InsightBB vs. The Linksys Router
Updates:
Jan, 2003: I have had a very poor speeds (160 kbps). I adjusted the
router and it did better for a while. I tried to upgrade the firmware and it is
now dead. I switched over to my Belkin WAP/Router and am getting 3200 kbps. I am
no long suggesting Linksys' routers but the wireless cards work great for me.
Sept. 26: No Problems since firmware upgrade in July.
August 30, 2002: The network only goes down from lack of signal. The Linksys router is working perfectly with InsightBB.
August 8, 2002: Only one trivial weather interruption. It still works fine. I am no longer discouraging the purchase of Linksys products to use with InsightBB.
July 22, 2002: It's still running without a drop in over a week!!!! I may rethink my position on the Linksys.
July 14, 2002: I updated the router's firmware to version 1.42.7 (Apr 23 2002). It worked but I'll test it out for a bit before I give this product my nod of approval.
June 17, 2002: No mas, no mas!!!! I gave up on trying to get Insightbb and my Linksys to talk. It worked fine until I tweaked the router then they would not talk anymore. I eventually bought a Belkin WAP/router for $119.00 at PCMall. It works great and talks with my existing Linksys' cards. The moral of this story: DON'T TWEAK IT IF IT WORKS!!! If it stops working, try Belkin or SMC. There are other devices that may work but I've yet to hear from someone who has tried them (3Com, Agere, D-Link, etc...).
May 9, 2002: Before you try cloning your MAC address on the Linksys router, first try upgrading the firmware in each of your Linksys devices then repairing (or disable - enable) your wireless card(s). After this try going to http://12.223.2.9/ and registering your Linksys router's MAC address. If this works, or does not, email me and let me know: mailto:jpdurbin@jpdurbin.net .
May 2, 2002: I ran into the issue again on my base PC but I booted my laptop and the router was still connected. Hmm I did not upgrade the firmware on this older WPC11 card. I was able to get it talking again by disabling the WPC11 then re-enabling it. Moral of this issue: UPGRADE THE WPC11 FIRMWARE!!
May 1, 2002: A Network Administrator and I were conferring about this issue and we may have found the issue. When you initially setup your insightbb account you have to visit their http://sas.insightbb.com/ page to register your computer's NIC MAC address with them. When you switch PCs, NICs, or switch to a router, you need to revisit the page but your router can't interact with the page so you need to get clever.
I visited the confirmation page from http://sas.insightbb.com/ using my laptop via rj45 (hardwired) to the cable modem. I then spoofed the MAC address on my router using my laptop's rj45 NIC MAC. Insightbb now sees my laptop's rj45 NIC MAC coming from my router and has not dropped the line.
Another issue I had: I was having is a really slow connection (500kbps) from my laptop but updated its drivers and now get 2.8mbps.
The solution: Clone your MAC address and update all firmware and drivers for all of your cards and the router.
I called Linksys Technical Support and they were very helpful. They suggested a few ways to get around various issues I and others are having with their product and InsightBB.
1st: Clone the MAC address. There is a MAC cloning feature in the Linksys router products with recent firmware versions (for my BEFW11S4 1.36 and higher). Look in the initial setup page for older versions or in the advanced tab for newer firmware versions. The MAC address you need to clone will be on one of your computers network interface cards (NIC) or wireless cards. In XP you can find them out by looking in the properties of your NIC or wireless card then choosing details:
The physical address is the MAC address:
Another way, using NT based systems (NT, Win200, or WinXP), is by running IPCONFIG from the Start/RUN (command) prompt. Start/Run type "CMD", press enter. At the command prompt type "IPCONFIG /ALL" press enter. Voila:
If you are using a 95 based system (Win95, 98, or ME), run "WINIPCFG" from the Start/RUN (command) prompt. Choose your card and press details.
You are looking for the MAC address or Physical address. Either way, copy the address down.
Once you have the address, get into your router's setup http://192.168.1.1/ . Depending on the firmware version you use, the Cloning feature is in a variety of places. I have 1.37.9b so it is in the advanced tab/MAC Addr Clone:
Other firmware versions will have the cloning feature in the initial setup page but earlier versions will not and you will need to upgrade the firmware (http://www.linksys.com/download/). Upgrading the firmware can cause your device to fail 1-2% of the time. Be very careful and should this occur call Linksys ((800) 326-7114) and get it replaced. Always be sure you are upgrading with the proper firmware!!!!
Enter your MAC address in the appropriate place, "Apply", turn off your cable modem for a minute, turn it back on and hopefully the issues are fixed.
Another potential issue is losing IP packets:
You need the latest firmware version and need to set MTU size. The setting for my system can be found on the bottom of http://192.168.1.1/Filters.htm "Advanced Tab/Filters" .If you have cable set it to 1500, DSL 1492.
If this helped or if you are still having issues, please let me know mailto:jpdurbin@jpdurbin.net .
Johnathan P. Durbin
A Member of the 84Online team