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Steve898
@74.43.47.x

Steve898

Anon

[CBN] Getting Charter Business internet, have a few questions

I've never had cable internet before, and I'm switching to charter business internet. I've been reading that Charter doesn't let you change settings in the modem, and I didn't buy the 'managed internet router' for $15 a month, so I'll be using my own router.

Do I have to do anything special in order to set a router up behind their modem? I ordered dynamic IP (didn't pay for static). I've been reading that the modem they give us has to be in bridge mode, some people say that you have to get them to change something but other things I've read say that if it's a modem it's already in bridge mode; and all of the guides I've seen on how to connect a router to a cable modem show it's fairly simple and all you do is plug the router into the modem.

BlueMist
join:2011-01-24
Cookeville, TN

1 edit

BlueMist

Member

You basically have it right. If the install works with your PC and you don't let them install any software on your PC then all you would need to do is plug in the router and power cycle things.

One thing with cable modems and routers in general.

If you have had your PC plugged directly into the cable modem and then plug the router in you may need to do a power cycle of the cable modem and the router before the cable modem will admit the router exists.

The trick is to power off both boxes, then power on the cable modem and wait for all the lights to stabilize, say a couple of minutes, then plug in the router.
If your business uses any form of web server you will also need to setup the DDNS section of the router so that it follows any changes in the IP address the cable modem gives you and updates the URL you want people to use. Some DDNS providers are free but you have to use one of the domain names they offer.

The alternative if you already have a domain name for your server is to go to one of the pay DDNS providers and they can set up the same thing but for your existing domain name. That way users of your web site do not have to keep track of your possibly changing IP address, the DDNS provider does it for you invisibly.

What ever you do don't leave the passwords set at the factory default on the router.
BlakePaulson
join:2008-08-06
Alexandria, MN

BlakePaulson to Steve898

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to Steve898
Basically you'll be getting an SMC or an Ubee (howardfine has pointed out that they started using them to replace the SMC modems and they have been replacing them in different markets, so you'll get one or the other.)

From personal experience if you get the SMC you will not be able to access any information from it (you can't even check signal level as they have everything on the units locked down.)

As far as setup (and since you don't have a static IP address or MIR) they should set it up in bridge mode (where it acts as only a modem instead of a router as well.) You can also have it in bridge mode with a static IP as well.

BlueMist detailed it pretty well... I'd fire up the modem first, let it stop blinking and get everything situated (which if it's the SMC will take at least 3 minutes) and then hook up your router and plug it into power. It should then grab an IP address from the modem no problems and you should be set!

I don't know who would want to pay the $15 a month for the managed internet router as you have NO control over the router whatsoever and any changes need to be made through charter (to me that sounds like a lot of hassle.)
aguen
Premium Member
join:2003-07-16
Grants Pass, OR

aguen to Steve898

Premium Member

to Steve898
If you don't want any static IP addresses, or a managed modem, why do you want to pay extra for business class service, which now is nothing more than expensive plain old cable internet?

Steve898
@74.43.47.x

Steve898

Anon

said by aguen:

If you don't want any static IP addresses, or a managed modem, why do you want to pay extra for business class service, which now is nothing more than expensive plain old cable internet?

No bandwidth cap (whether it's enforced now or not), it has better and faster support, and I've read it gets priority for traffic during slowdowns. Also, business seems to get speed upgrades before residential.

It just got installed, and they set it up so that I'd be able to connect my own router to it - It's the ubee, the power, us/ds and online lights are on, but there's no connection from ethernet on my computer - They seemed like contractors and didn't know why, so I said it might be because it's in bridge mode and won't work without my router (which won't get here for a few days) - does this seem like it might be the case?
Double OH 7
join:2009-10-19

Double OH 7

Member

said by Steve898 :

said by aguen:

If you don't want any static IP addresses, or a managed modem, why do you want to pay extra for business class service, which now is nothing more than expensive plain old cable internet?

No bandwidth cap (whether it's enforced now or not), it has better and faster support, and I've read it gets priority for traffic during slowdowns. Also, business seems to get speed upgrades before residential.

It just got installed, and they set it up so that I'd be able to connect my own router to it - It's the ubee, the power, us/ds and online lights are on, but there's no connection from ethernet on my computer - They seemed like contractors and didn't know why, so I said it might be because it's in bridge mode and won't work without my router (which won't get here for a few days) - does this seem like it might be the case?

Regarding the Techs, their knowledge is hit and miss. Know a few who should just be called "installers".

Without the Router you still should be able to get some kind of connection. Or, at least I believe you should, considering you don't have a static IP, the modem should still pass a external IP to your computer. Try turning the modem and your computer off; Power up modem, wait then power up computer.
BlakePaulson
join:2008-08-06
Alexandria, MN

BlakePaulson to Steve898

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to Steve898
Some techs just don't know a lot unfortunately.

You should be able to get a connection from the computer (as long as you have the computer set to obtain an IP address automatically.)

If it's a windows computer you can always do ctrl-r then type in ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew or you can tell it to diagnose the problem and windows will automatically do that (and maybe a few other random commands.)

Steve898
@74.43.47.x

Steve898 to Double OH 7

Anon

to Double OH 7
The error I'm getting when I diagnose in windows is 'Ethernet doesn't have a valid IP configuration'. I restarted both like you said but it didn't seem to help, and ipconfig /renew gives the message 'an error occurred while renewing interface ethernet unable to contact your dhcp server' after a while.

I guess I'll have to wait until the router gets here and see if that fixes it
BlakePaulson
join:2008-08-06
Alexandria, MN

BlakePaulson to Steve898

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to Steve898
You said you have no connection light for the PC, which is odd.

Have you tried any other ethernet cables? Have you tried all 4 ports on the back of the Ubee.

I don't know what model you specifically have (if you can give us a model number that'd help as well) but if we have that we could potentially help troubleshoot as well.

The first thing I'd troubleshoot is to see why you don't have a light lit up for the PC connection...

Steve898
@74.43.47.x

Steve898

Anon

I don't think I said anything about a connection light, or if I did it was a mistake.

»www.ubeeinteractive.com/ ··· -gateway This is the router, it's a modem/router combo and apparently they disabled the wifi. The Power, US/DS, and Online lights come on normally during startup so it appears by the lights at least that the internet itself is coming in and working correctly. The only other light is for wifi, and that's always off as it should be.

In my IP settings in windows, everything is set to automatic and DHCP is enabled under the advanced options.

I switched the ethernet cords, the one that works for sure on my DSL modem (which is what I'm using to type this) still does nothing with the modem. The green light where the ethernet cable is plugged in (eth1) is flashing green, which is supposed to mean things are being transferred.

On ipconfig /all the ipv4 address is 169.254.134.60(preferred) and I've read that 169 is what happens when you can't get an external IP. Subnet mask is 255.255.0.0, and default gateway is blank.

The same results all happen when I do ethernet to my laptop.

BlueMist
join:2011-01-24
Cookeville, TN

1 edit

BlueMist

Member

I may have missed it but have you plugged your PC directly into the cable modem?

When hooked up this way does your PC get an IP address or does it stay in the 169.xx range? If it does try powering off the cable modem for a minute and power it back on and once the lights stabilize see if your PC can get an IP address other than a 169 range. Until the PC works directly attached to the cable modem give up on playing with the router.

When first working this problem with tech support have the PC hooked directly to the cable modem as they normally don't want to talk about anything customer owned except an actual PC. Only after you can get online with a PC hooked directly to the cable modem do you want to start messing around with the router.
BlakePaulson
join:2008-08-06
Alexandria, MN

BlakePaulson to Steve898

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to Steve898
Hmmmmm... sounds to me like they don't have it set up so that it will give you an ip address.. which is really weird. I'm not really sure how you can fix it or that your new router will fix your issue, so you'll most likely have to call charter and get it fixed.

Steve898
@75.129.90.x

Steve898

Anon

Thanks for your help guys, you were right about them not setting it up properly - I was on the phone for about 5 minutes and he said they didn't enable DHCP for some reason, everything is working great, 60+ down and 4+ up
BlakePaulson
join:2008-08-06
Alexandria, MN

BlakePaulson

Member

That's awesome... figured it was something simple (or stupid!) lol

Now when you get your router just unplug the modem from your computer and the wall and then plug it back in and once it boots up then plug your router into the modem and it should pull the IP address nice and easy.

Red Hazard
Premium Member
join:2012-07-21
O Fallon, IL

Red Hazard to Steve898

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to Steve898
I plan on getting Charter Business internet for our veterans organization in STL Metro-East where the bar/restaurant is open to the public and we intend to offer WIFI. I want to use a small CISCO business router with VLAN capability for security. We will also be using a business grade WAP. I do not want a modem/router combination of any sort. Just a plain router. Can I get this or if I state we will use our own router and WIFI equipment?
Sajuuken
join:2012-03-24
Slidell, LA

Sajuuken

Member

said by Red Hazard:

I plan on getting Charter Business internet for our veterans organization in STL Metro-East where the bar/restaurant is open to the public and we intend to offer WIFI. I want to use a small CISCO business router with VLAN capability for security. We will also be using a business grade WAP. I do not want a modem/router combination of any sort. Just a plain router. Can I get this or if I state we will use our own router and WIFI equipment?

From what I've read on here, you basically can say you'll provide the router.

I'm not so keen on buying prebuilt routers (have had a lot of them die on me), but if you want a wireless AP that's solid, look into unifi AP. It's enterprise level, but will only set you back $80 if you only need 802.11n. 802.11AC will set you back a lot more.

Red Hazard
Premium Member
join:2012-07-21
O Fallon, IL

Red Hazard

Premium Member

Thanks for the response.
"I'm not so keen on buying prebuilt routers (have had a lot of them die on me)" What do you use for routers then if you don't buy them already prebuilt?
BlakePaulson
join:2008-08-06
Alexandria, MN

BlakePaulson

Member

I think he means the kind that he can build out of a spare computer. A lot of people use those types of routers out of an older computer that they can no longer use for personal use but they are powerful enough.

Pfsense is one that comes to mind

Napsterbater
Meh
MVM
join:2002-12-28
Milledgeville, GA
(Software) OPNsense
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-PRO

Napsterbater to Steve898

MVM

to Steve898
Note there is two main methods of operation for those modem, Bridged and Router/NAT.

If you have your own router you generally want Bridged, that way you wont have a double NAT situation.
Note: While in this mode you must power down/unplug the modem when switching what device is plugged into the modem or you will get no ip (ie. 169.254.*.* (automatically assigned by Windows))

If you are not using your own router, then the modem should be set for Router mode.

If you get a Private/LAN IP when you plug into the modem then it is in Router Mode, if you get a non LAN IP then it is in Bridge mode.

Private IPs are:
10.*.*.*
172.16.*.* - 172.31.*.*
192.168.*.*

* can = 0 - 255