airport setup

[Country DeVil]

I caused my self some problems and I need some help. I replaced my crappy dlink with an airport extreme and now I cant get composer to connect to my hc300. when I open composer it takes a sec but it sees the hc300 but has trouble connecting. I assume my problem is caused by telling the hc300 that it has its own ip address with the dlink and now that it is gone the hc300 cant connect to the airport. does anyone have any suggestions on how specifically to setup an airport extreme?

I am having the same problem with my slingbox. my computer can see it but wont connect.

thanks for the input.

[pharmdsmith]

Without knowing more, I'm going to guess your controller is set to static and your airport extreme has different network settings then your dlink did. If so the fix is to change your controller to dynamic or fix it's network settings to match the airport.

[nikon]

I caused my self some problems and I need some help. I replaced my crappy dlink with an airport extreme and now I cant get composer to connect to my hc300. when I open composer it takes a sec but it sees the hc300 but has trouble connecting. I assume my problem is caused by telling the hc300 that it has its own ip address with the dlink and now that it is gone the hc300 cant connect to the airport. does anyone have any suggestions on how specifically to setup an airport extreme?

I am having the same problem with my slingbox. my computer can see it but wont connect.

thanks for the input.

I believe the Apple default to the class A network with the LAN router address 10.0.0.1. The dlinks default router addresses are usually 192.168.0.1.

One way to check what network it was is to plug in the old crappy router and then connect your computer to it. You can then check the router IP by going to Start-Run and then type in CMD. Once the command prompt comes up (it usually a black box) type in "ipconfg" and press enter. You can then read the router (also called a gateway) IP address and then set your Airport to the same address.

[ILoveC4]

Nikon is correct. The Airport is setup default with a gateway and IP range of 10.0.0.xxx. If your controller and your slingbox were on a static IP, this is exactly your problem.

Why did you replace the router? Just curious.

The two easiest fixes would be to either:

a) change your Control4 equipment to DHCP (ditch the static IP addresses)

or

change your router setting to mirror those of your old D-Link.

[Country DeVil]

as of now I have tried to mirror my old router with the new one with no luck. I tried to log in to composer and change the IP so it is not static but I cant log in now. I tried putting the old router back into the mix so I could log in and I still cant log in. composer sees the hc300 and tells me its ip address but when I hit connect it takes a min then says there is a problem logging in. any other suggestions for logging in? can I plug the cat6 directly from the hc300 to my computer and take the router out of the equation and log in or will that not work?

[EagleMoon]

as of now I have tried to mirror my old router with the new one with no luck. I tried to log in to composer and change the IP so it is not static but I cant log in now. I tried putting the old router back into the mix so I could log in and I still cant log in. composer sees the hc300 and tells me its ip address but when I hit connect it takes a min then says there is a problem logging in. any other suggestions for logging in? can I plug the cat6 directly from the hc300 to my computer and take the router out of the equation and log in or will that not work?

Do you know for sure what the address is of your controller? If you do and you know how to set a static address on your computer, you can set a similar static address on your computer and then communicate to change the controller address to the new range. Unless you had multiple routers in your network (you probably don't) you should be fine.

For example, if your controller is addressed at 192.168.1.99, set your computer to 192.168.1.98 (or something close to 98 -- you might have other equipment statically addressed at 98, so it might require a bit of trial and error unless you know all the former addresses). Change the controller to an address in the new range or set it for DHCP. Repeat that for any other statically addressed equipment, then change your computer's address back to what is was -- probably DHCP.

Edit: I should add that if you've messed with the settings on the router without understanding what you were doing, you may have it all messed up. You might want to reset the new back to factory and start from there.

[mercedes]

You need to get both the ip addresses in the correct range and the subnet settings. (255.255.255.0 for example). You can use a crossover cat5or6 cable and connect your pc directly to the controller but i your PC is set up to use DHCP you will not be able to see it. Can you just do a network reset on the controller? That should set it back to DHCP and should work with whatever DHCP server/router it is plugged into.

[pharmdsmith]

You need to get both the ip addresses in the correct range and the subnet settings. (255.255.255.0 for example). You can use a crossover cat5or6 cable and connect your pc directly to the controller but i your PC is set up to use DHCP you will not be able to see it. Can you just do a network reset on the controller? That should set it back to DHCP and should work with whatever DHCP server/router it is plugged into.

Bingo, that would be the simplest thing to do. Reset the network settings on the controller. This will put it to dhcp and all should be well. As Eaglemoon said, if you messed with the airport settings, you probably want to reset it too.

[mercedes]

You need to get both the ip addresses in the correct range and the subnet settings. (255.255.255.0 for example). You can use a crossover cat5or6 cable and connect your pc directly to the controller but i your PC is set up to use DHCP you will not be able to see it. Can you just do a network reset on the controller? That should set it back to DHCP and should work with whatever DHCP server/router it is plugged into.

Bingo' date=' that would be the simplest thing to do. Reset the network settings on the controller. This will put it to dhcp and all should be well. As Eaglemoon said, if you messed with the airport settings, you probably want to reset it too.[/quote']

My wife always said I was simple:)

[Country DeVil]

I have it figured out. I had to plug in the dlink and just the hc300 and connect wireless to my pc to connect to director. I changed the hc300 to DHCP restarted it after plugging in the cat6 from the hc300 to the airport extreme. now I can connect and all is happy. as for my next step can anyone explain how to setup a Linksys BEFSR41 (wired router) with the airport extreme.

as of now it goes cable modem to airport to linksys. the problem is that nothing plugged into the linksys can do anything, as if the linksys and the airport see each other but are not on speaking terms. I have no linksys software so I plugged them in together and hoped they worked but now I am sad cause they dont have a good relationship.

I assume I need to tell the airport there is another router plugged into it? or should I change the setup to modem to linksys to airport?

thanks for all the help, you guys are lifesavers... not the candy kind.

wow I'm tired and need to stop typing.

[scottedge]

I have it figured out. I had to plug in the dlink and just the hc300 and connect wireless to my pc to connect to director. I changed the hc300 to DHCP restarted it after plugging in the cat6 from the hc300 to the airport extreme. now I can connect and all is happy. as for my next step can anyone explain how to setup a Linksys BEFSR41 (wired router) with the airport extreme.

as of now it goes cable modem to airport to linksys. the problem is that nothing plugged into the linksys can do anything, as if the linksys and the airport see each other but are not on speaking terms. I have no linksys software so I plugged them in together and hoped they worked but now I am sad cause they dont have a good relationship.

I assume I need to tell the airport there is another router plugged into it? or should I change the setup to modem to linksys to airport?

thanks for all the help, you guys are lifesavers... not the candy kind.

wow I'm tired and need to stop typing.

you need to turn DCHP server off on the linksys. You should not have two routers on one network. you can use the linksys as a switch after turning off the roter part.

[ILoveC4]

Yup. Two routers is a problem.

[strange_brew]

Yup. Two routers is a problem.

Not necessarily. I have 2 routers. The DHCP IP ranges are different and my HC1000 has a static address outside both DHCP ranges. Works fine.

[EagleMoon]

Yup. Two routers is a problem.

Not necessarily. I have 2 routers. The DHCP IP ranges are different and my HC1000 has a static address outside both DHCP ranges. Works fine.

That's true: "not necessarily". But getting that right is exceedingly difficult for most non-network professionals. (Yes, there are exceptions to that rule.)

You can pretty easily use two wireless "routers" in a network to extend its range: Router1 connects directly to your Internet, Router2 is somewhere else in the house; set the wireless name (SSID) the same on both, turn off DHCP on Router2, connect Router2 to the Router1 via one of Router2's LAN ports, NOT via its "Internet" or "WAN" port, statically configure a LAN address in Router2 that is in the subnet of Router1 but outside the DHCP range in Router1.

Commonly, a device like this will default to a subnet like 192.168.1.0 with subnet mask of 255.255.255.0; its DHCP might include addresses from 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.254 and its own LAN address will be 192.168.1.1. So set an address of your Router2 to be between 192.168.1.1 (Router1's address) and 192.168.1.100 (DHCP start) -- that is 192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.99, making sure not to duplicate any other address that is statically assigned.

Yes, there are variations that will work, but I think this is the most straightforward and easy to follow for non-technical folks. (not that it'll sound easy to them, it just gets worse if you try to get fancy)

[strange_brew]

Yup. Two routers is a problem.

Not necessarily. I have 2 routers. The DHCP IP ranges are different and my HC1000 has a static address outside both DHCP ranges. Works fine.

That's true: "not necessarily". But getting that right is exceedingly difficult for most non-network professionals. (Yes' date=' there are exceptions to that rule.)

You can pretty easily use two wireless "routers" in a network to extend its range: Router1 connects directly to your Internet, Router2 is somewhere else in the house; set the wireless name (SSID) the same on both, turn off DHCP on Router2, connect Router2 to the Router1 via one of Router2's LAN ports, NOT via its "Internet" or "WAN" port, statically configure a LAN address in Router2 that is in the subnet of Router1 but outside the DHCP range in Router1.

Commonly, a device like this will default to a subnet like 192.168.1.0 with subnet mask of 255.255.255.0; its DHCP might include addresses from 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.254 and its own LAN address will be 192.168.1.1. So set an address of your Router2 to be between 192.168.1.1 (Router1's address) and 192.168.1.100 (DHCP start) -- that is 192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.99, making sure not to duplicate any other address that is statically assigned.

Yes, there are variations that will work, but I think this is the most straightforward and easy to follow for non-technical folks. (not that it'll sound easy to them, it just gets worse if you try to get fancy)[/quote']

Interesting. I have 2 different SSID's and my 2nd router is connected to the WAN on my primary router. The secondary router has a VPN tunnel to a US-based ISP (I live in Canada). So anything behind that router has a US IP Address. Anything on my primary router is my regular CDN IP address

[CFUG]

Strange_Brew- It's all coming together now: Strange Brew, SCTV, Bob & Doug= CANADA

[EagleMoon]

Interesting. I have 2 different SSID's and my 2nd router is connected to the WAN on my primary router. The secondary router has a VPN tunnel to a US-based ISP

Yes, interesting. It sounds like you are using "2nd" and "primary" differently than I would. Which one has your Internet access line (DSL, Cable, whatever) connected to it?

Ignoring "2nd" and "primary" designations, does your system look like this (assuming my text diagram makes sense)? Words/numbers in brackets refer to port numbers/names and to the wireless network of each router.

And which of my "Router1" and "Router2" are you calling your "2nd" and "primary" routers?

                                    |
            [1] Router2 [WAN]-------|------->  [1] Router1 [WAN]  ----> Internet
            [2]                     |          [2]                  ^
    US      [3]                     |   CDN    [3]                  |
            [4]                     |          [4]                  |
        [Wireless]    /             |      [Wireless]               |
                ____ /              |                               |
                     \              |                               |
                      \-------------|--VPN Tunnel to US-------------|
                                    |

[strange_brew]

Strange_Brew- It's all coming together now: Strange Brew, SCTV, Bob & Doug= CANADA

Not many people get that. You, sir, are clearly a connoisseur

[strange_brew]

Interesting. I have 2 different SSID's and my 2nd router is connected to the WAN on my primary router. The secondary router has a VPN tunnel to a US-based ISP

Yes' date=' interesting. It sounds like you are using "2nd" and "primary" differently than I would. Which one has your Internet access line (DSL, Cable, whatever) connected to it?

Ignoring "2nd" and "primary" designations, does your system look like this (assuming my text diagram makes sense)? Words/numbers in brackets refer to port numbers/names and to the wireless network of each router.

And which of my "Router1" and "Router2" are you calling your "2nd" and "primary" routers?[/quote']

Looks more like this:

CDN ISP --> Router1 WAN --> Router1 LAN --> 24 port switch ---> C4 devices & Router2 WAN --> Router2 LAN --> US VPN Devices (Roku, Sonos, etc...)

[wingzz]

question for you network guys, I have a linksys wireless router and a linksys access point, I have set the SSID to be the same, should I set both to be on the same channel also?

looking to enhance my coverage and dont want to have to pick which access device each time something connects

[EagleMoon]

question for you network guys, I have a linksys wireless router and a linksys access point, I have set the SSID to be the same, should I set both to be on the same channel also?

looking to enhance my coverage and dont want to have to pick which access device each time something connects

Generally, no. If they are in range of each other there would be interference. I believe they both have an "automatic" setting and it will cause them choose separate channels that don't interfere. As long as the SSID is the same you should be able to roam seamlessly between them and your computer should switch to the stronger signal/channel. There's probably some hysteresis or difference threshold around that switching so that it doesn't flop back and forth at the slightest change.

Make sure only one is providing the DHCP service for the network. You could also leave both on and just make sure they have non-overlapping ranges within the same subnet. Whaaat?! Right. Keep it simple -- Just turn one off if they both are capable of DHCP, probably turn it off in the AP, not the router.

You really need to make sure the security settings on each are enabled, set to the same type and have the same password/key. Use WPA/WPA2 if they and all your client computers support it. Consider WEP a nearly useless last resort.

[wingzz]

thanks for the help