Help with IP setup

[jackmccr]

My 15 year old son and I are setting up an aquarium this fall. We have the aquarium sitting on the stand. We plan to control everything with an Apex controller.

My ideal setup is to attach the Apex to a D-Link 10/100 Ethernet Switch which is connected to a Wireless N router. So…my network is a Cable Modem to a D-Link Xtreme N Wireless Router to a D-Link 10/100 Ethernet Switch. I could potentially rewire the Apex to the Wireless Router but that will take a lot more work. Plus, I’d like to eventually setup an IP camera so I can “check” the aquarium when I am traveling.

Question: How do I configure the Apex to keep a static IP address when it is connected to a switch which is behind the Wireless Router?

I think I have to set the network up so both the switch and the Apex have Static IP addresses. Correct? And I have to setup port forwarding on both the wireless router and the Ethernet switch. Would that be correct?

I will post pictures of the Apex setup as we get everything mounted.

This forum has been tremendous. I have learned a lot. I'm sure I'll have more questions as we get the Apex setup and start programming outlets.

[RussM]

Do you already have the D-Link switch? If so, what's the model number?

Most consumer-class switches are not manageable switches... they cannot be configured or monitored, so they have no need to have an IP address. Chances are your switch will not even be capable of being assigned an IP address. Even if you do have/get a small manageable switch, you will probably just use it as is, out of the box - you won't need to do any configuration on it at all.

Also, consumer-class switches do not do anything to the traffic passing through them... they simply serve as aggregation points. So there is no routing, port forwarding, etc done in them. So, the only place you will do port forwarding is in the router itself.

When you get the Apex, it will default to using automatic IP addressing using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - in other words, it will request and be assigned an IP address from the router. With your D-Link router, it should boot up and get an IP address of 192.168.0.nnn.

You router will have a range or pool of addresses it can assign. D-Link routers typically default to a range of 192.168.0.100 - 192.168.0.199. You want to assign the Apex a static IP address OUTSIDE the DHCP range. To do so, disable DHCP in the Apex, then change the last digits of the IP address to the desired address - such as .50. The other network settings should stay the same. Save the Apex network settings, and test access using the newly-configured IP address: http://192.168.0.50

[jackmccr]

The switch Model Number is DGS-1008G. I have the Apex but haven't powered it on yet. I will get all the Apex equipment and the Meanwell LED drivers mounted next weekend. I'll post some pictures once I get everything mounted.

From our post, it sounds like I can simply ignore the fact that the switch is in-between the DLink router and the apex? If so, that would be great. I have read down through The Unofficial Users Guide several times. I think I can follow those directions to get the Apex hooked up and accessible from the internet.

[RussM]

That is an unmanaged switch... plug and play.

Follow my simplified instructions for the basic network setup; fall back to the detailed network setup proceedure in the User Guide if you have trouble.

[jackmccr]

Thanks. I will let you know how it goes this weekend and I'll post some pictures of the setup.

The aquarium is in place. We have to setup the Apex and build the LED lights. Most of that equipment is also sitting at my house. It will be a busy week.

[jackmccr]

That is an unmanaged switch... plug and play.

Follow my simplified instructions for the basic network setup; fall back to the detailed network setup proceedure in the User Guide if you have trouble.

Thanks for your help. I appear to be up and running. I can access the Apex from my iPad connected to the cell network. Email is working. Text messages are working.

I am looking forward to continuing with the programming.

THANKS AGAIN!

[worm5406]

The switch Model Number is DGS-1008G. I have the Apex but haven't powered it on yet. I will get all the Apex equipment and the Meanwell LED drivers mounted next weekend. I'll post some pictures once I get everything mounted.

Please set it up wired to your network first. Put it beside your computer wired in place (as in power and network cable not pumps and relays)... Just let it all sit in a pile and power it on. It will be a pain if you have to crawl under something to changea cable or have a bad cable like I did last night on my new install. Luckly I was at my desk.


From our post, it sounds like I can simply ignore the fact that the switch is in-between the DLink router and the apex? If so, that would be great. I have read down through The Unofficial Users Guide several times. I think I can follow those directions to get the Apex hooked up and accessible from the internet.

Be carefull. Sometimes the router will asign a DHCP address of 192.168.1.xxx out to its connections. The dlink-linksys what ever will grab one of those addresses. THEN... the dlink will asign out it's own dhcp group and it will assign it to 192.168.1.xxx..... See a problem...??

Outbound communication is not bad. NAT's right out. but to setup portforwarding to control it from home or another computer NOT on that hub/router will cause a conflict of address and will not be able to connect.

For each unit you have down from the router it's self change the DHCP address range to 192.168.x+1.xxx That way it will give out addresses of 192.168.2.100-199 and not conflict.

Make sense?

[RussM]

Worm... he's already up and running, complete with external access. And we were talking about a switch and a router, not two routers.

[worm5406]

OOps... sorry... My help desk days kicked in.