Home Networking With HALNet ADSL

     There are many different types of "routers" on the market today, however their configurations are going to be pretty much the same. There are WAN (Wide Area Network) and LAN (Local Area Network) as well as NAT and security settings. For the most part, all you should have to do to get it working with your HALNet ADSL service is to plug it in and turn it on. Most routers are configured to work with our service by default.
     Here are some settings that will manually get a router working on your ADSL connection and allow certain services to work as well. You can access your router's configuration with a simple web browser. Read the manual that came with your router to find out the address that you need to go to (normally 192.168.xxx.1 or 10.0.xxx.1 etc.).
WAN: DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Also labeled as Obtain IP Address Automatically or Dynamic IP Address LAN: Enable the internal DHCP server
Set the internal IP address range (depending on your router, it should start no less than x.x.x.2 and end no more than x.x.x.254)
Set the lease time to at least 6 hours
NAT: Virtual Servers or NAT Port Mapping can be used to open certain ports to the outside world. Ex. You have a FTP server at 192.168.1.102 on your local network, and you want it to be accessible from the world. You would need to direct port 21 to the machine on 192.168.1.102 that's running the FTP service. (Private IP= 192.168.1.102 Private port=21 Public port=21)
NOTE: Many routers have a list of popular applications and services to make the configuration even easier.
Please read the manual that came with your router for specific instructions on entering the ports into your router.
One service cannot be assigned to more than computer at a time. Ex. There cannot be 2 computers set up to do voice communication with MSN Messenger, but you can have one doing video conferencing with Yahoo Messenger while the other is talking with MSN Messenger.
A list of registered services and their ports can be found here (585k), while some odd ones used in games and messaging programs can be found at http://www.akerman.ca/port-table.html. If you still cannot find what you're looking for then do a Google search for it.      NOTE: Make sure you have the latest firmware release for your router. There are various bugs and other strangeness being discovered on a weekly basis, and most router manufacturers are kind enough to release flash updates to fix them. There are even some updates that add new features, such as a firewall and a larger list of preprogrammed services in the NAT configuration.

Helpfull hint on Linksys routers (mileage may vary):
If you are using a Linksys router and are getting disconnected, try the following:
1. Open your web browser and enter http://192.168.1.1 (IP Address of the Linksys Router)
2. Enter the password if prompted (default is "admin" with no username).
3. In the Setup tab, select the option Keep Alive and set the Redial Period option at 20 (seconds).
4. Click Apply and Continue button.
5. Click the Status tab and click the Connect button.
6. The login status may display as Connecting. Press the F5 (or ctrl-R) key to refresh the screen until you see the login status display as Connected.
7. Click the Apply and Continue buttons to continue.

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This site is designed to be of some assistance, however is not meant to be your sole source of information. By following the suggestions given on this page you understand that you do these things at your own risk. The steps mentioned here may or may not work for your purposes. There is no warranty or support of any kind provided by HAL-PC for the topics discussed in this site. The only support for your home network that is given is by me personally, at my choosing, on my own time, and via email only.
I know... I hate disclaimers too.