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BT Home Hub

Lighting90

Lighting90

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Tried asking BT, but they say they can only think about answering my question if I pay £25 first... (and then in the same line say that they can only advise on Windows 98, ME, XP and Vista...)

Right, here is the question they won't answer,

Has anyone installed a home hub and then connected a switch to it to allow you to connect say four computers to it using the ethernet connection. The blurb they give tells you all about connecting wireless stuff, even how to do it manually for wireless, but nothing on standard wire fixed lines.

The biggest issue is the fact I use a Windows NT server for collecting e-mails etc, which of course they don't make any mention of, as they don't seem to expect a home user to have a server of any type...
 
Hmm I would expect its perfectly possible.. however you never know what BT are up to.. Oh just remember the home hub runs on linux and BT have been instructed to release the source code... SO even if its not possible now, someone will release source code that will enable you to..

Hmm Not much help that was it.. Hopefully someones tried it!
 
Helps a bit, in theory, it looks like I can do it, so will give it all a try at the weekend... the worse that can happen is that the NT machine will not work.

I am just very wary of using software provided, like AOL, old compuserve etc... and this Yahoo Bt software looks very much in the same vane... i.e. we will control you completely...
 
I assume you have a small network which is run buy an NT server (as a domain?)

Your home hub will issue one address via the network port (unless this is configured differently to others I have seen).

Having been a server engineer in a past life I would set it up like this:

- Have the server directly attached to the home hub and make sure NT is patched and that everything works (email, internet and anti virus - important)
- Put a second network card in the server for the internal network and configure as a domain controller and web proxy.
- Connect network hub/switch to the second card.

This way the client pc's will benefit from the security of the server and you'll have greater control over internet policies!

Just a thought the clients must be pro versions if they are 2000 or xp, otherwise you will have to setup a workgroup instead of a domain as home editions don't logon correctly to a domain!
 
Currently, I use the router to create the DHCP for all the machines, and reading stuff about the settings on the homehub, this does the same. The difference between it and my current router is that the home hub only has two ethernet ports, where as my current router has four.

Also in the blurb of the Home Hub, they recommend not having more than ten computers running through it at any one time. (this is unlikely at home)

So, my first task is to see if I can set it up in the simple method, i.e. plug in my machines using a switch and let it act a the DHCP, (think I got the letters in the right order, then again, maybe not)

If that doesn't work then I will try the above suggestion of putting an additional card in the server and let it take charge of the network.
 
like you had the same problem

we had an old pc (2000) ran on windows 98se not sure it would run on the hub

took a risk and got it to work via wireless purchased a binkly thing extra £25
 
1 word of warning, BT might like to charge you per line if they know you have more than 1 pc running. It's worth having a read of your contract.
Ours link via hub & use the main pc's anti virus prog when they have a games night in.
Other lap-tops are wireless & before now they've managed to pick-up connection via other users. I guess that's easier if you live in a built-up area and people haven't given enough thought to their wireless security.

My eldest will add a diagram.. but says "it's easy. Just plug it in, if it works you've lost nothing".
 
A diagram of how to... I think it lacks instruction. :(
 

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Alice said:
A diagram of how to... I think it lacks instruction. :(
Click to expand...

I currently already have broadband, using my own router and switches, with a full working home network, with server.

The reason I rasied this question was that the BT homehub does not mention whether it can handle a switch type arrangement. It does however state it can handle upto 254 computers wirelessly, though it does not recommend more than 10 at anyone time... The instructions have been written soley to encourage people to go wireless in there home, when I have already got the home wired for networking, I don't see why I should be forced into investing money into wireless cards...
The other issue was that they didn't mention NT server as a software that is compatible, but that is most likely not mentioned because it states OS systems that their own software will run on, and it is something I will not be wanting to install...

The connection for the Hub is suppose to start tomorrow, so we will find out if the Hub can handle the switch connecting into it.

With regard to extra charges for using extra pc's they don't have to do that at all, simple because they have a limit on the amount of download you can do each month, and I will not be getting any extra lines for any of this... plus it is no different from my current set up, except I will have a faster connection, a higher download limit than before.
 
Alice said:
1 word of warning, BT might like to charge you per line if they know you have more than 1 pc running. It's worth having a read of your contract.


My eldest will add a diagram.. but says "it's easy. Just plug it in, if it works you've lost nothing".
Click to expand...

I though the whole idea was you could run loads of computers at the same time. Hope not we got a few since broadband

Just found out gone over the limit a few times they send the warning by email but the email account was lost
 
Well, they switched me over onto the Hub about 40 minutes ago, and guess what, it does all work okay with a switch.

It now shows me as having three computers online all at the same time, on the same ethernet port.

The menu system though is a bit of a trawl through, but have worked out how to control the hub in the same way I was controling my previous router. The software is definately designed to stop the unknowing from screwing up the system, that is for sure, the number of jumps I had to do to get to the configeration settings was amazing compared to how I use to do it... :)
 
welshlaner said:
I though the whole idea was you could run loads of computers at the same time. Hope not we got a few since broadband

Just found out gone over the limit a few times they send the warning by email but the email account was lost
Click to expand...
Yip... you want to keep an eye on that.
For us, we've been fixed bt customers for ever. So each time they loose a load of customers & have to come out with some new sales drive they have automatically increased our connection speed but kept our mthly payments the same & once widened our bandwidth which co-incided with increased uasage so we've not yet gone over the limits so have not incurred any extra charges.
 
The reason that NT is not listed is that is it is way out of date and too complicated to train the support staff how to support. Often only xp is supported because it is more idiotproof. It is so full of security holes no one would normally want to use it, but of course now no one bothers to hack it either.
There is a terrible problem with marketing idiots using the wrong technical terminology on their products and corrupting the meaning of words. A switch is an expensive network device that is not available in a domestic form. Your 'hub' is actually a 'router', also containing a DHCP server which will give local addresses to PCs either on the ethernet or wireless ports. You should be able to connect another router eg linksys to one of the ethernet ports and that sounds like what you did. The problem is that you then have two routers' firewalls to configure. You should also be able to attach a genuine hub to this BT device whereas you used not to be able to with simpler old modems. This is where people used to go wrong with old ADSL and cable modems by buying a cheap hub instead of a router.
A hub is just all the wires to the ports connected together so all PCs would appear as one connection and try to use the same single IP address. (it is technically possible for a cable modem to use a hub rather than a router but that is turned off by the ISPs for domestic customers)
 
baz said:
The reason that NT is not listed is that is it is way out of date and too complicated to train the support staff how to support. Often only xp is supported because it is more idiotproof. It is so full of security holes no one would normally want to use it, but of course now no one bothers to hack it either.
There is a terrible problem with marketing idiots using the wrong technical terminology on their products and corrupting the meaning of words. A switch is an expensive network device that is not available in a domestic form. Your 'hub' is actually a 'router', also containing a DHCP server which will give local addresses to PCs either on the ethernet or wireless ports. You should be able to connect another router eg linksys to one of the ethernet ports and that sounds like what you did. The problem is that you then have two routers' firewalls to configure. You should also be able to attach a genuine hub to this BT device whereas you used not to be able to with simpler old modems. This is where people used to go wrong with old ADSL and cable modems by buying a cheap hub instead of a router.
A hub is just all the wires to the ports connected together so all PCs would appear as one connection and try to use the same single IP address. (it is technically possible for a cable modem to use a hub rather than a router but that is turned off by the ISPs for domestic customers)
Click to expand...

No, I used a switch, a netgear one... :) The Homehub has given each computer it's own IP address, and all is working well. I use NT server only because I got it for free a couple of years ago, and haven't got around to looking at upgrading it. Never found it complicated though, but then again anything is easy after using Dos based software many years ago... :)
 
Alice said:
Yip... you want to keep an eye on that.
For us, we've been fixed bt customers for ever. So each time they loose a load of customers & have to come out with some new sales drive they have automatically increased our connection speed but kept our mthly payments the same & once widened our bandwidth which co-incided with increased uasage so we've not yet gone over the limits so have not incurred any extra charges.
Click to expand...


It seems that BT send one email to one address than another email to a different address we have been told that we will be charged 30p per GB we go over the limit

Also found out no more paper bills

The service is not good either we have to now pay to ring them when there is a fault with thier service, get some bloke who understanding of English is basic to say the least. Took him 20 minutes to tell me to turn off & on the hub !
 
welshlaner said:
Also found out no more paper bills
Click to expand...

You can still request your bill to be in paper form, they automatically stopped paper bills last year for all those who had registered online for have access to their bills. You should have received an e-mail from them asking if you wanted to continue with your paper bill, which, if you have not been getting your e-mails from them, you have missed. (should be a freephone 0800 number to call if I remember rightly...)


welshlaner; said:
The service is not good either we have to now pay to ring them when there is a fault with thier service, get some bloke who understanding of English is basic to say the least. Took him 20 minutes to tell me to turn off & on the hub !
Click to expand...

This is becoming more common these days with a lot of companies, they call it out sourceing, or something like, what they really mean is, they found these really really cheap call centres in India, or Russia, or where ever, and it only costs them a fraction of the cost of using a UK call centre... but as I found out when doing my enquires, you can speak to a UK technical centre, at a cost of £25 per session... nope sorry, I thought, I would ask here first... :)


With regards to BT sending out e-mails, you can go online to your account and make the BT e-mail the secondary e-mail address and give them the one your normally use as your primary e-mail address, that is how ours works, so all their e-mails get to us.
 
Lighting90 said:
With regards to BT sending out e-mails, you can go online to your account and make the BT e-mail the secondary e-mail address and give them the one your normally use as your primary e-mail address, that is how ours works, so all their e-mails get to us.
Click to expand...

And that were the problems start BT decided to cancel our account and the email address the primary went to

Its hard to contact BT by email when you have not internet

Even harder when you have no landline as we found out last year phone out for 3 weeks, took a week to convance them we had problem

"don't worry we will ring back" they said when asked why they hadn't
they said " phone line dead"

They even had the cheek to charge us Rental for the period the phone was out
 
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