BT Hub (2701hgv-c) Configuration Issue/Question

[tonyl]

We have 5 static IP addresses as part of our package. For the past few years, we have successfully used a Netgear DG834G, but this is dead or at least dying, needing frequent reboots to get through the working day. I have configured the unit to use one of our IP addresses and have opened various ports to our email and main servers for different services for offsite and mobile use.

As the Netgear is dying and I also had a new 2701hgv-c (not sure why BT sent it to us!), I thought it would be a straightforward substitution, plus a bit of work to open ports, etc. This has proved not to be the case and the router will only work on a dynamic IP. If I try to configure it to one of the statics, the internet light on the unit stays red.

Reading on this forum, it seems that in order to get a static ip address for the router (rather than one or more computers sitting behind it), I should have a single static IP rather than a block of 5.

I've emailed the Technical Support people but had no answer so far. Please could someone confirm that I cannot configure the router itself to behave as I want it to do and that I need to 'downgrade' to a single static address. If that's the case, it's quite an easy fix but I don't want to do it unnecessarily. If my best bet is buying a new router, can someone suggest a wireless modem that isn't quite in the £150+ category of the Draytek Vigor ones.

Thanks

Tony

[zzZZzz]

Is this BT page describing how to assign multple static IP addresses to 270x hub any help?

BT help page

[tonyl]

Thanks for the response.

Initially, I thought that's the page I followed which resulted in the red light on the router. Actually, rereading it and the User Guide, maybe I've been making a mistake. This and the UG refer to an address provided by BT as the Router Address in the welcome emails, etc. I was using one of the 5 static addresses. I've just looked at an aged piece of paper stuck to a cabinet in the accounts office and find it does have a router address which is different. I've only been here 8 years and the piece of paper is much older than that - just as well nobody threw it away!

I'll try the next time I have to connect the BT hub, probably before lunchtime. At the moment, the Netgear is in one of its working periods, so the salesmen and MD can pick up email! I have to try things out either very quickly or when everything dies!

Tony

[tonyl]

Well, that's interesting. The process is successful and the router address is stored. However, that IP address doesn't seem available to have any of its ports opened and you can't ping it. All it seems to do is open up the possibility of allocating an external IP address to the computers within the network, which unfortunately is not what I want.

If I carried on, I guess I would be able to allocate one of the static IPs to my email server but to do so, I'd have to switch the server to DHCP. It's currently static, so that all the internal PC's can use it for mail pick up purposes. I could swap it over but am loathe to do so, as then the internal PCs would all need to be reconfigured to look at another IP address.

I think I'm back to my original question really, as I believe what I really need is a single static IP plus my port rules - or a different router.

Thanks anyway.

Tony

[tonyl]

Resolution of a sort. Had a chat session with a BT engineer. He says the 2701HGV-C will not do this when one has 5 static IPs, but that the Hub 3 will. Alternatively, one can revert to a single IP, as I originally thought.

We'll try the Hub 3 option initially. Looking at the online docs, etc, it doesn't look any different but maybe there are detail differences which make it possible.

As an interim measure, all mobile users are picking up email via the dynamic IP. I don't suppose that will change unless/until I pull the ADSL plug or power down the 2701.

[tonyl]

Just in case anyone thinks you can configure the Hub 3 as i have described above - don't bother, it doesn't work either. The only upside is that I was able to move our broadband account from the ridiculous 'network premium' service at £100 +VAT a month to one at £28 and get a free hub. To solve my initial problem, I could 'downgrade' to a single static IP, buy a third party router, or (as I have now done) get a DDNS account somewhere.

The Hub 3 seems to have incredibly dumbed down software for a 'business' device, so that's set aside. The 2701 is marginally better but still not nearly as comprehensive as the old (domestic) Netgear. For instance, it doesn't seem as though you can open a port and limit access to a single remote IP, something we had and used on the Netgear. I can't see how you can back the settings up, either, so they'd have to be put back in manually if anything goes wrong. My final rant is that 99% of the port forwarding settings are for games, whereas settings for some key services are completely missing! What does BT think businesses spend their time doing?

Tony