ELSA Cable manual Quick Start Quick configurations, Preparations, Configuration as a bridge

Installation and configuration 11

Quick Start: Quick configurations

We're sure that after you've installed the hardware and software, you'll want to get going quickly without bothering with technical details. In the following sections, we'll show you how to set up your ELSA MicroLink Cable quickly for the most common applications—without bothering with the whys and wherefores.

After the preparations that you should check in any case, we will introduce the configuration of the unit as a bridge and IP router. Further information on the bridge and router functions can be found in the 'Operating Modes' chapter.

Preparations

The Internet is based on the TCP/IP network protocol. The individual devices in the Internet (workstations, servers, routers, etc.) are identified using unique IP addresses. All computers exchanging data on the Internet therefore must have the TCP/IP network protocol installed and must be assigned a valid IP address.

IP addresses can either be manually entered, permanently for each computer, or assigned automatically by a different computer, a so-called DHCP server. Your cable network operator has such a DHCP server, and one is also contained in the ELSA MicroLink Cable itself. For this quick-start, we prefer using the automatic assignment of an IP address by a DHCP server. The cable network operator's DHCP server will be used when configuring the unit as a bridge; in router mode the integrated DHCP server of the ELSA MicroLink Cable will be used.

The following settings are required regardless of the operating mode you intend to use with your ELSA MicroLink Cable:

KInstall the TCP/IP network protocol on all computers on the network.

KActivate the automatic assignment of IP addresses via DHCP for the workstations (generally the default setting).

Just how you do that will be explained in section 'How to set up the workstation computers' towards the back of this chapter.

Configuration as a bridge

Bridge mode is the simplest configuration for the ELSA MicroLink Cable. In this mode, the unit does not take IP addresses into consideration and transfers all data that is not destined for workstations in the local network directly to the Internet. In the opposite direction, all data coming from the Internet for a specific computer in the local network is transferred (insofar as that computer has already sent data to the Internet). It's thus not necessary to worry about the assignment of IP addresses. The computers in your local network receive their IP addresses directly from the DHCP server of the cable network operator.

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ELSA MicroLink Cable