Bridging a DSL Modem with a Wireless Router

Internet service providers (ISPs) often provide modems that include additional features such as wireless networking, firewall protection, etc. This is great, unless you have other hardware that already performs these functions.

I found myself in this situation recently. My ISP provided me with an ActionTec DSL modem (with firewall, wireless radio, etc) when I signed up for their service. I already had an Asus wireless router / firewall that worked very well, so I had no desire to give it up. I just wanted to make the modem and router work together (without conflict).

As it turns out, this was not too difficult. I just needed to disable some features on the DSL modem, and configure the modem in "bridge" mode so the router would manage the internet connection. Here is how I accomplished this:

1. I connected my laptop to a LAN port on the DSL modem and logged into the administrative site through a web browser. For my particular modem, the admin site was located at http://192.168.254.254. The login page looked like this:
   
2. After logging in, I disabled wireless since the ASUS router would be taking care of this.
   
3. I also disabled DHCP, since the ASUS router would be handing out IP addresses to my computers.
   
4. Next, I disabled the firewall on the DSL modem. I want the router to be the firewall (which should suffice, and will simplify firewall management).
   
5. Finally, I switched the ISP protocol from "PPPoE" to "Transparent Bridging". This made the DSL modem transparent on the network, and delegated ISP login responsibilities to the wireless router.
   
   

The ASUS router required some configuration changes as well. The following steps describe the steps I took to update the configuration:

1. I connected my laptop to a LAN port on the router and logged into the administrative site at http://192.168.1.1.
2. After logging in, I clicked on the "WAN" page and entered my connection type (PPPoE), user ID, password, etc.
   

Once the changes were applied on the router, I was able to connect to the internet without any issues.

There are a few important items to note if you are attempting this yourself:

• The network cable connecting the modem and router should plug into a LAN port on the DSL modem and the WAN port on the wireless router.
• The IP addresses listed above will vary depending upon your equipment.
• If you get into trouble and lose connection, resetting your DSL modem and / or router back to their default configuration will usually get you back up and running. You may need to enter your ISP account information to reestablish your connection.

I'm offering these tips as a helpful guide for bridging your modem and router. There are numerous combinations of hardware, software, internet protocols, etc. that may require slightly different configuration steps than those I listed above. For that reason, I cannot guarantee this will work for you. If you feel uncomfortable at all making these types of changes, find someone tech-savvy who can help you. Otherwise, I wish you the best of luck, and hope you've found this guide to be very helpful!

The DirecTV / HDCP Blues

I love technology - especially when it works. But it drives me crazy when it doesn't. Especially when we're talking about something as simple as ordering a PPV movie. Case in point... my wife and I decided we wanted to watch "Grown Ups" this evening. We did a quick search on our DirecTV DVR and saw that it was available on demand. Awesome. A couple of clicks, and we're all set. Or so we thought.

First problem - our internet connection, to put it politely, is crap. As soon as prime time hours hit in our neighborhood, ping times rise, download speeds fall, and it's like we're back in the 1990s. Not fun, but broadband options are limited in this area, so we deal with it.

Second problem - our DVR doesn't think we're worthy of watching an Adam Sandler movie.  Clicking play teases us for a couple of seconds with some screen changes. Then, out of nowhere, we see the message "Your TV Does Not Support This Program’s Content Protection".   Say what???

Our setup is not that complicated.  It consists of the following components.

• Samsung Plasma TV - HP-T5054 
• Yamaha Receiver - RX-V465 
• DirecTV DVR - HR24/500 

All of these components support HDCP.  So, what is the freakin' problem?!?

Various Google searches led to the same conclusion -- "ditch the HDMI cable and use component cables instead". Well, I could do that, but that would defeat the purpose of having a nice digital connection between the DVR, receiver and TV. And besides, I'm too damn stubborn to admit defeat.  I tried a few other tricks - powering components on / off, unseating / seating HDMI cables, etc. Nothing worked. Finally, in a moment of reflection and inspiration, the answer hit me - something is interfering with the "negotiation" process between the TV and the DVR for the content protection. And I bet that something is the changing of video resolutions when I switch channels.

To test this theory, I checked my video options on the DVR. Sure enough, "native" was set to on. This basically says "don't scale any video. Just pass it to the TV and let it handle the various resolutions". This has always worked fine for us. However, it had a noticeable side effect.  The screen would blank out momentarily when resolutions changed  on the TV. It was almost like hitting the reset button on a computer. So, if the TV reacts this strongly to a resolution change, then maybe (just maybe) it could interfere with the HDCP negotiation process.

I turned the option off, set the display format to 1080i, and started flipping channels. No screen blanking of any sort - exactly what I was hoping for. Next, I flipped back to "Grown Ups", clicked play, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best. Lo and behold, it started right up. No HDCP messages whatsoever.

So, if your equipment is HDCP compliant, but your DirecTV receiver is giving you fits about HDCP compatibility, try flipping your native setting off.  It just might be the solution you're looking for.

And, if that doesn't work for you, you can always go back and use component cables instead - at least to get you by until you come up with a more permanent solution.

Hopefully this helps someone.  Cheers!