Resolved Home Network Help Needed

[UncleSchnitty]

Hello, I am working on my home network and I need some advise. Currently I have Fios internet coming into their Actiontec MI424WR, from there it branches off to an Airport Time-capsule (gen 3) and a new Asus Ac1900. I have a lot of devices (xboxes, ps3, wired computers...) also attached. I have just ordered a Rosewill RGS1016 switch as well.

Basically what I wanted to know is what is the best way to hook this all together and best way to configure.

I want to be able to:
1. Use my time capsule for backups
2. Use the Usb port on the Asus as a media server
3. Have all other devices be able to read off the media server and each other.
4. Have the best firewall security possible with these parts.

Any help would be appreciated, and if you need anymore info please let me know. Thanks

Edit: Thanks to User Altemose most of my issues have been clarified.

 

[Altemose]

Hello, I am working on my home network and I need some advise. Currently I have Fios internet coming into their Actiontec MI424WR, from there it branches off to an Airport Time-capsule (gen 3) and a new Asus Ac1900. I have a lot of devices (xboxes, ps3, wired computers...) also attached. I have just ordered a Rosewill RGS1016 switch as well.

Basically what I wanted to know is what is the best way to hook this all together and best way to configure.

I want to be able to:
1. Use my time capsule for backups
2. Use the Usb port on the Asus as a media server
3. Have all other devices be able to read off the media server and each other.
4. Have the best firewall security possible with these parts.

Any help would be appreciated, and if you need anymore info please let me know. Thanks

I would put the Actiontec into Bridge Mode and use the ASUS as the main router.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

I would put the Actiontec into Bridge Mode and use the ASUS as the main router.

So you think Actiontec(bridge)->Asus->Switch-> All devices? I have also heard that putting the Verizon Actiontec into bridge mode is kinda a pain. Any experience?

 

[Altemose]

So you think Actiontec(bridge)->Asus->Switch-> All devices? I have also heard that putting the Verizon Actiontec into bridge mode is kinda a pain. Any experience?

I do not have any experience with putting the Actiontec in Bridge Mode. A quick call to Verizon should get you squared away with that. Then use the ASUS as the main router with a switch going into the other stuff.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

I do not have any experience with putting the Actiontec in Bridge Mode. A quick call to Verizon should get you squared away with that. Then use the ASUS as the main router with a switch going into the other stuff.

Neither Verizon/ actiontec will help with putting the router into bridge mode. I guess they really don't want you doing it for some reason. I've been trying different tutorials online but they all lock out my internet connection unfortunately. It's a pain because it seems verizon really doesn't want you to do this

 

[Altemose]

Neither Verizon/ actiontec will help with putting the router into bridge mode. I guess they really don't want you doing it for some reason. I've been trying different tutorials online but they all lock out my internet connection unfortunately. It's a pain because it seems verizon really doesn't want you to do this

This may be of some use here.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

This may be of some use here.

Thank you but unfortunately I have already tried that (along with other guides) apparently with different model Revs of the router and firmware updates they have made it harder to bridge the router (i.e. linking the coax/ethernet together) from what I understand they don't want you bypassing their router and enabling an outside ip address to another router because they want you to pay for a business account for features like VPN.

 

[Altemose]

Thank you but unfortunately I have already tried that (along with other guides) apparently with different model Revs of the router and firmware updates they have made it harder to bridge the router (i.e. linking the coax/ethernet together) from what I understand they don't want you bypassing their router and enabling an outside ip address to another router because they want you to pay for a business account for features like VPN.

You need for it to bridge for a VPN router to work.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

You need for it to bridge for a VPN router to work.

Yes, If I was able to bridge the verizon router and have the asus have an outside ip address I could then use all the features of the asus router. As it stands now any feature that uses an outside connection is blocked by verizons router. There router (the actiontec) is very restrictive thats why I wanted to bridge it but it seams verizon has locked that out. I guess Ill just have to live with actiontec-asus-switch-devices.

 

[Altemose]

Yes, If I was able to bridge the verizon router and have the asus have an outside ip address I could then use all the features of the asus router. As it stands now any feature that uses an outside connection is blocked by verizons router. There router (the actiontec) is very restrictive thats why I wanted to bridge it but it seams verizon has locked that out. I guess Ill just have to live with actiontec-asus-switch-devices.

Staying in that configuration will potentially cause VPN and double NAT problems. That may or may not affect what you are trying to do.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Staying in that configuration will potentially cause VPN and double NAT problems. That may or may not affect what you are trying to do.

Since I can't get the Verizon actiontec into bridge mode I don't really know the best way to configure this. Its a shame because I really would have had a lot more options if it could be put into bridge.

 

[Altemose]

Since I can't get the Verizon actiontec into bridge mode I don't really know the best way to configure this. Its a shame because I really would have had a lot more options if it could be put into bridge.

Perhaps a Tier 2 Verizon customer care representative can authorize putting it in Bridge Mode. Clearly it is out of the consumer's hands.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Perhaps a Tier 2 Verizon customer care representative can authorize putting it in Bridge Mode. Clearly it is out of the consumer's hands.

I called up customer care today just to see if I could get any help. I explained I was trying to hook up a third party router and I did not want to use the actiontec for routing anymore. I asked if there was any way I could do that. The guy said "all you have to do is plug the new router into the back of the verizon router" I then explained that I basically wanted to turn off the actiontec's routing so the new router can take care of all of that. he said "naw if you turn off the actiontec you won't have internet"

Clearly I'm not getting anywhere with them...

 

[Altemose]

I called up customer care today just to see if I could get any help. I explained I was trying to hook up a third party router and I did not want to use the actiontec for routing anymore. I asked if there was any way I could do that. The guy said "all you have to do is plug the new router into the back of the verizon router" I then explained that I basically wanted to turn off the actiontec's routing so the new router can take care of all of that. he said "naw if you turn off the actiontec you won't have internet"

Clearly I'm not getting anywhere with them...

In addition to not getting anywhere with your request you clearly got an incompetent rep. Perhaps a higher level rep can answer this request? Either way, is there a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on the Actiontec? If so you would plug the ASUS into the back of the Actiontec, add it to the DMZ, and set it as the main router. Everything else including the Time Capsule (in bridge mode) and other clients would connect directly to the ASUS or through a Gigabit unmanaged switch.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

In addition to not getting anywhere with your request you clearly got an incompetent rep. Perhaps a higher level rep can answer this request? Either way, is there a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on the Actiontec? If so you would plug the ASUS into the back of the Actiontec, add it to the DMZ, and set it as the main router. Everything else including the Time Capsule (in bridge mode) and other clients would connect directly to the ASUS or through a Gigabit unmanaged switch.

That was the last thing I tried tonight, It still caused problems. I think because while the routers IP was in DMZ the actiontec was still giving out ips and managing the devices connected to the asus.

For now i guess I have to let the actiontec be in charge and just use the asus as an access port. Seems like a waste for such a capable router.

 

[Altemose]

That was the last thing I tried tonight, It still caused problems. I think because while the routers IP was in DMZ the actiontec was still giving out ips and managing the devices connected to the asus.

For now i guess I have to let the actiontec be in charge and just use the asus as an access port. Seems like a waste for such a capable router.

I would start by resetting the ASUS and configuring it before you plug it into the Actiontec. You need a different DHCP range for the ASUS despite the DMZ. For example, you cannot have the Actiontec giving out the 192.168.1.1-250 range of addresses and the ASUS giving the same 192.168.1.1-250 range. Fortunately you do not need to change classes of addresses just specify a new range. It is perfectly appropriate to use 192.168.2.1-250 on the ASUS. Once the ASUS is configured plug it in and add it's IP (which will be local, like 192.168.1.2) to the DMZ. This will bypass the firewall and NAT routing system of the Actiontec and give the ASUS direct access to the Internet. The difference here between this and bridge mode is that you will still have a private class c IPv4 address for the ASUS.

Once that is done I recommend that you setup the ASUS on a static IP configuration. This can be done by adding the ASUS outside the range of the Actiontec, for example if the Actiontec went from 192.168.1.1-100 you could put it at 192.168.1.101 or by adding a DHCP reservation for the ASUS.

When it is all setup I think it will work great but it is just a process of getting the settings right. Verizon and Actiontec are not going to get this into bridge mode so we will use the next best thing.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

I would start by resetting the ASUS and configuring it before you plug it into the Actiontec. You need a different DHCP range for the ASUS despite the DMZ. For example, you cannot have the Actiontec giving out the 192.168.1.1-250 range of addresses and the ASUS giving the same 192.168.1.1-250 range. Fortunately you do not need to change classes of addresses just specify a new range. It is perfectly appropriate to use 192.168.2.1-250 on the ASUS. Once the ASUS is configured plug it in and add it's IP (which will be local, like 192.168.1.2) to the DMZ. This will bypass the firewall and NAT routing system of the Actiontec and give the ASUS direct access to the Internet. The difference here between this and bridge mode is that you will still have a private class c IPv4 address for the ASUS.

Once that is done I recommend that you setup the ASUS on a static IP configuration. This can be done by adding the ASUS outside the range of the Actiontec, for example if the Actiontec went from 192.168.1.1-100 you could put it at 192.168.1.101 or by adding a DHCP reservation for the ASUS.

When it is all setup I think it will work great but it is just a process of getting the settings right. Verizon and Actiontec are not going to get this into bridge mode so we will use the next best thing.

Yes this sounds like the best option for now. Let me see if I get this.
1. Set range on actiontec to 192.168.1.2-192.168.1.2 (it actually already is)
2. Set up Asus router for something like 192.168.2.1
3. Set Asus DHCP range like 192.168.2.2-196.168.254
4. Set router ip into dmz on actiontec
5. Plug asus into actiontec.

The only thing I don't get is is the static ip config. can you help me with that?

 

[Altemose]

Actually, the Actiontec would use the 192.168.1.1 range where the ASUS will use the 192.168.2.1 range. You would also plug the ASUS in before adding it to the DMZ. Inside the ASUS's WAN settings it will use DHCP automatically. This is fine unless you have to do specific port forwards from the internet at which point you would need to set it to static. Work with getting it setup regularly before you worry about the static configuration.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Actually, the Actiontec would use the 192.168.1.1 range where the ASUS will use the 192.168.2.1 range. You would also plug the ASUS in before adding it to the DMZ. Inside the ASUS's WAN settings it will use DHCP automatically. This is fine unless you have to do specific port forwards from the internet at which point you would need to set it to static. Work with getting it setup regularly before you worry about the static configuration.

I was just about to edit the routers ip. I got that all set up. The routers 192.168.1.xx wan ip is set up in dmz, and the asus is giving all my devices connected to it the 192.168.2.xx range. Thank you for helping me with this I really appreciate it

 

[Altemose]

I was just about to edit the routers ip. I got that all set up. The routers 192.168.1.xx wan ip is set up in dmz, and the asus is giving all my devices connected to it the 192.168.2.xx range. Thank you for helping me with this I really appreciate it

Does this mean it is working well now?

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Does this mean it is working well now?

Its working well on this DMZ configuration. You were saying put the asus on a static ip configuration outside of the actiontec range? Since I configured the actiontec with a range of 192.168.1.xx-192.168.1.XXX and the asus is a DMZ with a range of 192.168.2.XX-192.168.2.XXX what do I have to do to make that static?

This configuration has been great for my internal network but its just there are features of the router that are locked out until I find a way to get Verizon to let me bridge the actiontec. Im going to give them a call today and see if I keep insisting thats what I need that they will get me to someone who can actually help.

 

[Altemose]

Its working well on this DMZ configuration. You were saying put the asus on a static ip configuration outside of the actiontec range? Since I configured the actiontec with a range of 192.168.1.xx-192.168.1.XXX and the asus is a DMZ with a range of 192.168.2.XX-192.168.2.XXX what do I have to do to make that static?

This configuration has been great for my internal network but its just there are features of the router that are locked out until I find a way to get Verizon to let me bridge the actiontec. Im going to give them a call today and see if I keep insisting thats what I need that they will get me to someone who can actually help.

The ASUS is getting a private address like 192.168.1.x! You could configure it to always get an address like 192.168.1.100 etc. Otherwise you can set up a DHCP reservation just to ensure it won't ever get a different IP which could affect port forwards. If you do not plan on doing port forwards then you can leave it as is.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

So I thought I would share an update. Today I messed around trying any tutorial I could find on getting the router into bridge mode and calling and talking to multiple Fios tecs. I was able to get the Asus to see an outside ip (and I got very excited) but it would not connect to the internet. I called fios and the first tech was useless but once I got to the next tier the rep explained what the problem was. Long-Long story short I need to run a ethernet cable to the basement into their box, call and have them switch from coax to ethernet, plug the asus in and then plug the fios router into that. The third person I talked to was a family friend who is a fios tech, he confirmed this was the only way it will work.

This is all a pain because i have to run a 200ft ethernet to that box but in the end I should have all the features on my router work. Its amazing how hard they make this to do.

 

[Altemose]

So I thought I would share an update. Today I messed around trying any tutorial I could find on getting the router into bridge mode and calling and talking to multiple Fios tecs. I was able to get the Asus to see an outside ip (and I got very excited) but it would not connect to the internet. I called fios and the first tech was useless but once I got to the next tier the rep explained what the problem was. Long-Long story short I need to run a ethernet cable to the basement into their box, call and have them switch from coax to ethernet, plug the asus in and then plug the fios router into that. The third person I talked to was a family friend who is a fios tech, he confirmed this was the only way it will work.



This is all a pain because i have to run a 200ft ethernet to that box but in the end I should have all the features on my router work. Its amazing how hard they make this to do.

I would just do the DMZ for the ASUS then. It should work just the same.

 

[nkawal]

I too have Fios but i have the Apple Extreme Router connected to it in Bride Mode. I used another tutorial couple years ago. I am now finding myself having to reboot both the Apple Router and the Actiontec couple times a month. Not sure whats going on. I may just start over fresh. Below is what i used.

http://blog.yagelski.com/2010/03/verizon-fios-and-apple-airport-extreme.html