[ale] Question about cable modem connections

Joshua Kite jwkite at gmail.com
Wed Oct 1 09:58:08 EDT 2008


I just finished testing, and I'm afraid that my experience was less
successful than yours.

While I did receive an IP address, I was unable to ping 4.2.2.1, a known DNS
server that I use from time to time.  I did not try going directly to
comcast.com to see if that would work.  Also skype, which connects to a hard
IP address and does not require DNS lookup, was unable to reach its host.

Given the variety of responses, I'm wondering if there might not be another
luddite solution.  Does the cable company offer its own networking device?
Granted, there isn't a need for one, but that should eliminate any concerns
about MAC cloning and I would expect that to be a simple matter of plug and
play.

Just a thought.

Josh Kite

On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 9:37 AM, Björn Gustafsson <bg-ale at bjorng.net> wrote:

> As I recall, to initially set up the cable modem you need to log into
> a web interface on it and supply your Comcast email and password.
> That "authenticates" the cable modem onto their network.  This is a
> one-time setup that binds the modem to your Comcast account.
>
> Unfortunately I believe the web interface in question only works with
> IE.  I may be misremembering, but my recollection is that even with a
> Windows box I couldn't use Firefox when I set up our new cable modem
> this past spring.
>
> It happens that I tested yesterday whether the cable modem is bound to
> a particular MAC, and it is not.  I switched the modem between PCs and
> a wifi router without needing to reconfigure it, or even reboot it.
>
> 2008/10/1 Joshua Kite <jwkite at gmail.com>:
> >
> > I'm not sure that really solves the problem that Jim brings up.  As I
> > recall, cable modems traditionally grab the MAC address of the first PC
> > which connects to it, and from then on ONLY that MAC address is accepted,
> > which is why the router would need to clone the MAC address of that
> > computer.  However, I also think that I've had no problems connecting
> other
> > PC's directly to the modem, so Comcast may have changed their ways.
> >
> > I have Comcast, so I will take a few minutes for an experiment.  I'll
> take
> > apart the network and connect my Linux desktop to the modem, see what
> > happens, and report back.  Of course, whatever happens with my set up may
> > not represent what will happen with hers, but it might give an
> indication.
> >
> > Josh Kite
> >
> > 2008/10/1 Warren Myers <volcimaster at gmail.com>
> >>
> >> You could preconfigure the router at your house, then send it with her.
> >> Restarting the router forces it to regrab the IP address of the device
> it's
> >> connected to (at least on the ones I've used).
> >> WMM
> >>
> >> On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 8:32 AM, Jim Lynch <
> ale_nospam at fayettedigital.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Jim Kinney wrote:
> >>> > All the cable modem crap I've dealt with require a registered MAC
> >>> > address. So the installer sets up the box i.e. - plugs it in) and
> then
> >>> > phones in to have the new device "approved" witht he MAC address of
> >>> > the WINDOWS PC plugged into it. The modem does not provide dhcp. The
> >>> > upstream cable service provides it.
> >>> >
> >>> >  I would recommend providing a broadband router of some sort
> (wireless
> >>> > optional) as the WAN side by default is looking for dhcp service.
> >>> >
> >>> I'd never be able to get her to install and configure a router.  Surely
> >>> I can just furnish her with the mac address if the ethernet card in the
> >>> laptop, can't I?  I don't think there will ever be a time that more
> than
> >>> that one computer is connected in that home, unless I'm there.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Jim.
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Warren Myers
> >> http://warrenmyers.com
>
> --
> Björn Gustafsson
>
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>
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