COMTREND POWERLINE (BPL) and Vermin Medai

[2primo]

I purchased some Powerline Ethernet adapters
http://www.comtrend.com/dbase/download/DH-10PF%20User%20%20Guide.pdf thats a link to the manual

I have an issue with them after spending ages trying to get them to work i stumbled on the issue that was resulting in my troubles

The only way i can get them to work is to connect the pc direct to the modem and allow the modem to get the pc mac and the pc and ip addy from the modem
Then i can remove the 50m cable and plug the Powerline Ethernet adapters in and they work @ max speed even on newsgroups
But every now and the vermin media renew the lease and have to plug the wire back in etc etc
the reason i wtd them is do so i don't have to have a cable running

There is some clap trap about changing the mac on the adapter in the manual so do i clone the pc mac onto the adapter ??

i know little of networking and this sorta goes over my head @ the mo
i assume that the modem cant get the mac and give the pc a ip down the power line adapter
what do i do ???
thanks for looking
i had been fooking around for an age wid em and its fuddled my brain ....

 

[little_pob]

A router would be the easiest method, i.e. VM modem ----- Router ----- Powerline adapter ----- PC.

 

[techquest]

All that these devices are is a wired network over mains cables, quite straight forward really.

I assume you have done the factory reset etc and set the devices exactly as the manual says?

Not used them before but am a networking guy and would assume you have a single AP setup and that the PC & modem are plugged into a power strip which is plugged into the comtrend designated AP?

Don't see the blurb on mac reset in manual you refer to so is there another manual to look at?

I'm also assuming that the commtrends have an IP addy & mac and that your firewall is set to allow these on your network?

If my assumptions are incorrect then let us know your exact setup so that we can figure out what is going on.

 

[techquest]

Just found some other stuff on them.

The AP designated unit has to be attched to your router.

Also a quote from someone who had problems

"Just added a second pair to my comtrend power adaptors, interestingly no amount of pressing the reset f/config button seemed to want to do anything. Both adaptors would just time out of the flashing after the 30 seconds neither wanting to release being the AP

The solution was in the end finding the MAC address on the label on the back and looking up the DHCP address the adaptor had been given. Then factory reseting the two new Adaptors, and then added the network key manually "


Here's a guide as to how BT go about it.

http://tchan4.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/bt_self-installation_guide14.pdf

Don't know if any of this helps but let us know how you get on.

I still think it may well be something to do with the Firewall or maybe the setup of the macs/DHCP in the vermin router.

 

[2primo]

thanks for the reply's
this is the manual with the poo on changing the mac on the plug
http://www.comtrend.com/dbase/download/PowerGrid902_UK.pdf
starts chapter 5
i have followed that buy the letter and i cant get into the config page to change the mac i was going to clone the mac from my network card onto the 1st plug then the mac and ip would match @ vermin HQ!!
if i where to add a router would this remove the ip issue
when the lease is renewed ?

the plugs are connected together and work fine its just the IP thing i cant get around ..
I don't have a network as such wireless is crap in my house !!
so i have a modem thats in the wrong place ..
And i have a long Ethernet running to my pc and a extra card that my xbox is connected to .....
as i say if i wire it then remove the wire and jump on the plugs it all works just fine
FECKIN things lol

 

[techquest]

Are you virmin cable or virmin broadband?

What modem, or do you mean router, do you have ?

I believe a router might help but lets see what you to hand first.

Looked at the manual and understand what they are saying. The IP Address (addy) (10.***.***.***) they say to use is a private network IP range addy

2.3 Default Settings of Manual

The factory default settings are presented below.
• Network Mode is AP (Public)
• IP Configuration is DHCP
• MAC Type is In-Home AV
• Node type is End Point
• Configuration password = admin
• Factory Reset password = admin
• Fixed IP address = 10.10.1.69
• Fixed IP subnet mask = 255.255.0.0
• Default Gateway IP address = 192.168.1.105

These configuration settings can be customized using a web browser. For further instructions, see Chapter 5 - Web User Interface.


You need to download the TFTPd32 server software package to be able to get to change the IP addresses of the plugs as you will need to log into the plugs to change all of these setings.

Once you have the TFTPd32 server loaded onto your PC you can then log into the plugs using the IP addy (10.10.1.69) and the config and Factory reset passwords "admin & admin"

Once this has been done you then use your internet browser (IE or Firefox) to
log into the plugs through their Web User Interface, just the same as you would do into a router ( albeit a routers address being http://192.168.0.1 or similar)

as shown in

5.2 Login Screen of manual

Perform the following steps to login to the WUI:
STEP 1:Start the Internet browser and enter the IP address as a HTTP link in the URL address field and press Enter. For the IP address of 10.0.0.1, you must enter http://10.0.0.1, as shown below.

in other words enter this into the address bar of your browser.

Hope this helps you to get further.

If you get stuck let me know and maybe we can PM each other and I will call you on land line to talk you through it.

 

[2primo]

thanks again for taking the time to reply i appreciate it

Ok im on virgin and have a scientific atlanta 2100 modem
i have a few wireless routers but as i mentioned in wireless mode the speed is poo

OK so i followed the manual i have 2 sets of this plugs so i got my laptop out and set the tcp/ip property's as set out in the manual

I then run TFP32 And set the settings as lt says in the manual

i then shut this down and restart pc , now i run TFTPd32 server Again and in the box @ the bottom it shows 2 plugs and the macs etc match the plugs

so Now i opened up internet explorer (in fact i juts click the URL in in the pdf ) i tried 10.0.0.1 and 2
it hangs for ages and then gives me a Connection Interrupted
The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading.The network link was interrupted while negotiating a connection. Please try again.
message and thats as far as i can get

where is the information for the WUI stored ?
am i right in assumning this is on the plug ? as ive not had a intrnet connection whist trying to assess this , but i assumed it the same as a modem @ http://192.168.100.1/h~~k.html
its one of them wood for the trees moments
but its getting me peed off i just wana set it up all nice and tidy

any ideas where me brain stopped working lol

 

[techquest]

thanks again for taking the time to reply i appreciate it

Ok im on virgin and have a scientific atlanta 2100 modem
i have a few wireless routers but as i mentioned in wireless mode the speed is poo

You can log into the 2100 admin panel by navigating to http://192.168.100.1 Check to make sure that you can


So your on virmin cable

OK so i followed the manual i have 2 sets of this plugs so i got my laptop out and set the tcp/ip property's as set out in the manual

I then run TFP32 And set the settings as lt says in the manual

i then shut this down and restart pc , now i run TFTPd32 server Again and in the box @ the bottom it shows 2 plugs and the macs etc match the plugs

so Now i opened up internet explorer (in fact i juts click the URL in in the pdf ) i tried 10.0.0.1 and 2
it hangs for ages and then gives me a Connection Interrupted
The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading.The network link was interrupted while negotiating a connection. Please try again.
message and thats as far as i can get

according to what I just looked at the fixed IP address of the plug is 10.10.1.69 and that's what you have to use to log in. See if you can get in using that.

where is the information for the WUI stored ?
am i right in assumning this is on the plug ? Yes

as ive not had a intrnet connection whist trying to assess this , but i assumed it the same as a modem @ http://192.168.100.1/h~~k.html No

its one of them wood for the trees moments
but its getting me peed off i just wana set it up all nice and tidy

any ideas where me brain stopped working lol

We will get there

The other thing is they need to be allowed in your firewall assuming you have one. If so what are you using?

 

[little_pob]

I'm sure tech' will get you there, but did you get chance to try it with the router between the modem and ethernet adapter?

 

[techquest]

I'm sure tech' will get you there, but did you get chance to try it with the router between the modem and ethernet adapter?

Interesting one this lp and I agree with what you are saying as I had already indicated earlier. So between us we should be able to sort it.

 

[titan_uk]

Just had a quick look. Dunno anything about powerline adaptors but sounds like just dumb devices. In that case won't ask for a renewal of ip address from ISPs DHCP?

What is happening now is the plugs are pretending to be a PC as far as Virgin / modem is concerned, as soon as a broadcast or power off comes plugs can't respond - modem ignores them - no internet (will still have local connectivity though) Cloning MAC address would only work until broadcast / power off.

Need an always on 'smart device' ie Pc or router that asks / renews DHCP.

Guaranteed simple solution :
virgin modem -> router <- powerline adaptor set as AP.

Install other adaptors as req. Router doesn't have to be wireless, just has to have ports on it).

Note: Please note - I don't really use terms like dumb and smart devices, just using those for clarity.