Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Hello,

I have virgin media cable internet in my living room and a DVR (records CCTV footage) in my bedroom. The DVR has a built in web server which allows me to view my CCTV recording from anywhere on the net. To get this to work i have to be able to connect the DVR to the cable internet connection and configure some NAT. Therefore i went out and brought a Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter (model below)

I attached the router to the cable modem and then used my wireless enabled laptop to confirm the wireless router is working all OK and connection sustained for over 2 hours. I also enabled WPA (TKIP) encryption on the router. All worked OK even though ive read on forums that WPA is not supported!

I then went to my bedroom and configured the gaming adapter (using desktop) to peer with my secure cable network wireless router downstairs in my living room. This worked fine and my desktop could connect to the internet (I had to assign static ip address and dns to desktop). Looked promising. Then the real crunch, attaching my DVR to the wireless gaming adapter.

I configured my DVR with a static ip address and plugged this into the gaming adapter and that’s where it all went wrong :-(

No wireless "bridge" is formed from the gaming adpater to the Belkin router. The LAN link lights on the gaming adapter and the DVR are lit (solid) however i cannot connect to the DVR from the internet or locally on MY LAN. The wireless light on the Belkin router does not flash and is not lit.

I tested this thoroughly but in essence i plugged my laptop into my Belkin router and tried pinging the dvr and no luck...

This should work right? Will a firmware update help? What difference is an xb360 to a DVR? (networking wise that is!)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers
P

Gaming Adapter - Belkin F5D7330UK - 54G Ethernet - Gaming Adapter
Router - Belkin F5D9230UK4 G+MIMO Router

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

If the wireless light on the router isnt lit, its not transmitting a signal.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Apologies, what i meant to say was

"the wireless light on the Belkin gaming adapter does not flash and is not lit. " However the wireless router light is light and i can confirm its working as other laptops can connect to my wireless network.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Is the DVR configured with the same gateway and subnet mask that you specified on the PC when testing the adaptor ?

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Hi,

Yes. Laptop had ip address 192.168.1.50/24 and when i unplugged the cat5 cable between laptop and wireless adapter and put it straight into DVR which also had 192.168.1.50/24. I even rebooted router (in case arp was cached)... but to no luck.

why would a dvr nic be any different to a xbox 360 NIC?

Thanks.
P

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

In my opinion I think you should of bought this belkin router http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/451676...e/Product.html

Your configuration seems to be ok but your current router may not be handling so many devices, I was told in past that 54g is sufficient but when I changed routers to the one I shown you it made my life a whole lot better plus if you read up on this router it will tell you it can handle more, I might be wrong but its worth a try.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Hi PC Virgin,

Thanks for the advise.

I did think about changing the wireless router and gaming adapter but if i can plug my laptop into the wireless gaming adapter aswell as a desktop and it all works fine then it must be the DVR that is not able to do a part of thr TCP/IP process that is required by a device to communicate on the network.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

What make and model is the DVR ?

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Hi,

The DVR is an Avtech 782

http://www.isec-solutions.co.uk/P/AV...4-DVR(512).htm

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

According to this site

http://www.avtech.com.tw/english/cct...px?ID=AVC782AD

the USB port is for flash drive only not network ? is there no ethernet port on the box ?

From the device specs.


USB Interface Support USB 1.1/2.0 flash drive
Backup Device Support USB 1.1/2.0 flash drive, DVD-WRITER and network remote backup
Web Transmitting / Compression Format Motion JPEG
Ethernet 10/100 Base-T. Support remote control and live view via Ethernet.


Needs to be hooked up via an ethernet cable to your router in order to make it work

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Yep, i am not using the USB port. USB port is only for backups.

I am connecting the Ethernet LAN port on the DVR to a wireless gaming adapter and the wireless gaming adapter has been configured to peer with my wireless router down$stairs which is connected to my Virgin Media Broadband router.

If i connect the DVR (bedroom) to my router (living room) via a cable (50m of course!) it all works fine however i cannot leave a 50m cable trailing my staircase :-)

I can't understand why the DVR is not happing going through the gaming adapter?

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

wouldnt you have to configure the IP address on the ethernet port in the DVR rather than the adaptor ? otherwise how does the DVR know what IP address it is ?

What happens if you configure the DVR with all the IP details and then plug the adaptor in ?

might mean nothing but im cluthching at straws now im afraid

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Yep, IP address is configured on DVR and set as static. When i plug DVR into belkin router via cat5 cable it works fine. But when i plug in the cat5 cable into the wireless gaming adapter and "hope" the adapter can peer with the belkin router, this does not work.

The gamin adpater does not have much options. You basically tell it the wireless router to peer with and that it is... its a switch (Layer 2) and does not have any IP interfaces.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Im wondering if it might be easier or simpler for you to purchase a wireless access point and then configure it to run as follows.

SACM------Router <><><><><><><>WLAN Access point (configured with static IP on same range as router issuing DHCP)-----------DVR (issued with DHCP from WLAN Access point NOT router)

From what you have posted it looks plain and simple that for some reason that DVR does not like the adaptor you have

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

The gaming adapter is in effect an access point... also, access points do not give dynamic IP addresses...
As I see it from the info you have provided, you probably have an IP conflict somewhere. Have you tried DHCP for all your devices? Your router should be capable of dealing with a lot more than 3-4 clients that you currently have. Check the IP addresses of your computers, the DVR and the gaming adaptor (yes, it is a layer 2 bridge, but it still has an IP address for management purposes). Make sure that they are all unique and on the same network. If possible, give details of the IP configuration of all your devices (including IP address, subnet mask and default gateway).

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Thats odd as the netgear one I have in my office runs an internal DHCP server..... as does the belkin in my house !

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Then it is not an access point, but a full featured router....;)

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

You might want to give netgear Uk a ring and tell them that WPN802 is a router and not a wireless access point as they clearly state ;)

Oh look, DLINK do a wireless access point with embedded DHCP server too !!

http://www.dlink.com/products/?model=DWL-G700AP

"With its web-based setup wizard, the DWL-G700AP Access Point ensures that you will be up and running on a wireless network in just a matter of minutes. The DWL-G700AP also includes an embedded DHCP server that can automatically assign IP addresses to wireless network clients"

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

OK, let's get cheeky and start listing all possible hybrid products that can be found on the net...
By definition, an access point is equivalent to a layer 2 bridge and does not provide any layer 3 services, such as IP addressing or NAT or anything else... If some manufacturers decide to incorporate a DHCP server in it then you effectively have 2 devices into one - an access point and a DHCP server... The same as most wireless routers today, which are 3-in-1 devices - a router, a switch and a wireless access point....
Anyway, this is irrelevant to the original problem and I'll stop educating you.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

It is indeed, now perhaps you can go and educate as you so eloquently phrase it netgear and dlink........No ?

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Comment ignored as irrelevant and childish...

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

I see the discussion has progressed ;)

OK getting back to the issue...

Router - 192.168.1.1/24
Desktop - 192.168.1.3/24 192.168.1.1
Laptop - 192.168.1.2/24 192.168.1.1
DVR - 192.168.1.4/24 192.168.1.1

DHCP scope = 192.168.1.0/24

No IP conflict as i know nothing can have the static IP address of the DVR and i have done a clear arp and reboot of router. Furthermore, as I have stated the DVR works when I pug directly into router. It just does not work when going through the gaming adapter.

The DVR manufacturers spec the DVR to be able to receive DHCP but i can assure you there is no way of it doing this, it only accepts static ip addresses.

kpanchev - The gaming adapter is a pure Layer2 device and does not have a management address. Plugging in a hub into my router and sniffing using wireshark shows no IP conflict. Futhermore, looking at router diagnostics there are no ip conflicts.

Thank you for your comments so far.

Thanks
P

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

According to the manual for the gaming adaptor, it does have an IP address. (otherwise how do you set up all the wireless settings?) Check this link and see whether you have not missed something. It looks like your wireless link does not work, you say it has worked with a desktop PC, check that the settings have been saved. The part where you connect the XBOX should be replaced with the connection of your DVR.
http://belkin.httpsvc.vitalstreamcdn...20set%20up.pdf

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Intresting! The link that you posted is not the setup i went through. Looks to be different firmware then what i have but it does show L3 configuration.

Just had a more detailed search on the belkin site and found the quick setup manual which i followed
http://belkin.httpsvc.vitalstreamcdn...5d7330_man.pdf

but intrestingly this manual also had an advanced configuration section which reveal exactly what you mentioned, L3 config section. Excellent, exactly what i was hoping for. I'll go home today and configure again knowing this info....

But that still leaves the question as to why my laptop/desktop can plug into the gaming adapter and pickup an ip address in the range of my router dhcp scope but the gaming adapter has an ip address (by default) in a different range?

Thanks for the guidance....

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Having different ranges of IP addresses on the same physical network does not prevent them from working, it just does not let one range see the other...

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Nope i tell i lie... the wireless gaming adapater and router are on the same network. They would be if they are from the same manufacturer!

Ok now that i can see the config of the switc i'll dig deeper.

Thank you for your time kpanchev, i will post findings tomorrow.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

I have used the gaming adaptor/bridge and it works fine with a PreN router.

The bridge does have an IP address on 192.168.1.0/24 but when working normally is transparent at IP layer. Router should have a connections screen showing what's connected.

You may be able to connect to bridge over wireless and see what's what there. If you can't see the bridge then maybe that is at fault.

Check NIC on DVR is running with right duplex/packet sizes etc. Is IP switched on?

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Hi tweetiepooh,

The DVR is fairly simple. It's network options limit you to input ip,subnet mask, dns and and default gateway. There are no options for speed/duplex but i would have spotted any speed/duplex issues from the LAN link activity light on the DVR (it would not have been lit?). Like i've mentione earlier, the DVR works fine when plugged direcrlty into router via 50m cat5 cable but does not like the wireless gaming adapter.

Will post findings tonight.

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

OK...

after some investigation it looks at though the Avtech DVR does not like a DNS entry.

I realised (through pain) that the DVR is capable of DHCP. Not well documented and GUI is no intuitive or it just maybe that its the first DVR I’ve played with :D ... so i configured the DVR for DHCP and it worked! Obviously i needed to get it to work with Static as my kids feel the standby button and flashing lights mean "press me"... so when punching in the static info it looks as though the DVR (for some unknown reason to me) does not like a DNS server entry! It is only happy with ip/default gateway and mask

It working now.. slow due to 54Mbps gaming adapter but hey problem solved :D

But the Belkin router is pretty good compared to others i've worked with in the past...

Thanks for your advice and guidance... much appreciated.

P.s I am correct in saying that Virigin do not provide static ip addresses to residential broadband customers? Has this always been the case and does no Cable provider issue static IP addresses?

Cheers
P

Re: Belkin Wireless G router + Belkin Gaming Adapter
 

Yep, VM is the only cable provider in the UK barring a few small ones that cover small areas.