User's Manual for
PLANET ISDN Router Product
IRT-401
Chapter 14. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Questions covered:
- Using NMS, I get a "Cannot communicate with router" message after the login screen in NMS.
- After powering up, the router continuously reboots "or" the alarm lit flashes continuously "or" all of the Ethernet lights flash regardless of connection.
- I do not get a link light on any Ethernet ports between my router and other network components.
- I have configured the IRT-401 for Internet Access in NMS, but I cannot connect!
- I have set-up my Intranet connection, but how do I communicate with my remote office using IP, IPX or Bridge.
- In NMS, even if I have clicked "Update" some information is not stored, why?
- How can I find out my workstations IP address and subnet mask?
- Can I configure the router using Operating Systems other Windows?
Check that you have a lit Ethernet link light on one of the router's Ethernet ports. This ensures that the router is communicating with the rest of your network. Ensure that TCP/IP is installed and configured on the workstation you are setting up from and that it has a valid Ethernet link. Make sure the IP address that you are setting for the Router is in the same network address range as the rest of your network and that it is unique. Also, make sure that the "Assign IP Address to Router" check box is selected. Check that only one IRT-401 is connected to the network at a time (during IP assignment). Check and remove the ARP entry for the IP/MAC address of your router if it exists, as this can sometimes cause problems if the entry is incorrect. E.g. from a DOS prompt, type: "ARP ¡Va" to list the current entries, if an entry for the router appears delete it by typing: "ARP ¡Vd routers-IP". Please retry login. The IP address being assigned to the router is not unique and is conflicting with another workstation/device on the network, e.g. Router 192.168.0.2, PC 192.168.0.2 = conflict. If this occurs you may have great difficulty communicating with the router when you try to change the IP address. It is suggested that you change the IP address manually with console to a free IP address (see section, ¡¥Console: Assigning the router an IP address through terminal¡¦, below) and then retry connecting with NMS.
Please retry login with a unique IP address, before using console.
Your router has an internal hardware, firmware fault, please call us for further support. Do not confuse this with a Network Congestion flashing alarm, when the router is connected to the Internet or Remote Office.
If you are connecting your router to a hub, please ensure you are using the correct cable type. CAT5 UTP crossover cable is required if connecting to an standard port or CAT5 UTP straight-through cable if connecting to a up-link RJ-45 port. If you are connecting your router to a workstation, please use straight-through CAT5 UTP cable. Try a different port at the router end or the hub, workstation end.
Check that all required fields have been entered correctly under the Quick Config and Internet tabs in NMS (see Chapter 6). Check to see whether you require NAT. Click the "Refresh" button to ensure that all settings were correctly saved. Check that the "IP Enable" tab is ticked on the Internet page in NMS. Ensure that you have set the Default Gateway on your workstation as the routers IP address, and that the DNS Search Server IP Address's have been entered into your network set-up (under Control Panel). All settings should be made in the TCP/IP properties for your Ethernet Card (not Dial-Up Adapter). Try "Pinging" the router from a DOS prompt to ensure you are properly communicating with it. e.g. "ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -t". Use the Trace function in NMS (see Chapter 11), to find any possible sources of a problem. (If there is a problem that you do not understand please contact us with the Trace details). Check the ISDN line, use a telephone plugged into one of the analogue ports to check the line status (dial tone?). A constantly flashing "D" light will usually indicate a faulty ISDN connection. NMS Trace will give a "Activation Request T3 Timeout" in this specific case. Try running 'ARP' from a DOS prompt and removing the MAC address entry for the Routers IP address (e.g. ARP -d 196.168.0.101). Your ISP could be temporarily down/unavailable.
With an IP Intranet connection, you can simply "ping" the other network to get a connection. For more advanced connections, network browsing and file sharing, you must either use LMHOSTS on a peer-peer network (Win95) setting up each workstation individually, or use a server, for example a NT, WINS, FTP or DNS server to accomplish the communications for you. (Setting up of Servers and LMHOSTS is not supported). With an IPX Intranet connection, you must have a server on the remote office to which you are connecting to, for example, Novell server. You can connect to the remote network then use Microsoft Client for Novell Networks or Novell Networks Client Services. At logon specify the server name in the host field and the router will dial-up and connect to the remote office. Further network neighborhood and explorer browse functions should then result in dial-up to the other network. (Setting up of NetWare/Unix Server's is not supported). With a Bridge connection, you need not do anything such as a permanent connection with the remote office while all protocols are bridged across. This is like having a piece of cable directly connecting the two networks. Browsing the network will result in seeing all shared workstations on both networks. Note that the Bridge function will keep the ISDN line up and if not wanted will incur costly telephone bills.
There are two possible reasons this would occur:
- You must press "Update" on all pages that you enter data on. If you enter data on one page and move to another page and enter data, updating from this new page will not save the data on the previous page.
- The second possible reason has to do with the rebooting of the router. When the "Update" button is pressed sometimes the router will prompt you to reboot the router, clicking "YES" will achieve this. If during this reboot period you enter information and click Update again, the new information will not be saved. Allowing time for the router to reboot should overcome this problem.
In Windows 95/98, click START->Run, in the Run window, enter "WINIPCFG" and click"OK". This will open a dialogue screen showing your workstations current TCP/IP configuration settings. In Windows NT, open a DOS prompt and type: "ipconfig". Information will be listed showing your workstations current IP Address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway. If you wish to change any of these settings, Click START->Settings->Control Panel->Network, select the TCP/IP properties for your network card and edit the settings as required.
It is only possible to configure the router using a VT100 compatible terminal program through serial console with other operating systems. Please note that only, Internet Access set-up is available through console. Telnet can also be used but has the same limitation and you must have assigned an IP address to the router.
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Copyright (C) 1999 PLANET Technlogy Corporation