Connecting a *cable* router to an AOL *cable* modem (NTL cable)

A friend has an AOL Broadband 200 cable modem which is connected to her PC
by Ethernet. She wants to add a wireless router - obviously a cable router
rather than an ADSL router. I presume the AOL software is already configured
to talk over the PC's Ethernet port, so that won't need to be re-configured
because it will still be talking over Ethernet - except via the router.

Is it a case of just turning off the modem (removing its power), plugging it
into the input (WAN) port of the router instead of the PC, and then powering
it back on? I know some cable modems will only talk to the MAC address that
thay have already been talking to in the past, and to no other. Does
powering the router off and on force it to re-detect the MAC address of the
device that it will talk to, or is anything else needed.

Once the router is talking to the modem, I'll then need to configure the
wireless side of things: SSID, channel, encryption, WPA key, for the second
PC (laptop) that she'll be connecting wirelessly.

On Tue, 2 Jan 2007 21:24:42 -0000, Martin Underwood wrote:

>A friend has an AOL Broadband 200 cable modem which is connected to her PC
>by Ethernet. She wants to add a wireless router - obviously a cable router
>rather than an ADSL router. I presume the AOL software is already configured
>to talk over the PC's Ethernet port, so that won't need to be re-configured
>because it will still be talking over Ethernet - except via the router.
>
>Is it a case of just turning off the modem (removing its power), plugging it
>into the input (WAN) port of the router instead of the PC, and then powering
>it back on? I know some cable modems will only talk to the MAC address that
>thay have already been talking to in the past, and to no other. Does
>powering the router off and on force it to re-detect the MAC address of the
>device that it will talk to, or is anything else needed.
>
>Once the router is talking to the modem, I'll then need to configure the
>wireless side of things: SSID, channel, encryption, WPA key, for the second
>PC (laptop) that she'll be connecting wirelessly.
>
>

Maybe. :-)

You may find that the AOL setup assumes nothing between the PC and the modem
and the PC does some of the work - ie it will have the account and login
details. Now *some* makes of router will have an install routine that gets this
out of the PC, including the MAC address, and inserts it into the router
because now the *router* needs to do the authentication. Of course if the modem
is doing all this then you are right, just changing the cabling ought to work.
Otherwise you are going to have to de-install anything AOL put on the PC and
set up the router to connect. You might need to de-install some of the AOL
stuff anyway. In addition you will also need to turn NAT on in order to allow
more than one PC to share the connection. If you can't get the router to clone
the MAC address then turning everything off and on again and going through the
original NTL setup should get it to recognise the new MAC - If memory serves
NTL will hold four MAC's - Only using one at a time of course and needing a
power cycle to change.

--

Regards

Dave Saville

NB Remove -nospam for good email address

Dave Saville wrote in message
(E-Mail Removed):

> On Tue, 2 Jan 2007 21:24:42 -0000, Martin Underwood wrote:
>
>> A friend has an AOL Broadband 200 cable modem which is connected to
>> her PC by Ethernet. She wants to add a wireless router - obviously a
>> cable router rather than an ADSL router. I presume the AOL software
>> is already configured to talk over the PC's Ethernet port, so that
>> won't need to be re-configured because it will still be talking over
>> Ethernet - except via the router.
>>
>> Is it a case of just turning off the modem (removing its power),
>> plugging it into the input (WAN) port of the router instead of the
>> PC, and then powering it back on? I know some cable modems will only
>> talk to the MAC address that thay have already been talking to in
>> the past, and to no other. Does powering the router off and on force
>> it to re-detect the MAC address of the device that it will talk to,
>> or is anything else needed.
>>
>> Once the router is talking to the modem, I'll then need to configure
>> the wireless side of things: SSID, channel, encryption, WPA key, for
>> the second PC (laptop) that she'll be connecting wirelessly.
>>
>>
>
> Maybe. :-)
>
> You may find that the AOL setup assumes nothing between the PC and
> the modem and the PC does some of the work - ie it will have the
> account and login details. Now *some* makes of router will have an
> install routine that gets this out of the PC, including the MAC
> address, and inserts it into the router because now the *router*
> needs to do the authentication. Of course if the modem is doing all
> this then you are right, just changing the cabling ought to work.
> Otherwise you are going to have to de-install anything AOL put on the
> PC and set up the router to connect. You might need to de-install
> some of the AOL stuff anyway. In addition you will also need to turn
> NAT on in order to allow more than one PC to share the connection. If
> you can't get the router to clone the MAC address then turning
> everything off and on again and going through the original NTL setup
> should get it to recognise the new MAC - If memory serves NTL will
> hold four MAC's - Only using one at a time of course and needing a
> power cycle to change.

Ah yes. I've just downloaded the user manual for the Netgear WPN824, which
is the router I was recommending my friend to buy. This router allows you to
define the MAC address that the router presents to the modem (you can set
the router to clone the address of the PC that the modem used to be
connected to!) and to supply username/password. There's even an "ISP"
drop-down which lists "AOL Cable" amongst others. Sounds fairly
straightforward. Famous last words. I presume that if a username is
required, it will be an AOL screen name (maybe with "@aol.com" tacked on the
end) and corresponding password.

Yes, I knew about enabling NAT on the router, as for an ADSL router.

Let's hope it all works: I live about 200 miles away so I'll be guiding her
over the phone. Should be interesting!

Reconfiguring the AOL software will be amusing, if it is currently set to
talk specifically to the modem (as opposed to being set to use any available
LAN port). So much easier to do when you can see the screen yourself rather
than doing it over the phone. NOw what did I do when I reconfigured AOL (for
someone else) to talk to an ADSL router after it previously had been setup
to talk to an ADSL modem? Should be a similar process.

"Martin Underwood" <a@b> wrote in message
news:459b851b$0$8731$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Dave Saville wrote in message
> (E-Mail Removed):
>
>> On Tue, 2 Jan 2007 21:24:42 -0000, Martin Underwood wrote:
>>
>>> A friend has an AOL Broadband 200 cable modem which is connected to
>>> her PC by Ethernet. She wants to add a wireless router - obviously a
>>> cable router rather than an ADSL router. I presume the AOL software
>>> is already configured to talk over the PC's Ethernet port, so that
>>> won't need to be re-configured because it will still be talking over
>>> Ethernet - except via the router.
>>>
>>> Is it a case of just turning off the modem (removing its power),
>>> plugging it into the input (WAN) port of the router instead of the
>>> PC, and then powering it back on? I know some cable modems will only
>>> talk to the MAC address that thay have already been talking to in
>>> the past, and to no other. Does powering the router off and on force
>>> it to re-detect the MAC address of the device that it will talk to,
>>> or is anything else needed.
>>>
>>> Once the router is talking to the modem, I'll then need to configure
>>> the wireless side of things: SSID, channel, encryption, WPA key, for
>>> the second PC (laptop) that she'll be connecting wirelessly.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Maybe. :-)
>>
>> You may find that the AOL setup assumes nothing between the PC and
>> the modem and the PC does some of the work - ie it will have the
>> account and login details. Now *some* makes of router will have an
>> install routine that gets this out of the PC, including the MAC
>> address, and inserts it into the router because now the *router*
>> needs to do the authentication. Of course if the modem is doing all
>> this then you are right, just changing the cabling ought to work.
>> Otherwise you are going to have to de-install anything AOL put on the
>> PC and set up the router to connect. You might need to de-install
>> some of the AOL stuff anyway. In addition you will also need to turn
>> NAT on in order to allow more than one PC to share the connection. If
>> you can't get the router to clone the MAC address then turning
>> everything off and on again and going through the original NTL setup
>> should get it to recognise the new MAC - If memory serves NTL will
>> hold four MAC's - Only using one at a time of course and needing a
>> power cycle to change.
>
> Ah yes. I've just downloaded the user manual for the Netgear WPN824, which
> is the router I was recommending my friend to buy. This router allows you
> to define the MAC address that the router presents to the modem (you can
> set the router to clone the address of the PC that the modem used to be
> connected to!) and to supply username/password. There's even an "ISP"
> drop-down which lists "AOL Cable" amongst others. Sounds fairly
> straightforward. Famous last words. I presume that if a username is
> required, it will be an AOL screen name (maybe with "@aol.com" tacked on
> the end) and corresponding password.
>
> Yes, I knew about enabling NAT on the router, as for an ADSL router.
>
> Let's hope it all works: I live about 200 miles away so I'll be guiding
> her over the phone. Should be interesting!
>
> Reconfiguring the AOL software will be amusing, if it is currently set to
> talk specifically to the modem (as opposed to being set to use any
> available LAN port). So much easier to do when you can see the screen
> yourself rather than doing it over the phone. NOw what did I do when I
> reconfigured AOL (for someone else) to talk to an ADSL router after it
> previously had been setup to talk to an ADSL modem? Should be a similar
> process.
>

Don't delve too deep.
It is not difficult. I took advantage of a friend needing hers set up to try
it out, the conventional way and using AOL setup/
As I replied on prior threads on this subject it is a breeze to set an ADSL
router up on AOL.
AOL user name and password is all that is needed. no need for cloning MAC
address or anything like that.
Once up and ruunning you can then use with or without the AOL front end.

Regards

Alastair

On Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:11:42 GMT, Alastair wrote:

>Don't delve too deep.
>It is not difficult. I took advantage of a friend needing hers set up to try
>it out, the conventional way and using AOL setup/
>As I replied on prior threads on this subject it is a breeze to set an ADSL
>router up on AOL.
>AOL user name and password is all that is needed. no need for cloning MAC
>address or anything like that.
>Once up and ruunning you can then use with or without the AOL front end.

But the OP said it was NTL/cable with an AOL modem so it *will* need the
details and have to jump through hoops for the MAC as I said.

--

Regards

Dave Saville

NB Remove -nospam for good email address

"Dave Saville" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed). uk...
> On Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:11:42 GMT, Alastair wrote:
>
>>Don't delve too deep.
>>It is not difficult. I took advantage of a friend needing hers set up to
>>try
>>it out, the conventional way and using AOL setup/
>>As I replied on prior threads on this subject it is a breeze to set an
>>ADSL
>>router up on AOL.
>>AOL user name and password is all that is needed. no need for cloning MAC
>>address or anything like that.
>>Once up and ruunning you can then use with or without the AOL front end.
>
> But the OP said it was NTL/cable with an AOL modem so it *will* need the
> details and have to jump through hoops for the MAC as I said.
>
> --
>
> Regards
>
> Dave Saville
>
> NB Remove -nospam for good email address


Oops, Thanks for that Dave
I saw no mention of NTL in his main post body. Only after you said I noticed
it was in his subject line which passed me by.
I wonder how long it will be before NTL Cable do away with registered MAC
addresss as Telewest Cable have for some time?
Cheers

Alastair

"Alastair" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:kqVmh.246697$(E-Mail Removed) o.uk...
> I wonder how long it will be before NTL Cable do away with registered MAC
> addresss as Telewest Cable have for some time?

NTL have never required MAC addresses to be registered in areas using
stand-alone cable modems. Four or five years ago the way DHCP leases were
given changed: they went from a fixed four hours to a scheme where the lease
length increased upon renewal until it reached 24 hours. Prior to that
change, you had to wait until the DHCP lease expired (ie up to four hours)
before you could attach something with a different MAC address to the cable
modem.

Alex

Alex Fraser wrote in message
69WdnX2-Nuc6-(E-Mail Removed):

> "Alastair" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:kqVmh.246697$(E-Mail Removed) o.uk...
>> I wonder how long it will be before NTL Cable do away with
>> registered MAC addresss as Telewest Cable have for some time?
>
> NTL have never required MAC addresses to be registered in areas using
> stand-alone cable modems. Four or five years ago the way DHCP leases
> were given changed: they went from a fixed four hours to a scheme
> where the lease length increased upon renewal until it reached 24
> hours. Prior to that change, you had to wait until the DHCP lease
> expired (ie up to four hours) before you could attach something with
> a different MAC address to the cable modem.

I heard last night that my friend had managed to get everything working
without needing my help. I didn't get chance to find out the details - like
whether she needed to clone the PC's MAC into the router to make the modem
think it was still talking to the same device, or whether she needed to
configure the AOL screen name and password into the router - because it was
in passing during a trivia game we were playing that she sent me a private
message to say "aren't I clever - I've managed to set it up all on my own".

I was well impressed!

On Sat, 6 Jan 2007 14:34:48 -0000, Martin Underwood wrote:

>Alex Fraser wrote in message
>69WdnX2-Nuc6-(E-Mail Removed):
>
>> "Alastair" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:kqVmh.246697$(E-Mail Removed) o.uk...
>>> I wonder how long it will be before NTL Cable do away with
>>> registered MAC addresss as Telewest Cable have for some time?
>>
>> NTL have never required MAC addresses to be registered in areas using
>> stand-alone cable modems. Four or five years ago the way DHCP leases
>> were given changed: they went from a fixed four hours to a scheme
>> where the lease length increased upon renewal until it reached 24
>> hours. Prior to that change, you had to wait until the DHCP lease
>> expired (ie up to four hours) before you could attach something with
>> a different MAC address to the cable modem.

Ah I did not know that NTL treated STBs and cable modems differently. My
comments were WRT STBs and were correct as of two years ago, when I threw them
out, - and the DHCP lease thing did not apply either.

--

Regards

Dave Saville

NB Remove -nospam for good email address

"Alex Fraser" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:69WdnX2-Nuc6-(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Alastair" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:kqVmh.246697$(E-Mail Removed) o.uk...
>> I wonder how long it will be before NTL Cable do away with registered MAC
>> addresss as Telewest Cable have for some time?
>
> NTL have never required MAC addresses to be registered in areas using
> stand-alone cable modems. Four or five years ago the way DHCP leases were
> given changed: they went from a fixed four hours to a scheme where the
> lease length increased upon renewal until it reached 24 hours. Prior to
> that change, you had to wait until the DHCP lease expired (ie up to four
> hours) before you could attach something with a different MAC address to
> the cable modem.
>
> Alex

Thanks for that snippet. I was always under the impression that they used a
registered MAC as per the old Telewest way that was. Now we know.

Alastair