Moto SB4200 As Router

mrnicks · Post by **mrnicks** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:06 am

Alright i've searched and haven't found any good info on this subject. I was wondering if anyone was using ther sb4200 as a router, white papers say it will host dhcp to 32 clients. Sounds good if it works? I want to use my gigabit switch inconjunction with the modem. I have cox cable and the modem says dhcp is enabled. So my question is if i ethernet into my switch then to all pc's (set to use dhcp) will it just asign ip's or am i wasting my time. Also it says if you want to use static ip use ips out of the dhcp range, does that mean if i asign a ip staticly it will be connected (with dns obviously set static also). If this works i think i might get better speeds my router seems to be really absorbing my bandwidth. I would just start tinkering and testing it myself but, life is to hectic right now for me and my network being up is very important at this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mnosteele52 · Post by **mnosteele52** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:09 am

That's a modem, not a router and an old modem at that. What it telling you is that with a router/switch etc. it can have up to 32 users. That modem is only DOCSIS 1.1 compliant and should be replaced.

mrnicks · Post by **mrnicks** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:14 am

Well, no dought its old but, why replace something that still works right. Especially since i still get good speeds. Read this. page 38

http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers ... _Guide.pdf

and in the modem itself under the config tab it talks about the dhcp and 32 users and the ip table it uses

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:35 am

I've never seen them running NAT....I believe it's 32 addresses from your ISP.

mnosteele52 · Post by **mnosteele52** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:35 am

OK, I'll say it again slower....... it's a m o d e m, n o t a r o u t e r.

I'm not trying to be a smart ass but I answered your question and you dispute it. As I already said, that modem is DOCSIS 1.1 compliant, not 2.0, almost all ISPs are using a 2.0 network now. Besides, inside that modem is a cpu and RAM just like a pc so by using that modem you are basically using a 500mhz pc with 128mb of RAM instead of a new Intel Duo Core with 2gb of RAM....... much slower at processing the data it recieves...... time for a new modem.

mrnicks · Post by **mrnicks** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:50 am

I know your not being a smart ass, and i'm really not trying to give you a hard time! I'm just having a hard time understanding this.

This is right out of the pdf manual.
The SB4200 supports many multiple user configurations. It can easily serve as a gateway to the Internet for up to 32 users. Multiple users must be connected to an Ethernet hub, which should be attached to the SB4200.

Now, i know it's not a full fledge ROUTER and no where near configurable as any router could be. I guess i worded everything wrong it's a GATEWAY. SORRY my bad.

Now, i understand how it could be for up to 32 wan ip's but, why would the dhcp ip's be 192.168.100.*** thru 192.168.100.*** (sorry the stars i forgot the actual numbers)
And, my speeds are usually 90% of my advetised speed when connected directly to the modem. So it doesn;t need to be replaced, for now atleast.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:02 am

My 5120 has that also....I don't understand their logic..but notice it will say...(here's a copy 'n paste from mine)

"DHCP Server Enabled
The SURFboard cable modem can be used as a gateway to the Internet by a maximum of 32 users on a Local Area Network (LAN). When the Cable Modem is disconnected from the Internet, users on the LAN can be dynamically assigned IP Addresses by the Cable Modem DHCP Server. These addresses are assigned from an address pool which begins with 192.168.100.11 and ends with 192.168.100.42. Statically assigned IP addresses for other devices on the LAN should be chosen from outside of this range"

Now I've noticed..when my Surfboard doesn't have a live public IP address..it will automatically assign PC's that are connected to it a 192. address. But once the Surfboard pulls a legit pub IP address from my ISP...it sort of pulls that lease..and the device connected to it will be passed on the public IP address.

To be honest...in the past I've wondered the same as you...I've looked and never found anything that documents that it will run NAT. I agree this DHCP with 192. addresses makes one think it can. I have a "hunch" that it's a failsafe feature....so that if cable internet is down...larger networks that would have been connected to it and were all set to "obtain auto"..will still function as a network.

Performance wise you'll be OK for a bit....this unit can still pump near 40 megs of bandwidth. As ISPs are upgrading their speed packages, particularly with newer features, you will want to upgrade though. I don't know if Cox is doing high performance boosts yet..but for example, my ISP, Comcast, they have Powerboost...and older modems couldn't handle it.

A taste of what Powerboost will let you burst at===> http://www.speedguide.net/~brian/powerboost2.JPG

What router do you currently have? If over 2 years old, or a lesser horsepower model...they are indeed a bottleneck. Newer routers are a bit more powerful.

mrnicks · Post by **mrnicks** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:14 am

YES someone see's what i see!!!!

Anyway i have had a Old Linksys, a Dlink 624, a smc barracuda, and some cisco products but i currently have the old Linksys running now, it sucks. The other routers i've burnt up, sold, or gave away. I was just interested in using my switch and modem together. I will most likely end up using one of my linux boxes, i just came upon a nice Intel PRO/1000 dual port nic.

One question i have is what would happen if you had one wan ip and your modem was connected to a switch and you had more than one pc connected to the switch? What ip's would those pc's have and would they be connected to the net when your internet connection was up and running? All these questions not enough time hahahaha! Just kidding i'm getting slap happy haven't slept in awhile due to work.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:20 am

mrnicks wrote:YES someone see's what i see!!!!

Anyway i have had a Old Linksys, a Dlink 624, a smc barracuda, and some cisco products but i currently have the old Linksys running now, it sucks. The other routers i've burnt up, sold, or gave away. I was just interested in using my switch and modem together. I will most likely end up using one of my linux boxes, i just came upon a nice Intel PRO/1000 dual port nic.

Yeah those are most likely products with a humble CPU of 33MHz or so...with maybe 2 megs of RAM..if that. Throughput of possibly 7-8 megs or so.

Todays more current routers will have at the very least a 166MHz, 233, 266, etc, with 8 or better...16 megs or more of RAM.

Just to give you and idea that router perform differently.....Tim Higgins kicked off a router throughput comparison chart...
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/lans_rout ... ?chart=119

It's fairly accurate...some routers may move a little bit in the charts based on firmware, for example the RV0 router he tested is an old old test on old firmware, the new firmware is much faster...I have one

)

And yes if you like to tinker....by all means, build a Linux router. I've tried pfsense, IPCop, and Endian . Endian is my fave. Build one of those on a P3 gigahertz or higher, with 512 megs..and no consumer router will be able to touch it.

mrnicks · Post by **mrnicks** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:29 am

Actually the linux router/server is already built, it was for a customer of mine who di#$ed me. Yeah, i bet you wanna slap me like i wanna slap my customer.

It's a up to date pc power wise. I use ubuntu server, sometimes with webmin.

Reread my post before this one i made a change.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:42 am

mrnicks wrote: One question i have is what would happen if you had one wan ip and your modem was connected to a switch and you had more than one pc connected to the switch? What ip's would those pc's have and would they be connected to the net when your internet connection was up and running? All these questions not enough time hahahaha! Just kidding i'm getting slap happy haven't slept in awhile due to work.

Never tried to "fool" the modem....I've always had just 1x device connected to the Motorola. I'd guess that the second, third, so on...PC plugged into the switch would never get a live IP from the ISP at all, or they would get one of the class C 192. addresses...thus never getting on the internet.

I'm not going to get a chance to try it this week...very slammed with a few more server migrations. (Aug/Sept a BRUTAL month for server upgrades for me). Suppose it's easy enough to find the answer to this. (Naturally we'll assume your PC is properly protected here..firewall, no blank Admin password, etc). Power off modem so it forgets whatever MAC was connected to it. Uplink to a switch. Plug a PC into the switch. Notice your PC should get a public IP address. Now plug another PC in..see what it gets.

Now pull your coax cable from the modem. Reboot your first PC...you should see it get a 192. address. Plux coax back into modem..power cycle modem...release/renew your PC..you should see your PC get a pub IP address again. I'd bet your other PCs either get no address, or a 192. address.

UBUNTU! Yeah...had that on my Thinkpad laptop off 'n on. Pretty cool.

mrnicks · Post by **mrnicks** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:51 am

Yeah that's pretty much what i would do. But, like yourself i'm too damn busy. Maybe this weekend. I'll send you a pm or i'll repost the outcome.

Wanna here something funny, too bad. I just had the president of the company i work for just ask me if it's alright to run more than one antivirus. I told him don't do it and he said **** and ran away. He had norton and avast installed. Ouch, isn't that suppose to be my job in maintance and security? Some people are just crazy and they'll just do what they want i guess.

Thanks for your input and i'm glad someone new what i was talking about.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:56 am

mrnicks wrote:He had norton and avast installed. .

Ouch...between those two bloated heavyweights...his machine probably ran like a Pentium 133 with 24 megs of RAM on a 5400rpm hard drive.

Time for some good stuff, NOD32, Kapersky, or BitDefender.