Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem
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magielph @ 9th Apr 04:24PM:
Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

Modem: Westell 6100
Router: Belkin Wireless G+Mimo
ISP: CenturyTel DSL

Here's my entire problem:

Last night, I was on my laptop, connected wirelessly to my router, when my connection dropped. It has done it before, so I thought perhaps it'll work itself out, so I left it alone. It didn't.

So then I got on the main computer (the one I installed the router on), and then tried going through the router configuration, to see if it could troubleshoot itself maybe, with no luck.

Then I noticed the internet light was on. I remembered from my old router that it was supposed to be off, so I direct-connected the modem to the PC itself, and the internet was definitely working (browsed a couple sites, etc).

Then I went to the modem setup (192.168.1.1) page, and tried to Configuration/VC Configuration/VC1 Configuration = Bridge, and DHCP Configuration/DHCP Server = Off, through the advice of a random forum. Still no luck.

So then, I put the settings back how they were originally, applied the settings, allowed the modem to reset after, and now the "internet" light on the modem isn't coming on, which I think means the modem is still bridged, which means no internet either way.

Luckily, I have a neighbor with WiFi (crappy signal though) to be able to post this. So, what am I doing wrong? I set up the router originally by the instructions included (which is basically "let the CD do everything"), and when I tried that again, it still wouldn't work.

Also, the "internet" light on the router is ORANGE (or AMBER, according to the manual) when I have it hooked up.

How do I get back to where at least the original computer will direct-connect to the internet through the modem?
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nwrickert @ 9th Apr 04:51PM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

I'm not sure why your previous bridge configuration was lost. There is always a possibility that you have a failing modem.

After reset, go back to the modem page, and the VC configuration. First check that the VPI/VCI settings are correct for your ISP. Then set as an unrouted bridge, and reconnect your router.
--
AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.8
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magielph @ 9th Apr 05:17PM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

Protocol: Bridge
Mode: Bridge
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nwrickert @ 9th Apr 05:24PM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

That should be okay, provided that the VPI/VCI numbers are correct for your ISP.
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anon @ 16th Apr 03:16PM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

I have had this happen to me twice on my 7500 westell.

I'm using my WRT54G (v8) just fine and then bloop, my westell jumps out of bridge mode into regular mode and my linksys cannot connect.

Very weird. Any tips to make sure that it is a faulty modem? Swap in an older one perhaps?
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velocityatt @ 15th May 04:35PM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

i have to wonder if sometimes these things are auto reset by say a firmware update or something... idk... they do have a tendency of just dropping out of bridge mode though...
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bevills1 @ 17th May 10:04AM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

Is there some advantage to setting modem to bridge mode? I set my Westell 6100 to router mode and then setup the router accordingly, and I've had no kind of reset problems in 10 years.
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nwrickert @ 17th May 11:26AM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

The result is double NAT. That is, the NAT functionality is done twice, once by the modem and once by the router. Some people think double NAT is bad.

I agree with you. I have never had a problem with double NAT. It has worked just fine. And it has the advantage that you can still easily access the modem for config and for statistics. I would leave the 6100 as a router unless there is a specific problem that needs to be solved.

There is a trivial problem that can occur. The 6100 defaults to 192.168.1.* for the LAN IPs. And some routers also use this. That gives a conflict (router WAN IP is on the same subnet as router LAN IP). However, that is easily fixed by either configuring the router to use a different range of LAN IPs, or configuring the Westell 6100 to use a different range of LAN IPs (say 192.168.2.*). This is easy to configure on Westell modem/routers and is easy to configure on most home routers.
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j198 @ 5th Jun 10:46AM:
Re: Westell 6100 Bridging / Unbridging problem

Having the same problem with Centurytel. Was using Belkin Wireless G F5D7234-4 from walmart and a Westell 6100. It was working great until June 3rd. Not sure what happened on that day but I can no longer use the belkin router. I tried using a switch that I am sure there is nothing wrong and have used with the westell before, but that apparently is not allowed by centurytel either.

Of course the westell is fine when directly connected to the desktop. I tried the bridging solution with no luck. IP addresses were fine. Belkin was using 192.168.2.1 already.

I have tried different sets of IP addresses also.

If modem is unplugged from desktop to add the belkin back into the mix, it will not allow me to navigate back to the modem site after removing the belkin router. I have been hitting the reset button on the westell and re-entering the centurytel password to gain access again.(this is a new behavior and did not occur before June 3rd)

I am almost ready to give up and ask century tel how much their wireless router is going to cost me.

still curious what they could have done to pull this off.
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