User's Manual  for
PLANET ISDN Router Product

IRT-401


Chapter 9. IRT-401 Configuration - Intranet Connections

This chapter provides you with instructions on how to use your IRT-401 to connect to other LANs, such as another office network using TCP/IP, IPX or Bridging. There is also information on how to allow other LANs, TA's to access your network.

Note: You will need relevant information about your remote network, for example, router and network IP address/range, ISDN number, username, password, and etc.

Topics covered:


  1. Common configuration settings for all intranet connections

These settings below are used for all remote office configurations and covers ISDN telephone number entry, password authentication, connection speed, and etc. Please follow this section before jumping to the specific IP, IPX or Bridge settings section you require.

Opening the NMS Program

  1. If not already open, locate the NMS program icon where you installed it. The default location is Start/Programs/IRT-401Nms. Click the IRT-401Nms icon to open the program. You will see the Login panel.
  2. If you have not yet configured the router with an IP address, please refer to Chapter 5. If you have, the router's IP address will be displayed in the "Routers IP Address" field. Simply click "Continueto enter NMS.

    Quick Config or Local / Ethernet page

  3. Click either Quick Config or the Local tab and then the Ethernet tab.
  4. Router/User Name: Enter the username for your router here. This will be used during dial-in authentication to another router/remote office. If you also have Internet Access set-up and this field is already used, you will have to use this username for your Intranet connection as well.
  5. Intranet / ISDN page

  6. Click on the Intranet tab and then the ISDN tab.
  7. Figure 9-1. The Intranet / ISDN Page

  8. Remote ISDN Num 1: Enter the ISDN telephone number of the remote office's router.
  9. Remote ISDN Num 2: Only enter a number here if your ISDN service provider only supports simulation MP. Otherwise leave it blank.
  10. Data Service: Selects the data transfer rate of this connection. In most cases, this will be 64K.
  11. Preemption allowed: This field is set to Secondary PPP by default. This allows you to use the second B line to make outgoing analog phone calls.
  12. Call Authentication (optional): The settings in this area enable call authentication for your IRT-401 if the remote office you are configuring to connect to wants to make a connection to your network. If you would like to request caller identification from the remote office or enable your IRT-401 to call the remote network back, select the relevant options here.
  13. These settings apply only to the remote office you are configuring now. If you want to enable these options for other connections to other remote offices, you must manually change these settings when you configure for another remote office.

    CLID: If you want to enable your IRT-401 to check the telephone number against the number you enter in the "Calling Numfield, select "Yes". If you do not want to enable this function, click "No". If you select "No", you cannot use the "Call Backfunction.

    Call Back: If you have enabled CLID and you want to disconnect an incoming call from the remote office and have your IRT-401 immediately call that number back to establish a connection, select "Yes". If you enabled CLID and select "Nofor Call Back, an incoming call from the remote office will be checked against the phone number in the "Calling Numfield and if verified, the connection will be directly established.

    Calling Num: If you have enabled CLID, enter the telephone number for the remote office's network here. In most cases, it will be the same number as you have entered in the "Remote ISDN Numfield.

  14. Click the "Updatebutton.
  15. Intranet / PPP page

  16. Under the Intranet page, click the PPP tab.
  17. Figure 9-2. The Intranet / PPP Page

  18. Compression: If you wish to utilise Stac compression select "Yes". The default is "No".
  19. Encap Protocol: In this field, select the appropriate encapsulation protocol. This setting must be the same as the remote office's encapsulation protocol setting, PPP (64K) or MP (128K).
  20. Dial-out Auth: If the remote network requires call-in authentication, you must select the "same" authentication protocol here. Please check with the remote network for this information. (None, PAP, CHAP or Either).
  21. Dial-out Passwd: If you are dialing "into" a remote office, you maybe required to supply a password, if so, enter your case-sensitive password needed to access the remote office network here.
  22. Call-in Auth: Similar to Dial-out Auth, you can choose to request a password from the remote network when they dial in to your network. Select the authentication protocol you wish to use (PAP, CHAP or Either). If you do not want to request a password from the remote office when they dial into your network, select "None". A list of valid remote users and passwords can be entered into the User Accounts tab for use with this option, see below).
  23. For MP Only: If you have selected "MPfor the "Encapsulation Protocolfield above, the following fields can be edited and relate to the Bandwidth-on-Demand feature. If you are not using MP, these settings will be unavailable.
  1. Ave Interval: In the Ave Interval field, enter how much time in seconds you want the transfer rate to be over the threshold point before the other B line is added by the MP (multilink PPP) function. This is also how much time in seconds the transfer rate will stay below the "disconnect second B line threshold"   before the second B line is disconnected.
  2. For example, if you want to wait until your B1 line has transferred at over 80% of it's capacity for over 10 seconds before adding the B2 line, enter the value 10 in the Ave Interval field.

  3. 1->2: Util> %: This is the threshold at which the second B line will be added. In this field, enter the percentage of line capacity at which you want your first B line to operate over, for the given amount of time you entered in the Ave Interval field, before the second B line is added.
  4. For example, if you want your first B line to transfer at over 80% of its capacity for the amount of time you have allotted before the second B line is added, enter 80 in this field.

  5. 2->1: Util< %: This is the threshold at which the second B line will be removed. In this field, enter the percentage of line capacity at which you want your combined total of your first and second B lines to operate under, for the given amount of time you entered in the Ave Interval field, before the second B line is removed.

For example, when the second B line is added, you will have a total bandwidth of 128Kbps. Assuming that you entered 80 (%) in the 1->2: Util> % field, if you want your second B line removed at the same transfer rate that it was added, enter 40 in the 2->1: Util< % field. This is because 128 x 40% = 51.2 and 64 x 80% = 51.2. So, if you use these percentages, the second B line will be added when the transfer rate exceeds 51.2Kbps for the given amount of time. It will also be removed when the transfer rate drops below 51.2Kbps for the given amount of time.

  1. 1->0 Idle (sec): This setting can be used with both PPP and MP, and is used to close your Internet connection after a period of inactivity. In this field, enter the period of inactivity, in seconds, after which you want your Internet connection closed. Leaving this field blank will keep the router connected and will never timeout, not recommended.
  2. Note: If the Intranet connection is closed by this function, the connection will be automatically re-established when the IRT-401 receives any traffic destined to the Intranet. It takes 2 to 3 seconds to establish the connection. A choice must be made in the disconnect time, you can have a quick disconnect time (at the risk of frequent dial charges) or longer disconnect time (at the risk of longer on-line charges). A value between 60 and 120 seconds is recommended.

  3. Click the "Updatebutton. NMS may prompt you to reboot the router.
  4. Intranet / IP page

    Intranet / IPX page

    Intranet / User Account Page

    If you are configuring the router to allow dial-in access to your network and are requesting username and password details from the remote office, you must enter these account details into the router for use during password authentication.

  5. Under the Intranet page, click the User Account tab.
  6. Figure 9-3. The Intranet / User Account Page

  7. User Name To Be Edited: In this field, enter the user name that will be used by the remote router/TA to access your network. (max: 20 characters)
  8. User Password To Be Edited: In this field, enter the case-sensitive password that must be used by the remote network to access your network. (max: 20 characters)
  9. Click "Insertto save the entry. The new information will be displayed in the User Name / User Password field (Max: 10 entries).
  10. If you would like to edit an entry, click on the entry listed in the User Name / User Password field and edit as necessary. Click "Insert"   to store changes.
  11. If you would like to delete an entry, click on the entry listed in the User Name / User Password field and click Delete.
  12. Setting up your workstation for Intranet Access

    To enable your workstations to connect to the Intranet using IP, you must set-up a Default Gateway for each workstation on your network with the router's IP address. This causes all IP requests to be sent via the router. This can all be automated by using DHCP if you wish to utilise DHCP, please see Chapter 7.

  13. In Windows, Click START->Settings->Control Panel->Network. The network configuration window will appear.
  14. Click on the TCP/IP option for your Network Card (Win95/98) or ProtocolsTCP/IP (WinNT) and then click "Propertiesto open the TCP/IP setting's window.
  15. If you are running Windows NT click on the "IP Address"   tab, or in Windows 95/98 click the "Gateway"   tab.
  16. Windows NT

  17. In the "Default Gatewayfield, enter the IP address of your router.
  18. Windows 95/98

  19. Under the Gateway Tab, enter the IP address of your router in the "New Gatewayfield and click "Add".
  20. Click "OK" until you return to your desktop, you may be prompted to restart your machine.
  21. All of the related settings for Intranet connection types have been configured. Please see the relevant section below to configure either, IP, IPX, Bridging, Dial-in or Dial-out access.

  1. LAN to LAN (TCP/IP)

Enabling your local network to connect to a remote office's network

Figure 9-4. Intranet Connection with TCP/IP

If you would like to configure TCP/IP communications between the two office networks simply follow the instructions below.

These simple steps have configured your router for TCP/IP communication with another network. To check that the router is configured correctly follow these steps:

Local / IP page

  1. Under the Local page, click the IP tab.
  2. Look at the IP entries in the "Route Table" window; there should be an entry similar to the example below. If there isn't try clicking the "List" button or "Refresh".

Example: Dest-IP-Addr/Mask Gateway Hop IF Type/Protocol

your-remote-network-ip your-routers-ip 2 Intranet direct/local

  1. Dial-in Access (IP)

Allowing a TA Connection to Access Your Network

Figure 9-6. Sharing Enterprise Resources with the Remote User

A terminal adapter (TA) is like a modem but for an ISDN line. It allows one computer to use an ISDN line and is usually used by an individual in a home or office setting. If you want to allow someone using a terminal adapter to access your network, follow these steps (normal modem access is not possible with an ISDN router).

  1. Please ensure you have completed the first "Common Configuration" section of this chapter before continuing.
  2. Intranet / IP page

  3. In the Intranet page, click the IP tab.
  4. Figure 9-7. The Intranet / IP Page

  5. IP Addr of Local End of ISDN Line: In this field, enter your IRT-401's WAN port IP address for WAN port connection.
  6. IP Addr of Remote End of ISDN Line: In this field, enter the IP address for the remote user's terminal adapter. This IP will automatic assign to remote dial-in ISDN terminal adapter (TA).
  7. Note: The "IP Addr of Local End of ISDN Line" and "IP Addr of Remote End of ISDN Line" does not be assigned the same IP Network Addr as IRT-401 itself.

  8. IP Mask of ISDN Line: In this field, enter your IRT-401's WAN port IP mask.
  9. Click the "Update button", if you are asked if you want to restart your IRT-401, click "Yes".

The remote TA can now attempt to dial in using, for example, Dial-up Networking.

Multiple Routers Connection

One good IRT-401 application is to use a pair of IRT-401s connecting a remote home/office and the main office. The remote home/office may access the company resource on the LAN or access Internet through the company NT server equipped with T1/E1 leased line.

To connect the remote office to the main office, apply NMS Intranet menu to configure both IRT-401s. Now, since the main office is using a NT server as the main router for Internet access, the IP route table at the main office IRT-401 needs to be modified to point its IP default route to the Ethernet. This change will allow the main office IRT-401 to route the IP traffic from the remote office to the main office LAN. NT server will pick up the IP traffic destined for Internet and forward them over the leased line.

For a remote PC to communicate with the PCs or servers on the main office LAN, an IP route entry for remote LAN needs to be created manually or by RIP protocol at the NT server. NT server, as the default gateway of main office, will "relaytraffic destined for remote LAN to main office IRT-401. The pair of IRT-401s will forward the traffic back to remote office through the Intranet. The remote IRT-401 IP route table should be modified to select Intranet as the default IP route interface if it plans to route Internet traffic through the main office using the established Intranet.

Note: Make sure that the main office administrator has assigned a static routing table or enabled the RIP function at NT server. The RIP function is not recommended for use at remote office of IRT-401. It will keep the connection to the main office open at all times, regardless of whether the connection is being used or not.

Figure 9-8. Multiple Routers Connection

Local / IP page

  1. Click on the Local tab. In the Local page, click on the IP tab.
  2. Figure 9-9. The Local / IP Page

  3. In the "Route Tablefield, click to select the top listing. This is the default routing table entry. The Dest-IP-Addr/Mask will read 0.0.0.0.
  4. Click the "Modify" button.
  5. Figure 9-10. The Local / IP / Modify Window

  6. Under Interface, select "Intranet" and click "OK".
  7. Click the "Update button", if you are asked if you want to restart your IRT-401, click "Yes".

All IP requests to the Internet will now be forwarded over your Intranet connection first.

  1. LAN to LAN (Novell NetWare IPX - IRT-402 only)

This section provides you with information on how to configure your IRT-402 to work with Novell IPX. Please note that for any NetWare applications, you will need the NetWare server settings in order to configure your IRT-402 correctly.

Configure the IRT-402 at the NetWare Server Side

Figure 9-11. Intranet Connection with IPX (Server Side)

  1. Please ensure you have completed the first "Common Configuration" section of this chapter before continuing.

Local / Ethernet page

  1. Click on the Local tab and ensure that the Ethernet page is shown.

    Figure 9-12. The Local / Ethernet Page

  1. IPX Network [hex]: In this field, enter your local NetWare network IPX number.
  2. IPX Frame Type: In this field, enter your NetWare network IPX frame type.
  3. For Example, If your server has the following set in autoexec.ncf

    Load RTSSRV slot=3 frame=ethernet_802.2 name=RTSSRV_2_USP

    Bind IPX RTSSRV_2_USP NET=5

    Load RTSSRV slot=3 frame=ethernet_802.3 name=RTSSRV_3_USP

    Bind IPX RTSSRV_3_USP NET=6

    Then if you use 802.2 frame_type in IRT-402, the "IPX Network[hex] must set to 5 in the Local/Ethernet

    Else if you use 802.3 frame_type in IRT-402, the "IPX Network[hex] must set to 6 in the Local/Ethernet

  4. Click the "Update button", if you are asked if you want to restart your IRT-402, click "Yes".
  5. Intranet / IPX page

  6. Click the Intranet tab and then on the IPX tab. This will enable Intranet access using IPX.
  7. At the top of the Intranet page, check the IPX Enable option, if you are asked if you want to restart your IRT-402, click "Yes".
  8. Figure 9-13. The Intranet / IPX Page

  9. In the "Remote Table" click the "List" button to automatically fill out the IPX route table with all available workstation/servers on the network.

Configure the IRT-402 at the Remote Client side

  1. Please ensure you have completed the first "Common Configuration" section of this chapter before continuing.

    Figure 9-14. Intranet Connection with IPX (Client Side)

    Local / Ethernet page

  1. Click on the Local tab.
  2. Figure 9-15. The Local / Ethernet Page

  3. IPX Network [hex]: Enter an IPX network number, this must be different to the remote server IPX network number.
  4. IPX Frame Type: Select the IPX frame type to use, this should be the same type as the remote server network.
  5. Note: If the router to which you want to connect to is not another IRT-402, you may have to perform additional configurations. Ask the remote networks administrator for requirements and information.

  6. Click the Updatebutton. You may be prompted to restart your IRT-402.
  7. Intranet / IPX page

  8. Click the Intranet tab. In the Intranet page, click the IPX tab.
  9. In the "Remote Static Server Table" section, click "Add" at in the bottom half of the page. You will then see the "IPX Server Table Entrywindow.
  10. Figure 9-16. The IPX Server Table Entry Window

  11. Server Name: This is the ASCII name of the remote NetWare server, e.g.NW312.
  12. Server Net No [hex]: In this field, enter the remote NetWare serve's internal network number. (e.g. 84330F0)
  13. Server Node [hex]: Enter the remote NetWare server's node, e.g. 00-00-00-00-00-01. If you are unsure of this value see below to find how to obtain the number:
    1. Use Dos Client to login to the NetWare server
    2. Enter "SLIST" command to find the node address. This is the server node.
    1. In the System Console, enter [config]
    2. Find the node address. This is the server node

Note: Almost always, the NetWare server's internal node address is 00-00-00-00-00-01

  1. Common Socket: From the drop-down menu select "File Server". You can select other options based on your needs.
  2. Click "OKto store the settings.
  3. Note: If the remote network has several NetWare servers, repeat steps 7 through 12 to add servers as needed.

    What needs to be done now is the router needs to learn the IPX network layout. To do this a connection to the remote network must be established and a list generated.

  4. For this learning procedure check the "RIP" and "SAP" box to enable them.
  5. Click the "Update" button. Click "Yes" to restart when prompted.
  6. Once rebooted, click the "list" button in the "Route Table". Entries for your local network will appear. The router with RIP and SAP enabled, should dial-up the remote office when you click "list", review the Trace in the Statistics tab (see Chapter 11) to ensure login is successful.
  7. Once connected to the other network, go back to the Intranet/IPX tab and click the "List" button in the "Route Table" once again. This time remote office IPX information as well as any servers should appear. The router has learned the networks.
  8. Disable RIP and SAP, unless you require them to be left on.

Your IRT-402 is now configured to access a remote network that uses a NetWare server.

  1. Bridging

This section provides you with information on how to configure your IRT-401 to perform bridging functions. Configuring these settings allows your IRT-401 to act like a repeater that connects your network to a remote network through the ISDN line. This is useful if you are using protocols other than TCP/IP, IPX, NetBEUI and etc.

Figure 9-17. Transparent Bridging

Bridging your LAN and a Remote LAN

Intranet page

  1. Please ensure you have completed the first "Common Configuration" section of this chapter before continuing.
  2. Click on the Intranet tab.
  3. Figure 9-18. The Intranet Page Bridge Checked

  4. Check the Bridge Enablebox.
  5. If you are not prompted to restart the router, click the "Update" button.

Note: The Bridging function requires a permanent ISDN connection and as a result the IRT-401 will keep the line connection up or if dropped will re-dial automatically. Use this function only if it is a requirement. The advantage is that you can see all workstations on each network, without any major network configuration or server.




left.jpg (496 bytes) up.gif (917 bytes) right.jpg (470 bytes) logo-b.GIF (2535 bytes)


Copyright (C) 1999 PLANET Technlogy Corporation