October 31, 2005

Linksys Default Number of IP Addresses

When setting up a Linksys router; and by that I mean any Linksys router you may notice that by default the setup program turns on DHCP and allows the DHCP server to allocate up to 253 IP addresses. For many folks this number should be in the range of 1 to 3. I have 8 PCs, two network printers, two wireless access points, and a network storage device and I manage to use only 8 IP addresses (OK, some of those devices are behind another Firewall and others are behind a VPN router). Things to think about here are if you have any non PC type devices that might attach to the Linksys. For example I have the family Tivo box set up with a wireless network interface and that uses an address. IP phones might also fall into this category.

October 02, 2005

About Resetting that Linksys Router

If you find that you have to reset your Linksys router on a weekly basis you really need to check to make sure that it is running the latest firmware.

Using your web browser enter "www.linksys.com". (Note to Linksys) Be patient as sometimes this page takes up to a minute to load even on the fastest broadband connections. Look under the "Support" drop menu and select "Downloads". There you will find a drop down menu were you select the type of Linksys router you have and then click on "View Downloads". Once completed you'll be looking at the support page for your model of router. Select "Firmware" to view the specific firmware files that are available. If there is a version of firmware that is more recent than that running on your router, select and download it. Be careful as sometimes the different options on these pages look like different versions of firmware (each says "Download Firmware" below the item). I noticed for my router that the 3 files were #1 - the firmware, #2 - a firmware install utility, and #3 - the release notes for that version of firmware.

You can install the firmware on your router from a PC that is connected to the Linksys device. If you use the install utility from the Linksys website you can push the new firmware onto the device. You can also use the "Firmware Upgrade" choice off of the Linksys Administration menu to pull the new firmware file from that same connected PC.