either install the configuration software or take you step by step through the procedure, follow the setup by adding your connection specific details. The majority of routers have NAT enabled on them, you will know this if you have to configure the router by opening internet explorer and entering in a number (i.e 192.168.1.1) rather than a www address. |
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You
will usually be prompted by a Username and Password login, this can be
found in the devices manual. This is a good security feature, and is
recommended that you change this from the manufacturing defaults. The Zoom
X3 is configured with an IP address of 10.0.0.2.
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If you have logged in correctly you will a screen similar to the one on the left giving you options to input the information listed earlier, remember that Usernames and Passwords are case sensitive.
If the router has DHCP enabled, leave it as it is as this will make adding PC's to your router easier, it basically means that the router will provide your PC with the necessary information to work with the router.
Your router will probably also if you wish to have NAT enabled, this is sometimes known as the LAN Address, for home users this is recommended. If you are asked to configure LAN / NAT settings I would recommend either one of the following settings:
1) IP Address: 10.0.0.2 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 DHCP: Enabled 2) IP Address: 192.168.1.1 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 DHCP: Enabled
Once you have entered the configuration settings, your router will usually ask to be rebooted, and it will also save the settings to its core memory, and then the device will restart, and its connection status can be seen in one of the menus, on the Zoom X3 it is the WAN status. |
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Check the status lights on your router, on the Zoom X3 the lights shown means as follows:
PWR: Power is going into the device LINK: Off, broadband not connected; Flashing, attempting to connect; On steady, broadband connected LAN: Off, no device detected; Flashing, connecting with a device; On steady, connected to a PC or other device RXD: Off, router is not receiving data; Flashing, router is receiving data
Check your documentation for the correct light status, the router is now fully configured, and you must now configure your PC. |
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PC Configuration
If you opted for DHCP then this will be very easy to setup, and will hardly involve any kind of manual configuration. Ensure that your PC is connected to the router, you will know this because two small computers will appear in the taskbar (shown right), if there is a cross through them then they are not connected.
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will then need to check the configuration of your network card, this can
be done by opening the command prompt and entering 'ipconfig', on older
machines you will need to enter 'winipcfg' in 'run' from the start menu.
You will be presented with a screen, similar to the one shown on the left, displaying your networks cards details. Check that it coincides, with what you setup in the LAN / NAT settings on the router earlier. If there is nothing in this screen or there is different numbers displayed then you will need, to go through the next step of configuration. |
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screen is taken from Windows XP because it is what I use on my PC's, on
other versions you will need to find the TCP / IP properties for your
network card. If you are unsure of where these settings are located enter
'TCP / IP' in Windows Help.
Enter the settings displayed on the left if you want to utilise DHCP, if you want to enter an address statically (useful for building a network), then amend the fields accordingly. The only field that will be different on each machine that you enter these details on will be the IP Address, every other field on here will remain the same (See Network Diagram). The Default Gateway is the LAN / NAT IP Address of the Router. Once you have entered the settings, click on OK, and then run the ipconfig or winipcfg again to check that the settings have been saved, you may have to restart your PC. |
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To test you new connection with Windows open the Command or MS-DOS Prompt, and enter the commands seen in the picture on the left.
The commands are:
ping 213.193.18.47 ping www.lycos.co.uk
If you get a screen similar to one on the left then your connection is fine, and you are connected to Broadband.
If you are presented with any error messages, such as 'Destination Host Unreachable' or 'Request Timed Out', then there could be a problem and you should contact your ISP. |
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PC configuration
When configuring broadband to be used on multiple PC's in a household it is best to create a network diagram, so that you know which PC is where and what extra equipment you may need, my current layout is displayed in the diagram below: |
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If your router has more than Ethernet port on the back then the easiest option would be to connect the two PC's directly into the router, using separate Ethernet cables, this is quite untidy though and is very inefficient with cabling. The best option in this instance would be to use a HUB or Switch, the Switch being the better option, if you only have one Ethernet port then this is a suitable option. The diagram shown below is how my network was setup for a wired connection.
The Blue cable shown is a Crossover Cable, as this is usually required for connections from a Router to a HUB / SWITCH, check with the manufacturer first.
The Grey cables shown are standard CAT5 Ethernet Cables, again check with the manufacturer first that these are the correct cables. |
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you can see from the diagram above the only number that changes is the IP
Address, but if like me your parents or housemates dislike having cables
all over the place then read my wireless section, as this would probably
be a better solution.
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| If you are unsure how many IP Addresses you have then click the icon on the right to go to the IP Checker. |
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Home |
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