Wireless Router at DVC Resort-Tech Experts

[WilsonFlyer]

I'm a computer engineer. Do it for a living but I have a tech question.

For you folks that have used a wireless router at the resorts, I know you get this sign-up screen the first time you bring your browser up. Can't do anything until you agree to the terms of service/charges.

When you plug your wireless router up, do you plug their connection to the WAN (internet) side and create your own subnet or do you generally plug it into the LAN side and just use the router as a wireless AP and let their subnet do everything (DHCP, etc.)?

I'm pretty sure it would work either way but I'd rather have the security of my own subnet behind my own router/SPI firewall.

Will I still get the agreement screen on a laptop behind the router in a WAN/LAN configuration or do I have to activate it with a laptop first and then plug the router in.

I know if I use it as a LAN/AP only it will work but I hate to lose my FW but activating w/o the router every day is going to be a PITA.

How have you guys done it?

Thanks!

 

[ronw]

I connect to the WAN port and use the private network. Browser still connects to the
authorization page just fine.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I connect to the WAN port and use the private network. Browser still connects to the
authorization page just fine.

Thanks Ron. I figured it had to just NAT over to the first browser it saw but I just wanted to hear somebody say it.

Had it been much more complicated than that, I figured there would be a LOT of threads about it and I knew I hadn't seen any.

Thanks again. I just wanted to make sure.

 

[cindymouse6]

do check your bill, tho. It is free, but I have had charges on the last trip... a day here, a day there and had to go to the front desk and have the charges removed.... watch closely.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

do check your bill, tho. It is free, but I have had charges on the last trip... a day here, a day there and had to go to the front desk and have the charges removed.... watch closely.

Thanks Cindy. Will do.

 

[Cricket2]

I have set it up both ways just FYI as well as at the same time (switch to WAP with NB on switch and another one wireless).

 

[Starshine]

Make sure you also turn on security on your wireless if it isn't already, the last thing you need is your neighbor using your connection.

 

[Iggipolka]

Um..could you explain this in English? I'd love to bring our wireless router on our upcoming trip. How can I set it up so that my wife and I can both be online our separate laptops at the same time?

Thanks!

 

[DarthGator]

I purchased a router today to try this and can't get it to work at all. In particular I tried the NAT solution. The connection works great directly to the computer (I'm on it now). When I hook the laptop via wireless (or wired) to the router, it indicates it's not connected to the internet (HSIA). Any ideas?

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Can the laptop talk to the router (wirelessly, can you bring up the interface for the router in your browser)? That's the first step.

Once you can do that, make sure the connection to the wall is plugged into the equilivent of the "Internet" (WAN?) side of your router with an ethernet cable. Make sure your internet interface on your router is set for DHCP or "Obtain an Address Automatically". Power your router off and on.

Connect to your router with your laptop again and find the "Status" of your router's connections. What does it say?

It REALLY ought to be bassically "plug and play" as long as you don't turn the wireless security on (which you would do after-the-fact anyway).

Please give me the router name and model number so I can help more and I'll try my best.

 

[DarthGator]

Can the laptop talk to the router (wirelessly, can you bring up the interface for the router in your browser)? That's the first step.

I can get to the router control panel either wired or wirelessly

Once you can do that, make sure the connection to the wall is plugged into the equilivent of the "Internet" (WAN?) side of your router with an ethernet cable. Make sure your internet interface on your router is set for DHCP or "Obtain an Address Automatically". Power your router off and on.

Did all that.

Connect to your router with your laptop again and find the "Status" of your router's connections. What does it say?

The router says it's connected wired or wirelessly (depending on which way I connected. However, it won't connect to the DVC internet

It REALLY ought to be bassically "plug and play" as long as you don't turn the wireless security on (which you would do after-the-fact anyway).

No security active

Please give me the router name and model number so I can help more and I'll try my best.

I grabbed this at a nearby Target. (following link is stripped of header due to posting restrictions) catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=459569





The crux of the problem in my mind is that while I can connect to the internet with my laptop, the resort internet connection seems to "reset". I always seem to have to reauthorize my laptop if I plug directly to the network after I had the router plugged in previously.

 

[jbrowna]

The crux of the problem in my mind is that while I can connect to the internet with my laptop, the resort internet connection seems to "reset". I always seem to have to reauthorize my laptop if I plug directly to the network after I had the router plugged in previously.

Yes, that is to be expected. The resort sees your laptop as a particular device and assigns an ip address to it, and asks you to authorize. When you plug in the router, it sees that as a different device (which it is), assigns it a new ip address, and asks for authorization. If you then uplug the router, the resort sees a change in devices and again asks for authorization.

Usually what I do is plug my router into the WAN port at the resort. I then connect my laptop to the router and open my browser. I am asked to authorize. From then on all I have to do is connect to my router. After a certain amount of inactivity I may be asked to reauthorize. Usually that seems to be about an hour. Unless you are actively using it, the WAN connection will not stay authorized.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

When you plug your router in to the ethernet at the resort, it ought to get an IP address, a subnet, a gateway and DNS information (DNS doesn't even matter in this scenario-not for the following to occur) via DHCP (from the DHCP servers on the resort's LAN or upline somewhere. Doesn't matter.

When you connect your laptop, it should get DHCP from your router (wired or wireless, again, doesn't matter).

When you bring up your browser, some very basic stuff starts happening. Your browser attempts to go to your home page. To do this, your laptop's connection has to know how to get there. It does.

It talks to your router, your router knows to hop up to the next router, etc. Somewhere up there (not as mysterious as it may sound), a router intercepts your request and instead sends you the authorization page which you must accept to go any further. Once you do this, this router/server gets out of your way and let you hop on the cloud.

It's really that simple.

Having said that, your problem could be any of a hundred things, literally, unfortunately.

Your LAN (router's "inside") could be on the same subnet/network as the resort's LAN. Change the subnet of your network.

Something about your router's firewall is blocking the pass back to you. Check settings. Turn the firewall on your laptop and your router off temporarily to see which, if either, clears the problem. Leave them off while you try to isolate the problem.

At a command prompt, type: "Ping www.microsoft.com" (no quotes)

Did it return an IP address to you? If it did, was the ping successful? Can you ping the number if you got one? (Ex: Ping 1.2.3.4)

Unfortunately, this is very hard to diagnose without actually being there especially given the fact that I have never actually made it work at Disney but I totally understand it conceptionally.

I'm fairly confident I can get it working if you want to give me a call on the phone. I'll PM you my number if you'd like to do this.

Next week, I fully plan on documenting the entire procedure with a Linksys WRT54GL and placing it here somewhere on DIS so people can use it as a reference. The process should be VERY similar with any consumer level home/HO router.

(Sorry for all the typos. I'm on a new Acer ONE laptop and still trying to get used to this TINY keyboard)

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Just thought I'd post a quick follow-up.

I'm here this week (SSR) and I have to tell you, a Linksys WRT54G or Gx is basically plug and play. If you know how to set up your security, there's really nothing else to do. No real need for documentation. It just works.

I do have a strange anomolly that I don't really understand, though.

I haven't had to do a "renew" page since Saturday. My machines are just running. I have 4 laptops in the rooms and not one of them even has the little browser that supposedly keeps the connection alive running.

I do have a VPN "nailed up" to my office on one of the machines but I've done this before (at POR, CS, etc.) and have always had the VPN drop after 24 hours and had to "re-up" the connection and leave the connection browser session running. Again, not the case here. Strange. Granted, it's a GOOD "strange" but I am curious if anyone else has ever experienced this.

 

[dvcSteve]

Hi,

I see you have your answer but I wanted to chime in to let people know that an Apple Airport Express works perfectly. Just plug in the ethernet cable from the wall and connect.

Happy Holidays

 

[jekjones1558]

Ditto regarding Airport Express. Using it now with my iPhone.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Are you guys getting kicked off every 24 hours? I just find it very strange that I haven't had to renew the services since I've been here. Odd indeed.

I wonder if they're triggering members now and just turning it up during their entire stays. Maybe this is something new they are experimenting with at SSR this week?