On 29-Apr-07 21:36:24, J.R. Seago wrote:
I currently have a router supplying Pipex broadband (always on) to my computer. This was set up for me. when I move I am going to have to set it up again, on my own, on a different 'phone number, with a different ISP, at the moment I am using the gateway address XXX.XX.X.XX, (is it wise to publish one's gateway address?)
There are two gateway addresses at play in the connection. One is the gateway configured in your computer (or computers if you have an in-house network), which is the "default" gateway for any traffic that is not for your in-house network. This will normally be the (in-house) IP address of your ADSL modem/router.
For instance, my mode/router came with 192.168.1.1 as factory default, so my various machines are on 192.168.1.* IP addresses (192.168.1.3/4/5/6 as it is at present). Each is set to use 192.168.1.1 as default gateway, as can be ascertained by entering (as root) the command
# route Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface 192.168.1.0 * 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth1 default 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth1
showing that (from this machine) traffic for network 192.168.1.* goes out via the ethernet device "eth1", and the default gateway (for any traffic whose destination is different from 192.168.1.*) has the IP address 192.168.1.1 (which is the modem).
Since 192.168.1.* is one of the range of "private" IP addresses, it has no public significance whatever, and it doesn't matter if you publish it! Anyone who tries to contact 192.168.1.1 from the outside will draw a blank.
The other gateway will be a server at your ISP. For instance, my IP (Zen) gives me a dynamically allocated gateway address, currently 62.3.82.17 (gauthier-dsl1.hq.zen.net.uk). Again, the existence of this address is pretty well public knowledge, and it doesn't matter if you publish it. The IP address is picked up by the router when it establishes a link with the ISP.
It's important to note that the modem/router itself has two IP addresses: its inward-facing one (192.168.1.1 as above) and its outward facing one (which is what Zen addresses it by, and how it would be seen by anyone in the outside world. I'm not saying what that one is!
My question is is there a 'how-to' for the slow and technically incompetent, that I can use?
I found Zen's technical help useful. You can browse around at
and specifically in the "ADSL Broadband Beginners Guide" at
http://www.zen.co.uk/Support/ADSL.aspx
under "Ethernet Modem/Routers", "Your Technical Details explained", etc. Detail may differ from ISP to ISP, but the broad picture is pretty universal.
Hoping this helps, Ted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) Ted.Harding@manchester.ac.uk Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 29-Apr-07 Time: 23:24:27 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------