Max number of users per router/modem?

snipped-for-privacy@peoplescom.net hath wroth:

Wired or wireless? If you run into the same limit with wired ethernet, you may have a problem with the way your ISP assigns DHCP addresses. It's also a common side effect when you accidentally run a cable from the modem to one of the 4 LAN ports instead of the WAN port.

You can also induce this problem if the CG814WG supports 1:1 NAT, where it assigns routeable IP addresses to the users, instead of non-routeable (192.168.xxx.xxx). Run: start -> run -> cmd ipconfig and see if your clients are getting routeable IP's or non-routeable.

You can also create this problem by limiting the number of IP addresses available in the DHCP address pool. Check your DHCP address range.

It might also be that the firmware has a problem. See the list of "max simultaneous connections" at:

One of the routers listed will only handle two simultaneous connections.

The manual leaves that point out

The picture that it shows is the 4 port wired. My wireless router has the 4 port wired plus the wireless with a range for 100 wired and wireless computers getting unique ip address' assigned by DHCP.

I would suspect this would be your case as well.

It's not the ISP. The last modem/router we had could be set for

4-to-unlimited connections. Once properly set for "unlimited" we had no probs. But that router went belly-up and was replaced by the cable co. Unfortunately we didn't have enough computers present that day to see if it would support more than 4 machines. The tech said that it should support as many connections as we needed but we have since had some problems when more than 4 people try to connect.

Hence my problem...I don't know how to check to see if the router is set for only 4 connections (as the last one was before the tech fixed it) I have looked thru all the settings for the modem/router but I didn't find anything that seemed to limit the no. (with the possible exception of enabling upnp and increasing the no. of "hops" above 4. However, upnp is not enabled so I don't see that that should affect the problem.

I haven't had a chance to check this yet but how few connections would it limit you to? and haw wlould you correct that?

I believe the range was 192.168.0.01-.19 or something close.

I appreciate your input and if you have any more ideas about what I could check I would appreciate it. Please note that I am rather un-savy about much of this wifi stuff so if you have other suggestions please dummy them down!

Thanks again,

GP

Yeah, I noticed that so I am left wondering if that is even user-configurable at all.

Yes it is 4 prt wired and ? wireless connections. This is a recently replace modem/router and it is a different make than the last one. The last one didn't even have a manufacturer name anywhere on it so I don't have a clue what it was, but it could be set for as few as 4 or as many as "unlimited" connections (according to the tech). I think the unlimited part was BS but once he changed the setting we could get

6-8 people online at one time.

GP

snipped-for-privacy@peoplescom.net hath wroth:

See if there's anything you missed on the installation here:

I believe it's the same breed of modem/router/wireless. I have no clue about what page has the DHCP settings, but it's in there somewhere. If your ISP set a limit of 4 users, you may have to disarm this limit, exactly like you did your old modem/router/wireless.

Tell me what you get with IPCONFIG. I don't want to speculate or offer a huge list of possible solutions without some basic info on what it's doing. I want to know if you're getting routable or non-routable (192.168.xxx.xxx) IP's.

I believe you might be right. However, I also believe it might be best if you would exert some effort to find out. Assuming you're using Windoze 2000, XP, or Vista: Start -> run -> cmd IPCONFIG What do you get for an IP address?

No, I don't want to do that. I don't have the patience and time to do that. You also didn't answer two very basic questions I asked in the previous postings. I suggest you hire a local consultant, who can either fix the problem, show you how to fix it, or act as intermediary between you and your ISP in case they created the problem.

I could be way off base here but doesn't the OS being used put a limit on how many connections can be made, XPHome = 5 and XPPro = 10 As I said I could be completely on the wrong track with this but it's something that came to mind. Joan

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

IPCONFIG showed my IP to be 198.162.0.18. All computers logged on had

198.162.0.xx IPs. DHCP address range is actually 198.162.0.10 to 198.162.0.19.

I appreciate your time and trouble.

GP

OK, the router is doing its job and working properly. With a DHCP range of .10 to .19, you should have 20 available IP addresses. You should not be limited by the number of IP addresses.

However, I do notice something odd. I vaguely recall that Netgear assigns IP addresses in sequence, in this case starting at .10. Since your client has received .18, there are 8 other machines that were previously issued IP addresses. Do you have 8 machines or devices (print servers)? Probably not.

What sometimes happens is that a wide open, unencrypted, unsecured wireless will attract misconfigured Windoze wireless clients like flies. There's a way to configure the Windoze WZC client to connect to any available connection. If yours is unencrypted and therefore unsecured, you could easily have the neighborhood deciding that your router is suitable for connecting to the internet. You could also have the neighborhood hacker doing the same. If this continues indefinately, you can easily run out of IP addresses, which may be the problem.

To secure your router, please:

1. Change the SSID to something other than the default.
2. Set the encryption to WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK (or WPA-Personal) with an obscure pass phrase.
3. Set the router configuration password to something other than the default.

Those are limits on the inbound connections, not on outbound.

Thanks for putting me straight, my post hasn't actually shown up on my machine so I didn't know if anyone had even seen it Joan