TiVo to Cable Modem Direct Connection (Without a Router)

[crabell]

Here's my situation:

I'm trying to set up a Home Network on my sister's house so she can access the internet on her laptop and at the same time have her S2 connected to the intenet as well (via wired adapter).

She got the Cable company to setup a Cable Modem and her laptop can connect to the Internet if she runs an ethernet cable fom the Laptop to the Cable Modem, so the connection is good.

I tried to configure a Linksys Wireless Router (WRT54G) and I can't seem to get it to communicate with the Cable Modem for some reason, the setup software that comes with the router asked me to try several things and still could not connect. I had the Cable Company reset the modem several times and I managed to get a connection, but only for a few minutes. The odd thing is that I have exactly the same setup at home with 4 TiVo's and 2 PC's, and everything is working like a charm.

Could this be a firmware issue? Anyhow, it looks like its going to take some time for me to configure the router and I can live with that, however her S2 needs to connect because it will run out of guide data... in 2 days!

I tried to connect the TiVo directly to the Cable Modem and I can't seem to get the settings correct. DHCP does not work and using the same connection parameters as the laptop (IP, Subnet Mask, Gateway, DNS) on the S2 does not work either, I even get a message that the Gateway is not valid for the specified IP and Subnet Mask, which is odd since they do work on the Laptop.

It looks like this has been asked before, but one thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=316036) indicates a TiVo cannot connect directly to a Cable Modem and the other (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=299684) implies that someone managed to get a direct connection working.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks!

[ZeoTiVo]

should I ask the obvious question of why not use a phone line in the meantime for the TiVo ?


PS - it sounds like the cable modem is not working correctly to me. Amybe cable company should swap it out?

[crabell]

should I ask the obvious question of why not use a phone line in the meantime for the TiVo ?

I forgot to mention she doesn't have a "regular" telephone line at home anymore. The phone line died after a rain storm a few weeks ago and the Telephone Company says it should be working, but it is not, so she cancelled the service.

it sounds like the cable modem is not working correctly to me. Maybe cable company should swap it out?

I agree, but since I CAN connect to the Internet when I connect the Laptop to the Cable Modem directly, they they say the Cable Modem is working properly.

I did try bringing my own Router (which works at home) and it did NOT work. I guess my next step would be to bring my own Cable Modem to see if it works at her house (same service provider).

Any other ideas would be appreciated...

[ascaron]

if it worked fine from the laptop, you may have to enable to option that says "MAC address cloning." It may be refusing the connection because it is expecting to see the laptops nic address and not the routers. Most routers (including yours, because I have the exact same one) will allow the router to copy the address from whatever device is setting it up.

[crabell]

...you may have to enable to option that says "MAC address cloning."...

I'll try that... Let's hope it is as simple as that!

Thanks!

[bedelman]

Most cable modems "bond" (or "marry") to the MAC address of the first device they see when the cable modem powers up. Rather than cloning the MAC address, it usually only necessary to power cycle the cable modem after it is connected to a different device using the ethernet cable.

Note that power cycling does require you to pull the power plug from the wall. The power switch on the cable modem itself (if it has one), doesn't really turn it off completely in most cases.

[crabell]

Most cable modems "bond" (or "marry") to the MAC address of the first device they see when the cable modem powers up. Rather than cloning the MAC address, it usually only necessary to power cycle the cable modem after it is connected to a different device using the ethernet cable.

Note that power cycling does require you to pull the power plug from the wall. The power switch on the cable modem itself (if it has one), doesn't really turn it off completely in most cases.

Perhaps I need to disconnect the TiVo's ethernet cable while power cycling. That way the Cable Modem would "bond" to the Router and not the TiVo itself. Once this happens I would then connect the TiVo to the Router via wired adapter.

I'm not sure if this is related, but while talking to the Cable Rep. he kept saying there was a "Toshiba" branded device attached to the cable modem. The only thing physically connected to the Router was the Tivo, since the Laptop was connected to the router wirelessly. I guess the TiVo was that "Toshiba" device and the Cable Modem was "bonding" to it instead of Router.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for the input.

[bedelman]

If you have the cable modem attached to the WAN port on the router when you power cycle the cable modem, the cable modem shouldn't be able to see the TiVo at all. However, if you attach the cable modem to the router's regular ethernet ports instead of the WAN port -- the cable modem will instead bond to another device attached to the other ethernet ports (like the TiVo)

The TiVo isn't a Toshiba device -- and the first three sets of values in the ethernet MAC address identify the manufacturer. Here's a site that allows you to look that up -- http://www.coffer.com/mac_find/

[crabell]

If you have the cable modem attached to the WAN port on the router when you power cycle the cable modem, the cable modem shouldn't be able to see the TiVo at all. However, if you attach the cable modem to the router's regular ethernet ports instead of the WAN port -- the cable modem will instead bond to another device attached to the other ethernet ports (like the TiVo)

The TiVo isn't a Toshiba device -- and the first three sets of values in the ethernet MAC address identify the manufacturer. Here's a site that allows you to look that up -- http://www.coffer.com/mac_find/

I see your point and it makes sense, however since I have the Cable Modem's Ethernet Cable connected to the WAN port and the TiVo to one of the "regular" ports that was the only ting I could think of.

Is there some kind of switch that makes the WAN port behave like a "regular" port? I recall working with a router about 8 years ago that had such a switch so that you could connect an additional router to it. In that case it was a physical switch, but perhaps there is a "software switch" on this router and it just came switched the "wrong way" from the manufacturer.

That's just another crazy idea of mine, sorry if I sound totally ignorant on the subject.

Now that I'm proclaming my ignorance on the subject... Would the ehternet cable between the Cable Modem and the Router be a "regular" cable or does it need to be a "cross over" ethernet cable?

Thanks for the link about the MAC address and the device's manufacturer.

I'll keep trying to find possible solutions.

Thanks again!

[bedelman]

Is there some kind of switch that makes the WAN port behave like a "regular" port? I recall working with a router about 8 years ago that had such a switch so that you could connect an additional router to it. In that case it was a physical switch, but perhaps there is a "software switch" on this router and it just came switched the "wrong way" from the manufacturer.The switch to which you refer was probably to change one of the regular LAN ports into an uplink (essentially flipping the signals like a crossover cable does) I think there may be a way to alter the WAN port to be one of the regular LAN ports -- but that would be an option in the firmware of the router -- and I don't even know if that's an option on your router.

Now that I'm proclaming my ignorance on the subject... Would the ehternet cable between the Cable Modem and the Router be a "regular" cable or does it need to be a "cross over" ethernet cable?With my "modem", which isn't a cable modem, it is a crossover cable. I have a wireless Internet Service Provider, so what I have is a "radio" that uses an antenna on my house to connect to the ISP's antenna about a mile away on a water tower. 10Mb/sec bidirectional...

[crabell]

The switch to which you refer was probably to change one of the regular LAN ports into an uplink (essentially flipping the signals like a crossover cable does) ...

You ar right, that's exactly what it was for and It looks like this is not the case.

With my "modem", which isn't a cable modem, it is a crossover cable...

I'm guessing if my Router required a crossover cable it would be included... Anyhow, I have a crossover cable at home, so I'll bring it with me and give it a try.

Thanks for all your help, I now have several options to try this afternoon.

[crabell]

Cloning the MAC address worked!

Thanks!