Using ethernet input instead of DSL for a wireless router

[alandalf]

In university I have one ethernet socket in my room which I have connected to an ethernet port on my wireless router. I have also connected all my other ethernet devices to the router so I don't have to keep unplugging them and replacing the ethernet cable in the wall socket. I can connect to the internet through the router but it's only allowing one device to be connected at once and the router is saying "no connection" even though I can connect through it. Please correct me but does this mean it's working as a switch at the moment, right? Would it be possible to make it work as a router so all my devices can work simultaneously and get the wifi to work? Thanks in advance.

 

[Emerald]

you need to get a regular router to get the wireless to work.

it seems that they are only assigning one IP per port.

 

[eibgrad]

If you're using a LAN port on the router to connect it to the wall, then yes, your router is only acting as a switch, and then all MAC addresses are being detected by the university, which then limits you to that one MAC address.

What you need to do is use the router's WAN port. However, that presents a problem of its own. That MAC address is not known to the university, so it will probably reject it. To get around that problem, you need to clone the MAC address of your PC/laptop (the one that's working) to the router's MAC address so it appears to the university that the MAC address coming from the router's WAN is your PC/laptop. And now the university's network accepts the router (mistakenly thinking it's your PC/laptop). Most routers have this feature.

At least that's typically how you would do it. All other devices on the LAN behind the router now work because their respective MAC addresses are never seen by the university's network.

NOTE: Many universities have policies about using routers, and know that's it's fairly easy to circumvent these restrictions using these techniques. So if you plan to use the router in this fashion, just beware you may get into some trouble if they discover it. That's your call, of course.

 

[alandalf]

If you're using a LAN port on the router to connect it to the wall, then yes, your router is only acting as a switch, and then all MAC addresses are being detected by the university, which then limits you to that one MAC address.

What you need to do is use the router's WAN port. However, that presents a problem of its own. That MAC address is not known to the university, so it will probably reject it. To get around that problem, you need to clone the MAC address of your PC/laptop (the one that's working) to the router's MAC address so it appears to the university that the MAC address coming from the router's WAN is your PC/laptop. And now the university's network accepts the router (mistakenly thinking it's your PC/laptop). Most routers have this feature.

At least that's typically how you would do it. All other devices on the LAN behind the router now work because their respective MAC addresses are never seen by the university's network.

NOTE: Many universities have policies about using routers, and know that's it's fairly easy to circumvent these restrictions using these techniques. So if you plan to use the router in this fashion, just beware you may get into some trouble if they discover it. That's your call, of course.

I see what you are saying although I can only change the MAC address of the ADSL port not the ethernet port. Would it be possible to get some sort of ethernet to ADSL cable so I can use the ADSL port on the router instead of the ethernet one?

 

[alandalf]

If you're using a LAN port on the router to connect it to the wall, then yes, your router is only acting as a switch, and then all MAC addresses are being detected by the university, which then limits you to that one MAC address.

What you need to do is use the router's WAN port. However, that presents a problem of its own. That MAC address is not known to the university, so it will probably reject it. To get around that problem, you need to clone the MAC address of your PC/laptop (the one that's working) to the router's MAC address so it appears to the university that the MAC address coming from the router's WAN is your PC/laptop. And now the university's network accepts the router (mistakenly thinking it's your PC/laptop). Most routers have this feature.

At least that's typically how you would do it. All other devices on the LAN behind the router now work because their respective MAC addresses are never seen by the university's network.

NOTE: Many universities have policies about using routers, and know that's it's fairly easy to circumvent these restrictions using these techniques. So if you plan to use the router in this fashion, just beware you may get into some trouble if they discover it. That's your call, of course.

 

[eibgrad]

Well, the fact you're using a combination modem+router throws a monkey wrench into the equation, something you didn't mention initially.

Yes, one of the problems in trying to reuse such a device is that it doesn't expose a WAN port. All you have are LAN ports, and of course, the DSL port. The WAN to modem connection is made *internally*.

Not much you can do in that case. That's why as convenient as these combination modem+router devices may be for their intended purposes, the downside is that they make reuse very, very difficult. In some cases, impossible. All you can really do w/ that modem+router is use it as either a switch, WAP, or both. But for routing purposes, it's of no value.

Sorry.