Cable Modems Help with Motorola SB5120

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Subject Author Date
Help with Motorola SB5120 Hose A. Cuervo 01-16-06
Posted by Hose A. Cuervo on January 16, 2006, 4:15 pm
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I just purchased a SB5120 and registered it with my ISP.
Seems to work fine so far, but I'd like to configure it
just a little.

After browsing through the web interface (which is not
even protected by a password), I found that all you can do
is: 1) reset the modem to defaults, and 2) reboot it.

So I'm jumping through hoops with Motorola tech support.
After telling them that there's nothing in the web interface
that will allow me to change things (like LAN IP, shut off the
DHCP server, set a password, etc), their answer was this:

"There are no changes that can be made in the configuration
menus of the SBG5120 Cable Modem other then resetting the modem."

Uh... yeah, no kidding. I think that was my question in the
first place.

Does anybody have info on configuring the SB5120, or do I
need to return it for a refund ?

Thanks :)





Posted by Warren on January 16, 2006, 5:47 pm
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Hose A. Cuervo wrote:
>
> I just purchased a SB5120 and registered it with my ISP.
> Seems to work fine so far, but I'd like to configure it
> just a little.
>
> After browsing through the web interface (which is not
> even protected by a password), I found that all you can do
> is: 1) reset the modem to defaults, and 2) reboot it.
>
> So I'm jumping through hoops with Motorola tech support.
> After telling them that there's nothing in the web interface
> that will allow me to change things (like LAN IP, shut off the
> DHCP server, set a password, etc), their answer was this:
>
> "There are no changes that can be made in the configuration
> menus of the SBG5120 Cable Modem other then resetting the modem."
>
> Uh... yeah, no kidding. I think that was my question in the
> first place.
>
> Does anybody have info on configuring the SB5120, or do I
> need to return it for a refund ?


Let's alter that quote just a little to make it clearer:

"There are no changes that can be made BY END USERS in the configuration
menus of the SBG5120 Cable Modem other then resetting the modem."

Changes to the modem configuration are made by the owners of the network
that it is placed on: That is, the cable company. A configuration file is
downloaded to the cable modem whenever it connects after being reset. You,
the end user, do not get to configure any component on the cable company's
network, including the cable modem that you may have bought to place on that
network.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Compare and buy TaxCut and TurboTax Software:
http://www.holzemville.com/taxes/





Posted by $Bill on January 16, 2006, 5:47 pm
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Hose A. Cuervo wrote:
> I just purchased a SB5120 and registered it with my ISP.
> Seems to work fine so far, but I'd like to configure it
> just a little.
>
> After browsing through the web interface (which is not
> even protected by a password), I found that all you can do
> is: 1) reset the modem to defaults, and 2) reboot it.
>
> So I'm jumping through hoops with Motorola tech support.
> After telling them that there's nothing in the web interface
> that will allow me to change things (like LAN IP, shut off the
> DHCP server, set a password, etc), their answer was this:
>
> "There are no changes that can be made in the configuration
> menus of the SBG5120 Cable Modem other then resetting the modem."
>
> Uh... yeah, no kidding. I think that was my question in the
> first place.
>
> Does anybody have info on configuring the SB5120, or do I
> need to return it for a refund ?

The ISP controls the modem. Add a router between the modem and
the PC and do your config there. Netgear/Linksys routers are
cheap (at least here in the US - $30-40 on sale after rebate)
and they give you added security to protect your PC. Get a
wireless G router if you need wireless - else just get a wired
one for maybe $10 less. Either should have a 4-port switch to
connect your wired computers.



Posted by Hose A. Cuervo on January 18, 2006, 10:02 pm
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$Bill wrote:
>
> The ISP controls the modem. Add a router between the modem and
> the PC and do your config there. Netgear/Linksys routers are
> cheap (at least here in the US - $30-40 on sale after rebate)
> and they give you added security to protect your PC. Get a
> wireless G router if you need wireless - else just get a wired
> one for maybe $10 less. Either should have a 4-port switch to
> connect your wired computers.
>

Right. When the modem is reset, my ISP uploads a config to the
tftp server running on the cable modem. I agree that my ISP has
the right to control equipment connected to it's network, including
blocking certain netbios garbage.

But does my ISP have the right to configure things on my LAN ?
What if someone in the same office here decides to connect to
the web interface on 192.168.100.1 and keep resetting the damn
thing ? Don't I have the right to configure a password on MY side
of the network ? And don't I have the right to change the LAN IP
from the default of 192.168.100.1 to suit the IP numbering on my
LAN as I see fit? This would have nothing at all to do with my ISP,
and they shouldn't even care. If I can monitor the cable modem
to graph the traffic statitistics using SNMP, shouldn't I be able to
set the read community string to something other than the default
of "public" ?

Posted by Warren on January 18, 2006, 11:27 pm
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Hose A. Cuervo wrote:
> But does my ISP have the right to configure things on my LAN ?

No. And they don't.

> What if someone in the same office here decides to connect to
> the web interface on 192.168.100.1 and keep resetting the damn
> thing ?

In the same office? This isn't a residential account?

If they work in the same office as you, and are on the same LAN that you're
on, then talk to your network admin or your boss about what they're doing.

If I misunderstand what you mean by "the same office", and you meant someone
else on the same node as you on the cable company's HFC network, then it's
not going to happen that way. Someone else looking for 192.168.100.1 won't
see your modem's interface. They'll see their modem's interface.


> Don't I have the right to configure a password on MY side
> of the network ? And don't I have the right to change the LAN IP
> from the default of 192.168.100.1 to suit the IP numbering on my
> LAN as I see fit?

You can do whatever you want on your side of the network, but I haven't seen
any cablemodems that allow you to change the IP address of their web
interface. But if you place a router between your LAN and the cablenetwork,
that's a moot point.

> This would have nothing at all to do with my ISP,
> and they shouldn't even care. If I can monitor the cable modem
> to graph the traffic statitistics using SNMP, shouldn't I be able to
> set the read community string to something other than the default
> of "public" ?

No. The cablemodem is not on your network. It is on the cable company's
network. If you haven't placed a router between it and your computers, then
you've placed all your computers on their network. A router would delineate
where your network ends, and their network begins. Everything on one side of
the router would be on your network. Everything on the other side of it
would be on the cable company's network. You only get to do things on the
cable company's network that they decide to allow you to do, and controlling
the modem's configuration isn't one of them.

You get to stay on your side, and do whatever you want to your LAN. They get
to stay on their side and do whatever they want to their WAN. The modem is
part of their WAN.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Compare and buy TaxCut and TurboTax Software:
http://www.holzemville.com/taxes/




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