[PLUG] routers

[Aaron Ten Clay]

On Fri March 24 2006 13:22, Michael M. wrote:
> It occurred to me that I would like to be able to connect my current
> machine with my new machine, when it arrives.  So I guess I'll set up a
> little network with a router, since it might be useful to be able to be
> on-line with both machines simultaneously on occasion.  Routers, it
> seems, are like hard drives in that no matter what manufacturer you
> investigate, you find a lot of people who've had good and bad
> experiences with any particular brand and model.[1]  One site suggested,
> helpfully, that you should ask around for advice from colleagues and
> neighbors.  So, I'm asking.
> 
> I need just a simple 4-port wired broadband router that won't balk at
> the absence of Microsoft products in my home.  No need for printer
> sharing or anything more complex than having both machines being able to
> reach the net and each other, for moving files back and forth between
> them.  Any suggestions about what to get, and in particular what to
> avoid?
> 
> [1] Well, I guess you could say the same thing about ... oh,
> everything. :-)

I think most of the consumer ones out there come with Windows-based configuration software that lets you click through the wizard a couple of times and it configures everything for you. Since you won't be able to do that, you'll have to use the web interface on the router (unless you're lucky enough to find one with SSH.)

I don't want to say one router's better than another, because everyone has their own opinions. My personal preference is U.S. Robotics or Netgear, but I've successfully configured consumer-class routers in linux environments from Linksys, D-Link, and Hawking Technology as well.

I would however recommend avoiding Belkin. The web interfaces I've tried to use with them seem to be very IE-Bug dependant.

If you need help getting the network setup just let us know. Most routers will start handing out 192.168.x.y addresses as soon as you plug them in, and then you can grab DHCP, run 'ip route show' in a terminal, and type the IP listed for default gateway into your browser to get started. Here's an example:

--
aaron at zoomzoom ~ $ /sbin/ip route show
172.16.6.0/24 dev vmnet8  proto kernel  scope link  src 172.16.6.1 
10.6.0.0/24 dev eth0  scope link 
192.168.199.0/24 dev vmnet1  proto kernel  scope link  src 192.168.199.1 
127.0.0.0/8 dev lo  scope link 
default via 10.6.0.1 dev eth0 
--
So if I were running a consumer router to configure I'd type '10.6.0.1' into FIrefox and hopefully see a configuration page (or more likely a user/password prompt)

If you get a user/password prompt, the mfr. manual will probably list the default user/password. I know most of them, if you can't find it feel free to ask the list.

HTH,
Aaron
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