Where I live in Central France we get frequent thunderstorms. The last one took out the ISP's box and I was without phone and internet for a week while they replaced it. I have a modem/router which I thought of using as a temporary replacement but when I tried to configure it it asked questions like "VPI/VCI","registrar address" etc., which I couldn't answer. The ISP refused to provide the info.
Has anyone done this before? Is it possible? It must be, else how can the makers sell their modems?

JC

Welcome to LQ !

You may want to think of an isolation transformer so that lightning does not take out anything else ! Next time, it might be your computer
They can be had for a few hundred bucks, or less if you go for a used one.

The VPI/VCI settings are for the router's 'channel' to call 'home'. Where I live the 'registrar address' is just the domain name of the service provider.
Try getting into the ISP's router and copy the settings. Then make darn sure your 'replacement' router is compatible.

If you get an isolation transformer, you probably won't need the second router, unless perhaps lightning strikes your house .....

You could probably find the specs for both in a search online.

Good luck

Already got protection on power and phone lines (over voltage,UPS etc.) but there are limits where mother nature is concerned! This hit took out not only the box but one of my ups's and both of my satellite dishes. Anyway what I really need to know is whether it's possible to spoof a modem /router as a stand-in. I can't imagine what use a router/modem would be otherwise. I'm just hoping to find someone who has done it already to save me rediscovering the wheel ( if indeed there is a wheel to be rediscovered!).
Have you ever configured one in this way? Any pointers would be appreciated.

JC

If you mean a DSL modem, which uses VPI/VCI, then yes I have.
The one I used functions as a modem/router or just as a modem.

As posted above, just get into the ISP's router, copy the settings and try it on the spare.
I suggest getting hold of some used modem from an old customer of your ISP.


What are the models of the routers ?

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Hello again;
I'm in the course of changing ISP, so the model is a TBA as yet. With the last ISP the modem was a custom edition Netgear. I looked in the backup file but it was just one long line of code which meant nothing to me. Maybe if I had a similar model Netgear it would accept the backup. But what I have is a SpeedTouch 706wl. When I tried to configure that it bamboozled me with the afore-mentioned questions; and in any case I'd still have to spoof the MAC address and I can't even find out how to do that, in spite of what feels like weeks of trawling the web! I think some of the problem may be the VOIP, but if I could even get it to work the web that would go a long way towards alleviating things.
You'll probably realise by now that I'm VERY new to all this, so forgive me my naivety for now!

JC

Probably not, IMHO. ISP's don't want any 'squatters' on the line, and use custom firmware in the units. There is the matter of VOIP 'provisioning' which is quite specific to their equipment and can be quite difficult to copy. Course, if you have a huge budget anything is possible.

Have you tried to telnet into the SpeedTouch ? Looks like it lives at 192.168.1.254. If you get in, there is much more flexibility to poke around and see what is going on.

From a terminal window on your linux box ( what distro are you on ? ) type

and try different combinations of username/passwords till you get in.
Once in try 'help' or '?'


see :
http://www.speedguide.net/routers/te...esidential-945

There seemes to be 3 VPI/VCI settings for ISP's in France :
http://www.techlineinfo.com/what-is-...d-connections/

Added later :
do a search for 'SpeedTouchTM CLI Reference Guide'...lots of info out there

Distro Mint 17.2.
OK on the telnet thing. I can get in to my router, having re-flashed it, but at the time there were other demands on my time.
I'll wait till the box comes from the new ISP and see what I can do with that, although, as you suggest, the game's probably not worth the candle.
New ISP guarantees a 24 hr turnaround, which beats the hell out of a week!
Thanks for the links anyway. Should keep me amused for a bit. It'll be the new box I'll need to read though. Out of interest, when you say you've configured a modem,
what did you use it for if not the internet?

JC

Update:- Tried telnet on a windows m/c (on old ISP,s box) - failed to connect on ch 23.
In Linux Terminal "connection refused". So, predictably, it seems to be nailed down pretty tight.
Unless someone out there knows different ???............

JC

It was for the internet. It was a DSL line, into a modem/router. I wanted more from the router, so I disabled the router part of the modem, set it up in 'bridge mode' and put my own router inline.
So in effect the modem handled the DSL line, and my own router handled everything else. That is where the VCI stuff came in - had to put those little bits into the router.

Make sense ?

The router part of the modem/router from the ISP was too 'mickey mouse' for me

you might have to enable telnet using the GUI on the router first.

If it's only for folks who want to get a better service (QOS ETC.,) from their router, then I would think that would be a pretty slim market for a commercial outfit to survive on.
There has to be something else that motivates these companies. Perhaps their main market is the ISP's themselves?. For example, how much dosh do you think they made off the sale of a modem to you?
Not enough to keep a normal enterprise running I'll bet! There has to be a commercial explanation for this.

JC