v Portal

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Oct 28, 2006 Posts: 6

All, My kids got laptops for Christmas and want to restrict the time in wich they can access the web. I can't find any settings in the V-Portal to do this. My network is as follows Cable Modem- V-Portal- Netgear 802 access point. I have looked over the settings in the Netgear AP with no luck on time of day access. Will I be looking for another router?

Thanks,

tricon23

Posts: 831 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jun 08, 2007 Posts: 831

tricon23 wrote:

Will I be looking for another router?

Thanks,

tricon23

Probably. You can purchase a wired router with a Static IP set to your wireless AP or its MAC address and restrict it by Time-of-Day, or buy a Wireless router and restrict via MAC address or IP of the kid's computers.

I have never fooled with the time-of-day features, but if by MAC address, one can spoof the MAC address on their computer and if by IP, one could simply change or clear the IP and get another assigned by DHCP, or setting a static IP, staying one step ahead of your efforts.

You might also check if the neighbors have non-secured wireless available, as the kids could just leech off of them, circumventing all of your efforts.

Good Luck! Eek

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Oct 28, 2006 Posts: 6

I checked with my Internet provider and mentioned homeowners can have 2 IP addresses. With that I could go cable modem to switch to new router and v-portal. Would you reccomend this or should the v-portal still be first in line to control bandwith?

Posts: 831 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jun 08, 2007 Posts: 831

Interesting you should mention the two ISP IP addresses. I have toyed with doing this, as I have the same option.

I subscribe to the Road Runner Turbo service which is rated at 15mps download, and have done the Road Runner speed test that reports 15-20 mps. When I check speed tests outside of the RR network, it drops to around 4-6 mps, due to pinch points either through RR's connection to the internet or the path to the server returning the speed test. So it looks like I would have a net gain on throughput, and the Vonage would not be impeded at all by other network traffic.

One can buy the little 5 port Linksys switch for about $10-20 (plus shipping), so the investment is not much. Additionally, using the switch, you avoid the "hassles" of a stacked network using two routers in line (different subnets, etc.)

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Oct 28, 2006 Posts: 6

My other concern is if the V-Portal is by itself coming off the cable modem along with a new wireless router, would there be a signal issues? I was thinking on getting a N series router for future range. Since the Netgear is a b/g AP should I keep this for better coverage? I would assume they should be on different channels but was thinking the SSID and WPA password could be the same? This would allow the changing between both wireless devices and not skip a beat.

Posts: 831 · Vonage Forum Evangelist Joined: Jun 08, 2007 Posts: 831

tricon23 wrote:

My other concern is if the V-Portal is by itself coming off the cable modem along with a new wireless router, would there be a signal issues?

I would not think so

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Sep 17, 2008 Posts: 7

tricon23 wrote:

All, My kids got laptops for Christmas and want to restrict the time in wich they can access the web. I can't find any settings in the V-Portal to do this. My network is as follows Cable Modem- V-Portal- Netgear 802 access point. I have looked over the settings in the Netgear AP with no luck on time of day access. Will I be looking for another router?

Thanks,

tricon23

I have a Linksys WRT54G behind my Vonage V-Portal. The Linksys does a great job restricting access based on MAC address and time of day. You might want to take a close look at that router to see if it will fit your needs. Good luck.