Problem setting up a network

[AyG]

My TOT Internet connection has been virtually unusable for 3 weeks now. In desperation I am trying to access my True Internet connection which comes into a different part of the house. The wifi signal isn't strong enough, so I've installed a TP-Link powerline extender.

(On the box it says "Easy, one-button setup" which is a lie. It took me several hours to get ip connectivity from my PC to the router, not helped by the fact that the router, from True, is password protected, so its settings can't be altered.)

Attempts to access the world-wide web fail - DNS resolution is failing.

I can ping the router at 192.168.1.1, but can't ping anything beyond that.

My routing table looks like:

Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 1 0 0 eth0


My PC's IP address is 192.168.1.0 (which I set as fixed because DHCP isn't working from the router for some reason).

The DNS server I specify is 8.8.8.8

I'm running Linux Mint 16.

The router is a CISCO EPC3825 - and is working fine otherwise.

Anyone got any clue why this isn't working?

(I don't think it can be an ip number conflict since my PC is the only device on the network, other than the router.)

[narkeddiver]

One option to try is to google the true modem model number and look to see what the default admin user and password is

Generally the True install guys leave this at the factory default value

[AyG]

One option to try is to google the true modem model number and look to see what the default admin user and password is

Generally the True install guys leave this at the factory default value

Tried that. Default is admin/admin, but it didn't work.

[KittenKong]

Powerline extenders are normally extremely simple to set up and should require absolutely no modification of any settings either on your PC or your router. If you have done either then that is probably what is causing the trouble.

I use Powerline extenders (different brand) and they work fine. To link them I just put them into adjacent sockets and pushed the two "link" buttons.

That said, your problem stems from your fixed IP address of 192.168.1.0

Change it to 192.168.1.2 and put 192.168.1.1 as the gateway and 255.255.255.0 as the mask. Use 8.8.8.8 and 192.168.1.1 as the two DNS settings on the PC.

But DHCP should work fine and if it doesnt then you probably have some other incorrect settings.

[narkeddiver]

One option to try is to google the true modem model number and look to see what the default admin user and password is

Generally the True install guys leave this at the factory default value

Tried that. Default is admin/admin, but it didn't work.

You must have had the one diligent installer Sometimes True can be persuaded to give you the new password if you phone their support line and explain what you are trying to do. You may well be able to resolve the issue without having to access the modem settings but it's always useful to have access just incase

[Tywais]

That said, your problem stems from your fixed IP address of 192.168.1.0

^^What he says. 192.168.1.0 is not a valid IP address.

192.168.1.0 is not a valid IP address for a network router or other host, and no device on your network should be configured to own this address. Instead, 192.168.1.0 is used in routing tables and by the Internet Protocol internally to identify the 192.168.1.x network as a whole. A router or other network gateway device on these networks is typically installed at 192.168.1.1, and other hosts use higher numbers in the range.

Compnetworking

[Aachen]

Never use 192.x.x.0 or 192.x.x.255 !

[AyG]

I don't understand routing tables. Never had to deal with them before. Are they actually involved in the necessary configuration at all? Surely I provide all the necessary information when I set up the network connection itself.

Previously when I was trying to get things to work I was using my PC with address 192.168.1.77 to avoid potential ip address conflicts. I only tried 192.168.1.0 because I was desperate and it appeared in the routing table.

Now, when I set my computer ip address to 192.168.1.2 things still don't work. I've attached a screenshot of my current network settings.

I think I may have stumbled across the cause of the problem. When I browse to 192.168.1.1 I would expect to see the login screen for the router. What I actually get is the login screen for the powerline extender. It would appear that because the router's DHCP isn't working, the powerline extender has taken the same ip address as the router.

What to try next?

[Tywais]

I looked at the manual for the TP-link and it defaults to 192.168.1.1 and that needs to be changed to prevent conflict with the router. I see no option for the TP-link to obtain an address from a DHCP server. Also need to be sure on the router DHCP to not include the fixed IPs in its range.

[AyG]

I've changed the ip address of the adapter to 192.168.1.17.

I've re-paired the two devices.

I've changed the network connection gateway to 192.168.1.17 (not sure if that's correct. Should it still be 192.168.1.1 - the router address? I've actually tried both.).

Same problem.

Do I need to change the ip routing table? Is it even relevant?

[KittenKong]

You should not touch the routing table.

Which model of Powerline adaptor you are using? The simple ones like this http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/?categoryid=1658&model=TL-PA4010KIT only require you to pair them and then connect them to any network with DHCP working, and you never need to access the interface or change anything or even install the management software.

I recommend that you reset both Powerline devices to the factory default then, having paired them without connecting them to any device, you first connect one extender to the router, and then the other one to the PC. As with any work involving IP addresses you may need to restart all the devices, and if you do it should be in this order: router, powerline connected to router, other powerline, PC.

The extenders I am using appear to be exactly the same as these but with a different brand label on them. They work perfectly.

[KittenKong]

I've changed the network connection gateway to 192.168.1.17 (not sure if that's correct. Should it still be 192.168.1.1 - the router address? I've actually tried both.).

The gateway should be your router.

[Guest]

Do I understand correctly, your setup is following

PC -(ethernet)-extender1-(power cables, own protocol?)-extener2-(ethernet)-router-(adsl)-internet?

Or does the power adapters have their own IP addresses?

If the extenders do not have IP-addresses of their own, then you should use the router ip-address as your default route.

If you dont want to play with the subnet masks, then keep your PC IP address at the same network as the router is.

For example if router is 192.168.1.1, then 192.168.1.17 is good for your PC. In this case your default route is 192.168.1.1. The routing table showed "UG" on OP, that is the default route.

I don't remember the exact command line command, but this might work.

# route add default gw 192.168.1.1

Then test your connectivity

# traceroute -n 8.8.8.8