Home Networking with NTL broadband

aquanaut

Does anyone know anything about setting up homenetworking on NTL 1mb BB ? - I know its not so simple firstly becuase it's cable, and secondly...well....because it's NTL - any help is great

seamus

It's easy.

Get yourself a cable router (not a DSL one). Decide on whether you want to run wires to every machine, or use wireless with one or more of the machines. A wireless router is more expensive, but gives you the option of switching to wireless in the future, even if you don't want it now.

aquanaut

Yeah, im going wireless and am aware I probably have to put the cable modem before the router as opposed to instead of the router because NTL can be weird about allowing multiple users ?

seamus

Yes and No. Because NTL's network is effectively open, access to the network is only allowed to registered MAC addresses - each modem having it's own unique MAC address. If you wish to connect your own combined router/cable modem, you'd have to register the MAC with NTL.
This raises questions and anecdotally I've heard that you have to be lucky with the agent you get as to whether they'll actually do it or not.

Routers without modems are cheaper anyway.

aaf

seamus wrote:

Yes and No. Because NTL's network is effectively open, access to the network is only allowed to registered MAC addresses - each modem having it's own unique MAC address. If you wish to connect your own combined router/cable modem, you'd have to register the MAC with NTL.
This raises questions and anecdotally I've heard that you have to be lucky with the agent you get as to whether they'll actually do it or not.

Routers without modems are cheaper anyway.

Or, if you switch off your cable modem for at least 3 hrs (just leave it overnight), and then switch it back on, it'll clear the old MAC address so when you hook up your new wireless router ( I recommend a Linksys WRT54G), it'll work. Well, that's what the NTL installation engineer told me and I when I tried it, it worked

leeroybrown

I think that Seamus was specifically referring to the MAC address of the cable modem itself not that of the client PC/router. To use your own cable modem (if they allow it) you'd have to register the public facing MAC address of the modem with them. I was able to switch client devices immediately with no messing around or waiting.

As Seamus suggests etting an router without a modem (such as the WRT54G/WRT54GS) will mean that you get the best of every world. THe only real disadvantage is a second power adapter.

aaf

I'm a little bit confused. I presume that aquanaut already has or is getting NTL BB. If so, then NTL will have supplied a cable modem. Sure all he has to do then is hook up a wireless router to it and bob's your uncle!

SwampThing

aaf wrote:

Or, if you switch off your cable modem for at least 3 hrs (just leave it overnight), and then switch it back on, it'll clear the old MAC address

No it won't - MAC addressess are hard-coed to the devices - they don't ever get renewed.

aaf

SwampThing wrote:

No it won't - MAC addressess are hard-coed to the devices - they don't ever get renewed.

I know that! What I think happens is that once you leave your modem off for a good while, the MAC address of the originally connected device is erased leaving you to hook up another device e.g. I had my PC hooked directly to the NTL cable modem for test purposes but when I went to switch the network cable from my PC to my wireless router, the NTL engineer told me that I'd have to leave my cable modem off for a few hours as it had attached itself to the MAC address of my PC. Am I making sense at all. I'm pretty tired, long week

carrotcake

you only need to turn it off for a minute