Frequently Asked Questions
I still can't get it to work, what should I do? See the Troubleshooting
page on our web site. Or, you might want to see IPNetRouter's
online guide.
What's the latest status of IPNetRouter?
(8-Aug-2001)
1.6 was released in August, 2001. Release 1.6 contains some bug
fixes and a handful of enhancements, mostly to the port mapping
and IP Filtering capabilities of IPNetRouter. Release 1.5 included
"Better PPPoE Routing", Dynamic DNS support, and an
exposed host feature, along with numerous bug fixes and other
improvements. Beginning in release 1.5.4 an optional browser using
configuration application, previously
available separately, is now installed. If you are using a version
of IPNetRouter earlier than 1.4.7 on MacOS 9.x, we recommend yhou
upgrade to the latest release. The upgrade is free to customers
with valid paid registration key.
In July of 2000, a cheaper 68k only license was introduced for
use with IPNetRouter 1.5.x. This is a good alternative for those
that do not intend to upgrade and just want to keep
an old 68k box running.
OS X support is in early development. You can use an OS
X LAN client with an IPNetRouter gateway running under an older
Mac OS. IPNetRouter 1.5 will install in the classic environment
under Mac OS X, but we do not support that configuration. We will
post announcements to the nettalk and
netannounce mailing lists as more information becomes available.
See our download page and latest IPNetRouter
release notes for other info
on the latest available versions. Visit our OS
X Status web page for the latest OS X information. A link
to OS X troubleshooting info is currently at the bottom of that
page.
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Will your router work on 68K machines?
Yes, IPNetRouter requires a minimum of a 68030 CPU, 7.5.3 or
later and a minimum of Open
Transport 1.1.2 or later. The 68k
version of IPNetRouter is available for download from our
web site.
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Is there an upgrade or downgrade path
for the the 68k only license? (8-Aug-2001)
If you eventually plan to upgrade your gateway machine to a PPC
platform, purchase the higher priced "universal"
license. This will cost you less in the long run.
If you already have the full universal license you may not "downgrade"
to a 68k license, but your older key will continue to work on
both PPC and 68k versions of IPNetRouter.
If you replace a 68k machine with a PPC gateway, you can always
purchase the cheaper 68k license and transfer the older PPC/68K
license to the new machine for use there. The 68k machine can
then be used as another router/gateway/DHCP server or sold. Keep
the 68k machines in service! We hope the lower 68k only price
will encourage everyone use these perfectly good machines rather
then throw them in the trash.
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Do I have to Install IPNetRouter on all
my computers? Will I need to purchase a license for each machine?
No. In most small home or business networks, you only need to
Install IPNetRouter on one Macintosh --known as the "gateway"
Mac-- to share the Internet with any number of local network "client"
machines (Macs, Windoze, Linux, whatever). For most Internet sharing
installations, you will only need to purchase and install one
copy of IPNetRouter for all local machines to benefit. The client
machines will of course require that their TCP/IP settings be
configured to use the Gateway machine as their Internet router.
How to setup IPNetRouter is covered in the various
tutorials on our web site, the IPNetRouter guide, and in the
automated web configurator application (included in 1.5.4 or later
releases).
A single Mac IPNetRouter gateway can support hundreds (or even
thousands!) of computers on your IP network. That's how the Internet
Protocol and Apple's Open Transport were designed to work. Unlike
other software routing solutions, we do not artificially limit
the number of LAN clients based on how much you are willing to
pay. That would be totally unnecessary!
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Is there an easier way to configure
IPNetRouter?
IPNetRouter 1.5.4 and later comes with a web configurator application
that you can use if the IPNetRouter application's Interface Window
is too confusing. If you have an older version of IPNetRouter
and would like to use this web configurator application, it is
available for download. It
won't solve any hardware problems you might be experiencing but
it should get you up and running quickly if IPNetRouter's user
interface is causing confusion.
Note, you can only use this application for configuring your
LAN if you have a direct connection to the internet that is not
behind a firewall or NAT router. Some ISPs now use NAT to increase
the number of IP addresses they can assign to their customers
and proxy firewalls to increase network security.
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Does IPNetRouter work with AirPort and other
wireless cards?
Yes. Apple licensed a version of IPNetRouter's routing software
for use with Mac's equipped with AirPort cards. In cases where
more complex routing of wireless LANs is needed, IPNetRouter may
be a better solution then the software that Apple provides. Our
AirPort and IPNetRouter Guide
has useful information for users interested in setting up wireless
networking, with or without IPNetRouter. The "AirPort"
and "OS 9 Compatibility" topics on the IPNR Troubleshooting
page also denotes how to reduce potential compatibility issues
introduced by AirPort software.
IPNetRouter will also work with Farallon Skyline cards for wireless
networking. Skyline cards can be installed in many older Powerbooks
that do not have AirPort capabilities. Using IPNetRouter, a Powerbook
with an AirPort card and an additional Skyline PC card has been
demonstrated to provide a dual wireless NIC routing solution.
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Is there a way to suppress the initial
dial-out of the PPP connection until it is actually needed?
Not for Mac OS 8.6 and earlier.
There isn't a good solution without modifying the way the OT/PPP
configurator works. In order to have IPNetRouter detect whether
there is PPP traffic, the IP module in Open Transport needs to
have a corresponding interface that it can route traffic to. When
this interface is defined by building the corresponding link stack
(the chain of protocol modules from IP to the data link provider).
The PPP configurator runs and tries to establish a connection.
If you set PPP to not connect automatically when opening TCP/IP
applications, the PPP configurator fails to create the corresponding
link stack.
For Mac OS 9 (OT2.5.x), you can suppress the initial dial out
by unchecking "Dial on Demand" in the Gateway options
window, and using ResEdit to change 'STR#' resource 131 "Option
Settings" from "IPNRDials=1" to "IPNRDials=0".
I plan to make this easier in a future version.
See the Technical Specs
section for more info on modifying parameters in IPNetRouter's
resource fork.
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IPNetRouter won't disconnect, or keeps
trying to reconnect. What can I do to prevent this?
IPNetRouter might remain connected, keep trying to reconnect,
or be prevented from disconnecting properly for the reasons listed
below:
- "Remain Connected" is selected in the Gateway window.
- Some process on your network is generating traffic for your
PPP interface. Check IPNetRouter's log window to see if there
is any information on which LAN client started a diaout connection.
A prime source of this problem is the Network
Time Server feature present in MacOS 8.5 or later Date and
Time control panel, either on clients or the gateway machine.
- The "Show PPP Dialogs" Gateway option may not interact
properly with the gateway's connection client software. Turn
this option off if experiencing problems.
- Starting in OS 9.0, Apple permitted the use of TCP/IP filesharing.
There is a keep alive request periodically sent out if there
are any remote TCP/IP filesharing volumes mounted on/from your
gateway machine that may cause IPNetRouter to redial.
- In OS 9.1, the "SLPplugin" extension release 1.1.3
will periodically attempt to access SLP services using the SLP
multicast address. Version 1.1 from OS 9.0.4 does not do this.
This may cause your IPNetRouter to attempt to dial. Disable
or replacing the SLPplugin with 1.1.
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I get an error that another machine
is using the same IP address, what can I do?
Verify that the IP conflict does not come from having two machines
on your own LAN configured with the same IP address (in the Mac
TCP/IP control panel).
If you are connected with a cable/DSL modem using the "Single
Ethernet" configuration your LAN is directly attached to
the cable/DSL network. It is quite possible someone else on the
cable modem network is already using the IP addresses suggested
in the Getting Started examples. In this case you can either choose
different IP addresses, or switch to a "Dual Ethernet"
configuration to isolate your LAN from the cable modem network.
The address specified in the error dialog may be incorrect. Check
to make sure that any IP address you are trying to use with IPNetRouter
is not in use elsewhere, even if it is not the one mentioned in
the error dialog.
IPNetMonitor may be of use in tracking down the problem.
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Will IPNetRouter work with more
than two physical Ethernet interfaces?
Yes. You can use multiple ethernet cards in machines that support
them. IPNetRouter is generally limited by what Apple supports
in Open Transport and by card manufacturer compatibility with
Open Transport for any particular MacOS. Most (if not all) card
manufacturers do not support more than one card at the same time
for IP multihoming with their ethernet drivers. The workaround
for this is to use different Ethernet cards from different manufacturers--you
can easily get four Ethernet interfaces in this way. See the Troubleshooting
page for more info on Ethernet card conflicts. IPNetRouter
supports up to four separate NAT interfaces (they all have to
be physically separate interfaces).
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What Other Interfaces Can Be Used
Besides Ethernet?
Some Macs cannot take additional Ethernet cards. You may be able
to use LocalTalk (via MacIP),
AirPort, Firewire,
TokenRing, or even a Skyline
wireless card as a second (or third or fourth), physically separate
interface besides or in addition to Ethernet. Any interface that
can use IP through Open Transport (using standard APIs) may be
able to take advantage of IPNetRouter. In addition, IPNetRouter
works with various PPPoE implentations
such as the Alcatel USB, Enternet, and MacPoet solutions.
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Can I use IPNetRouter to share my cable modem
connection with VPC?
IPNetRouter is an Open Transport native IP router. That
is, it enables Open Transport to perform routing.
VirtualPC bypasses Open Transport completely and talks directly
to the Ethernet hardware so it can run the PC networking stack.
The best way to look at VPC is as a separate stand alone PC that
shares your Macs hardware.
To use VPC through IPNetRouter, you would need to run VPC and
IPNetRouter on separate Macs so VPC can connect through your gateway
that runs IPNetRouter.
See also
http://www2.linkedresources.com/teach/ipnetrouter/configuringvpc.html
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How do I configure my Windows 95 machine to
use my Mac as its gateway?
You will have to be somewhat familiar with the Windows95 Network
control panel. Here is basically what you need to do:
- Open the Windows Network control panel.
- Select the TCP/IP line for the Windows Network card.
- Open the Properties of this device. You should see several
Tabs (IP Address, Gateway, and DNS configuration are the ones
we are interested in).
- Go to the IP Address tab. Give your machine an IP Address
within the range of your Private LAN (for example, 192.168.0.2).
- Go to the Gateway tab. Enter the IP Address of the machine
running IPNetRouter (typically 192.168.0.1). Click the Add button.
This address should now be added to the list of Installed Gateways.
- Go to the DNS Configuration tab. Enter a host name (any name,
without spaces, for this machine, such as "Win1",
will do). For the domain, enter the domain of your Internet
service provider, such as mindspring.com. Then go to the DNS
part and enter your DNS server addresses (as provided to you
by your ISP). For each address, click the Add button.
- Click the OK button. This will take you back to the Network
control panel. Click the OK button again. You may have to insert
your Windows CD-ROM (or diskette) and restart Windows.
This should do it! (You'd think!)The only other thing you may
have to check is that your Internet connection is setup (on
the Windows machine) to use the Ethernet card and NOT a dial
up connection. There is another Windows control panel to let
you select how you want to connect to the Internet.
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Configuring a Windows 2000 client machine
for Ethernet
You will have to be somewhat familiar with the Windows2000 Network
interfaces. Here is basically what you need to do:
- Right-click on My Network Places
- Select Properties from bottom of menu
- In the window that opens, right-click on your Ethernet adapter
- Select Properties from the bottom of the menu
- Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) from the list in the properties
window
If you don't see TCP/IP, then
- select Install / Network Protocol / Microsoft / TCP/IP
- Click on the properties button
- Click on "Use the following IP address" button and
enter your private LAN client's IP address (for example, 192.168.0.3),
subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0), and Default gateway (forwarding
router) IP address (in this example, 192.168.0.1)
- Click on the "Use the following DNS server addresses"
and enter your ISP DNS address (or LAN gateway IP address if
using IPNR's DNS forwarding feature).
- Click OK until all the menu windows are closed.
It is probably a good idea to restart your Windows box after
saving these changes.
Configuring a Windows client to work with IPNetRouter is just
like configuring a Windows box to work with any other IP router.
See other web sites, such as the MacWindows
web site, and your Windows documentation for more for more
info on configuring Windows for IP networking.
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How do I configure IPNetRouter to work
with Timbuktu?
In order for Timbuktu Pro to work through a firewall
(IP masquerading), UDP port 407 and TCP ports 1417 through 1420
must be open. Timbuktu Pro uses UDP port 407 for connection handshaking
and then switches to the TCP ports for Timbuktu Services: Control
(1417), Observe (1418), Send (1419), and Exchange (1420). Chat,
Notify, and Intercom use Dynamic TCP ports. Netopia's web
site covers this in greater
detail. As explained there, how Timbuktu 2 and Pro work with
port mapping varies somewhat. If you search
our nettalk web archives on the term "Timbuktu" you
will find a host of solutions to all sorts of different Timbuktu
deployments.
You can map ports using the Port Mapping window in IPNetRouter.
See the Inbound Port Mapping
section.
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Does IPNetRouter work with FreePPP?
IPNetRouter does not support dial on demand with FreePPP.
You must use OT/PPP 1.0.x, Remote Access 3.x, or FCR PPP (aka LeoMLP)
for auto connection to work.
Notice that Apple's current Open Transport implementation does
not support "dial on demand", but rather dials when
a client opens a TCP/IP endpoint causing PPP to be configured.
With IPNetRouter, the client opening a TCP/IP endpoint might not
be on the same machine as IPNetRouter, so IPNetRouter needs to
detect traffic for your PPP interface and instruct PPP to dial
out if it is not already connected. IPNetRouter currently knows
how to do this for OT/PPP and FCR PPP. FreePPP uses a different
API.
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Does IPNetRouter work with ISDN cards
from Hermstedt that use LeoTCP?
Yes, but you must obtain LeoTCP/OT version 3.03 or later (version
3.01 will not work). Depending on the ISDN hardware connection
method, you may need to treat your connection as a PPP or Ethernet
interface for purposes of using instructions in our guide. The
latest
versions of the Hermstedt drivers appear to support Remote
Access connection directly and do not appear to use LeoTCP.
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Will your router work on the same
machine as MacDNS or QuickDNS Pro?
They should. Because of limitations when using a Masqueraded
interface (NAPT), you may want to deploy this software on a different
machine and not deploy them on the routing Mac. An understanding
of how port mapping works in IPNR may be required to get this
to work correctly.
In the case of DNS servers (MacDNS and QuickDNS), if you private
LAN interface is not your primary interface or you wish to share
the DNS server for both your private LAN, you may need to turn
off DNS Forwarding and map UDP port 53 between the gateway's public
and private IP addresses.
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Will AIMS work on the same machine as IPNetRouter?
Yes, but...because of the way AIM is designed, you may only be
able to either use it on your gateway or on the other machines
on your LAN, not both.
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What is the performance like on older
machines?
IPNetRouter itself is very fast by virtue of being Open
Transport native. Routing is handled by OT within the OS kernel.
Even a Mac IIsi (68030) can provide good performance depending on
your network configuration.
Older machines have other limitations however. Trying to use
LocalTalk and a serial port at the same time will cause performance
to suffer on machines that do not have DMA serial ports (non AV
68Ks). On these machines, LocalTalk disables interrupts for so
long that your serial port can lose characters causing frequent
retransmissions. The maximum serial port speed is 56k on such
machines. Some PowerPC Performas may also suffer from DMA handling
problems.
Routing between two IP interfaces on a single Ethernet can also
reduce performance (Cable or DSL modem with single Ethernet for
example). In this configuration, the Ethernet must transfer
each packet twice so the second transfer has to wait for the first
transfer to get out of the way.
Older machines typically do not have built-in Ethernet which
can be another limiting factor.
The older versions of Apple's Ethernet drivers do not support
100mb ethernet very well. When using pre-G3 machines, 100mb ethernet
may only reach throughput of 40megabits/sec. Some third party
ethernet drivers, especially later ones, may not have this limitation.
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How can I get dialin PPP services for my
IPNetRouter network?
The router is actually a User Interface to configure
forwarding in Open Transport, a routing protocol module to handle
routing table updates, and a STREAMs module to provide proxy services
(Network Address Translation) to allow multiple hosts to hide behind
a single public IP address (single user ISP account).
For dial in capability, you must run Apple's Remote Access (ARA)
server on a client machine. On the gateway Mac, when IPNetRouter
is running, the ARA server dialin functionality should not be
enabled. The two network applications conflict in the way that
they use the TCP/IP control panel to route networks. However,
this does not mean you cannot deploy a PPP dial in server behind
an IPNetRouter gateway to access the Internet.
With MacOS 9, the ARA personal server is included. Hence you
can easily create a "mini-ISP" dial-in service using
an OS 9 client machine and have a remote computer connect to this
server via PPP. This remote machine will then have direct IP access
to all machines on your LAN as well as to the Internet through
IPNetRouter functioning as the Internet gateway. The PPP dialin
server and IPNetRouter just can't be running on the same Mac at
the same time.
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Can Filemaker Pro Server use more than
one IP at one time on the gateway machine?
Unfortunately, Filemaker Pro Server was designed only to recognize
the IP address in the TCP/IP control panel primary configuration.
It cannot bind to more than one IP address. As far as we know,
the FMP developers never considered the dual NIC case. For a shared
server/gateway Mac, the only workaround we know of is to point
your Appletalk interface at one NIC and use the primary, active
TCP/IP configuration for the other.
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What ports should I map to get Filemaker
Pro Server to work through the gateway?
As
described on the filemaker.com website you must map UDP and
TCP port 5003 through the gateway. For more information on port
mapping, see the "Inbound
Port Mapping" section of the IPNetRouter guide.
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Does IPNetRouter "multihome"
Appletalk?
IPNetRouter does not effect your Appletalk network in any way.
Whatever Apple permits Appletalk to do, it will do. What does
this mean? This means that whatever interface is selected in the
Appletalk control panel is the one on which Appletalk will be
active. IPNetRouter does not use Appletalk, nor can it manipulate
the Appletalk transport layer. If you are experiencing problems
getting your Appletalk printer to work, it is extremely unlikely
that it has much to do with IPNetRouter. The same goes for Filesharing
over Appletalk.
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What is MacIP?
MacIP is Apple's way of transporting TCP/IP packets over Appletalk.
While IPNetRouter can send IP packets to a MacIP interface, IPNetRouter
cannot send Appletalk packets themselves anywhere. The Appletalk
Control panel determines where encapsulated MacIP packets are
sent. An example of using MacIP is shown in our LocalTalk
setup section.
Although MacIP is slower than straight IP on an Ethernet network,
you might want to consider using MacIP for your Mac LAN clients
in a single ethernet configuration
to improve security.
According to Apple's technical notes, MacIP over LocalTalk is
not supported in OS 9.
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Since IPNetRouter does not multihome Appletalk,
how can I get my Appletalk printer to be shared on a routed LAN?
If you have an Appletalk capable printer, you can use Apple's
printsharing in many instances. You may also find Apple's unsupported
Localtalk
Bridge software to multihome Appletalk between an ethernet
and a localtalk interface handy. Farallon and Asanté make
Localtalk to Ethernet converters to put a localtalk printer on
an ethernet network.
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How come Software Updates and some
installers do not work with IPNetRouter?
Due to limitations in Apple's OS, IPNetRouter must run as an
application. This makes IPNetRouter incompatible with any installer
or updater that requires all other applications to be quit during
software installation. Fortunately, this incompatibility does
not effect client machines behind your IPNetRouter gateway. You
can test whether an installer or updater may be incompatible with
IPNetRouter by running it on a client machine first. If the Finder
Desktop is lost during software installation, it is not one you
should run on your IPNetRouter gateway without first quitting
IPNetRouter.
On your IPNetRouter gateway, you can work around most problem
installers and updaters by quitting the IPNetRouter application
and running the installer or updater as you normally would. After
you have verified that the software has been configured properly,
you may launch IPNetRouter and go back to using your Macintosh
as a router/DHCP server again.
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When is a good time to download IPNetMonitor?
If you are having problems getting your IPNetRouter configuration
to work, we often suggest downloading
IPNetMonitor to test for IP address conflicts. The PIng, Traceroute,
Address Scan, Monitor window and DHCP Tools are particularly handy
for troubleshooting network problems.
If you mention to your ISP that you have a tool that can scan
address ranges, traceroute, and bind DHCP client addresses they
may be more willing to help you troubleshoot over the phone. It
also saves time in seeking tech support from us as we often request
that you install this to help figure out what's right and wrong
with your IPNetRouter one-way telco configuration.
For one-way telco cable modem users, we highly recommend downloading
and familiarizing yourself with IPNetMonitor.
IPNetMonitor may show that performance can be improved on your
internet connection or LAN. See the IPNetMonitor
and IPNetTuner sections of our web
site for more info.
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How do I get x-windows to display on a
LAN client?
X-windows uses ports 6000-6063 to communicate with display procs.
If you map these ports to a LAN client, you should be able to
get that client to work as an x-display terminal, provided you
tell your remote Unix host that the x-display IP address is your
public gateway IP address.
There is probably a way to get this to work for multiple clients
on your LAN by mapping a subset of the above ports to different
IPs, although we have not figured out how to do it as yet. If
you figure out how, please submit an info
support ticket explaining how to setup the remote display
host. We'd love to share that info with other users!
One solution that appears to work is to use an SSH client session
that supports X11 Forwarding to tunnel the X-display session between
a LAN client and a remote OpenSSH or F-Secure session. Two client
applications that support this type of forwarding are XFree86
and MacX 2.0.
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Can I dial into AOL and use IPNetRouter to route
to my private LAN?
No, IPNetRouter supports standard OT/PPP negotiation. AOL 5.0
and earlier uses a proprietary implementation of PPP to negotiate
connectivity to AOL's servers. Consider getting a service provider
that uses industry standard connectivity if you would like to
use IPNetRouter for Internet sharing on your home LAN.
However, many AOL services are available over a shared internet
setup if all you need is access to AOL on the internet, independent
of an AOL dialup. This means that you can use many AOL services
on a client machine behind an IPNetRouter gateway.
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About Apple Remote Access (ARA) and
OT/PPP
IPNetRouter supports ARA 3.x and OT/PPP for connecting your gateway
to the internet. IPNetRouter does not support the dialin feature
of ARA 3.x Server. Turn off the dialin feature if enabled.
OT/PPP 1.0.x is a derivative of ARA 3.0. You can download OT/PPP
1.0 from here.
1.0.1 was included with 8.1. ARA 3.x is available for installation
as a client install on 8.5 and later MacOS installation CDs. Apple
no longer appears to be selling ARA 3.0 software but you may be
able to find copies in a local software store--3.0.x runs on all
machines supported by OT 1.1.2. Both OT/PPP and ARA 3.x are scriptable
although 3.x has many more supported commands. Versions of ARA
before 3.0 do not support PPP and are therefore not useable by
IPNetRouter as a dialup client. Version 3.1 support MS-Chap. Remote
Access 3.5 server is included with OS 9. Remote Access 4.0, included
with MacOS 9.1, no longer uses ASLM and appears not to be as scriptable
as previous versions as a result; the latest version also appears
to have dropped ARAP support.
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Do you have any plans to integrate S/WAN into
the router?
I've been following S/WAN with some interest as it seems like
an ideal feature to include in a router making it easy to secure
a stub network. I would like to include it, but I'm focused on
doing other things first.
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How Do I Share a LANTunnelBuilder Internet Connection?
If you want to share a LANTunnelBuilder 5.0.9a Internet connection,
use the method described for EnterNet in the PPPoE
chapter of the IPNR guide.
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Can I get IPNetRouter to work with other Virtual
Private Network software?
Yes and no. IPNetRouter supports some transparent IPSec and GRE
client tunnelling schemes. In many cases, you can use at least
a single client behind IPNetRouter's gateway to connect to a remote
service. IPNetRouter does not usually support Virtual Private
Network (VPN) connection as an interface directly on the gateway
machine. Regrettably, you may have to get a non-VPN connection
to the internet first if you require IPSec or GRE support for
a client machine routed to by IPNetRouter.
In order to get a secure client machine connection to work, you
may have to map certain ports in IPNetRouter. Version 1.5 and
later has an exposed host feature that you can easily use to test
whether port mapping is a likely solution for a VPN client you
may be experiencing problems with. Some IPSec software, Interport's
Mac client software for instance, can be configured to easily
work behind any standards compliant NAT router, which IPNetRouter
happens to be. See the "Inbound
Port Mapping" section of the IPNetRouter Guide for more
info.
We have considered implementing other methods of secure tunnelling
on the gateway but have nothing to announce at this time.
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How does your router compare with the VICOM
Gateway (www.vicomtech.com)?
IPNetRouter is Open Transport native, so it is much faster, and
more compatible with other OT software. It's also simpler and
less expensive. See also the router
comparison web page.
Open Transport is based on Mentat/TCP, the same networking infrastructure
used by Solaris. Mentat/TCP is already capable of forwarding (routing)
within the kernel, but Apple hasn't enabled this yet. What I have
written is a UI to configure interfaces and routing, and a proxy
module to allow multiple hosts to hide behind a single dynamically
assigned IP address. [Along with a set of IP tools I've already
released]
In contrast, the existing VICOM product has to replace the network
stack with its own PPP, PPPoE, and IP network code. This leads
to an incompatibility between IPNetRouter and Vicomsoft IP driver
engine. How to
remove the Vicom driver is explained on the IPNR Troubleshooting
web page.
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How does IP addressing work on the gateway
machine?
Where is the "mirror port"?
IPNetRouter doesn't need a "mirror port" because it
is Open Transport native. VIG has its own IP stack which does
routing and then presents one of its router ports to Open Transport
as if it were a simple driver.
With IPNetRouter, the IP module in Open Transport does the routing
and talks directly to the driver for each physical port on your
machine.
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How does your router work with OT1.3 and
the IP Secondary Address file?
It may help to realize that IPNetRouter is mostly a configuration
utility for sending IOCTL commands to the IP module in Open Transport.
It is similar to the TCP/IP control panel, but exposes more features
of Open Transport allowing you to configure and bring up additional
IP interfaces.
The Configure Interface and Configure Routes window in IPNetRouter
query the IP module in Open Transport to show the actual interfaces
and routes that OT knows about. Based on this design, it doesn't
matter what other programs may have configured IP interfaces.
IPNetRouter simply shows the current configuration and allows
you to modify it.
OT1.3 or later does not actually provide full IP "multihoming",
the ability to be homed on more than one IP network as a user
configurable feature. It provides what Apple has dubbed "single-link
multihoming", the ability to have more than one IP address
on a single physical network link. (See the Open Transport documentation
from Apple for how this works.) IPNetRouter is not restricted
in this way and allows you to configure IP interfaces on different
physical network links, multiple networks on a single link, etc.
So to answer the question, it works just fine thank you.
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Where can I find versions of Open Transport?
You can download Open Transport from the Older Software Downloads section of Apple's website.
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Where can I learn more about DHCP?
See the "DHCP and MacOS"
section of our guide for general information about DHCP on MacOS.
IPNetMonitor now has DHCP tools that you can use to test any DHCP
server from a PowerMac. How to use the DHCP Server feature of
IPNetRouter is explained in the "Using
The DHCP Server" section of the IPNR guide. There are
links to other Internet resources referenced on those two pages.
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Is There Any Benefit in Using IPNetSentry with
IPNetRouter?
Yes. IPNetSentry's instant blocking and logging features can
enhance the security of an IPNetRouter Internet shared LAN. See
the IPNetSentry FAQ on our web
site for more info on configuring IPNetSentry security software
with IPNetRouter.
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