Using Sky Router as 'Modem Only'

[Izak]

We are switching to Sky Broadband early next month (from TalkTalk) and currently have a perfectly working home network with a Netgear DG834G router with all the necessary configurations setup so I don't really want to have to transfer all these settings to another router that Sky make you use (especially as I've heard that one or two of the Sky routers aren't that good anyway!)

What I was wondering is, is it possible to connect the new Sky router to the phone line, turn off WiFi, DCHP and Firewall and have it just send the internet data through to an ethernet port on my current Netgear router? Then my Netgear router can act as a server for all my devices like it does now.

This would save me so much time reconfiguring all the wireless, fixed IP addresses and Firewall rules in my current router.

I know I could technically transfer the Sky username and password to my current router but as my brother works for Sky (and it is all going to be in his name), I don't want him to get into trouble should they find out we're not using their router.

Also is it true we will lose internet connection for two weeks between Sky cutting us off TalkTalk and activating their own broadband on our line?

[Scubbie]

If the Sky router is the DHCP Server, then all the settings will need to be copied across to it.

I've been spending most of the afternoon & evening playing with the new Sagemcom F@ST 2304n router and I'm not liking it at the moment. I'll have another crack at it tomorrow, unless a friend pops round for a chat.

I've posted a guide to piggybacking two routers in the 'Asking for help' section:

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/askin...-together.html

[Izak]

If the Sky router is the DHCP Server, then all the settings will need to be copied across to it.

I've been spending most of the afternoon & evening playing with the new Sagemcom F@ST 2304n router and I'm not liking it at the moment. I'll have another crack at it tomorrow, unless a friend pops round for a chat.

I've posted a guide to piggybacking two routers in the 'Asking for help' section:

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/askin...-together.html

Thanks for your reply.

My idea was to have the Sky router just acting like a gateway and my current Netgear router as a DHCP Server

Also just to add, the Netgear DG934G features 'Auto Uplink' on its Ethernet ports if that makes a difference.

[KevinB]

I'm not sure you'll be able to get away with not transferring your firewall rules from the Netgear to the Sky router.

Firewall rules on home routers generally only work on the transition from WAN to LAN and vice versa; they don't work from LAN port to LAN port. If you connect an ethernet cable from the Sky router to a port on the Netgear router then your LAN and the Sky router are effectively on the same side of the firewall so the traffic won't traverse it, and so won't have the firewall rules applied to it. The blue line on the attached gif image shows the path the data takes.

[IWasNotTheEnemy]

It can be done fine, not got the guide to hand but someone will post it soon. A lot of people do this as a way to stay within the T&Cs of Sky yet gain the benefit of using a better router

[Scubbie]

Would this not work if the 2nd router was a Cable Router and the OP uses the WAN connection?

[fuzzy logic]

Would this not work if the 2nd router was a Cable Router and the OP uses the WAN connection?

Yeah, if it had been a cable router, that would work. A very small number of ADSL routers can have one of their LAN ports reconfigured as a wan port, the netgear dg834g is not among them though, so as Kevin says, the firewall rules would have to be transferred over.

I would try out the sky router, and if it didn't perform better than the old one, extract the password, and stick with the old, although of course that is against the T&Cs.

[KevinB]

I'm not sure about cable routers I'm afraid, corporate networks and home ADSL are my bags . If the WAN connection on a cable router is ethernet with an RJ-45, and is configurable enough then I guess it might.

[Isitme]

The only way to disable the firewall is to put the other router into the DMZ of the Sky router. This is the nearest you will get to 'modem only' mode in the Sky routers.