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Obsolete Releases => SME Server 7.x => Topic started by: rrkelly on March 20, 2008, 05:58:16 AM

Title: DHCP problem with ISP
Post by: rrkelly on March 20, 2008, 05:58:16 AM

Ok the isp is the local telephone company; it is high speed dsl, and they have a new service, mpeg4 streaming TV (3 channel blocks 3 streams i was told). 12 down and 1up will watching TV.

This is new for them and i suspect they are still chasing bugs and funnies. i was lucky with support and got a very good tech.

The ISP uses a 1 time mac locked authentication. Basically if the ISP server does not recognize the mac at the time of the DHCP request it returns a 172 address with a very short lease and a web page for client name and password input -- it is not ppoe.  Most of the time it does not work but if you can give them the 172 address to find you with  they (the isp) can manually set it. The modem is factory defaulted to firewall router mode but will go to a bridged mode. The bridged mode breaks the authentication so you must
re-authenticate. There in is the problem. Sme basically has 2 dhcp modes for the wan-- dhcp with client name and dhcp with mac neither work to the point of getting a 172 address. However both windows and
linux dhcp clients will. I was working mainly with a linux laptop and using elinks from the cmd line in a VT.
I could authenticate and restart networking via init.d.  Once that was done all was good and eht0 showed
a routable address. No how no way could i get SME to pull the 172 address to  authenticate. The sme box
works fine on my home network which is cable. Both on the network and as my primary gateway.

Any idea's would be welcome. I do know the head of the ISP network department and from past experience
talking to her without a solution is akin to peeing into the wind. I was a customer of their's for 5 painful years.

thank you
rob

Title: Re: DHCP problem with ISP
Post by: zatnikatel on March 23, 2008, 06:20:38 PM

not sure of your setup the way the ISP works you could do and ifdown and ifup on eth0 or eth1 what about could they just put the modem into Routed mode give you an ip address and not worry about mac stuff a strange way of doing things