Another home wireless setup question

r22

Hi all,
So I've bought the bullet and acquired myself a Linksys G router & pcmcia card. I was tempted by the belkin Pre N kit, but the price was pretty hefty, the wireless card for it cost more than the Linksys router + card.
In setting my home network up (PC + Laptop), I'm a little confused on how to handle the IP addressing and the various settings, any assistance would be appreciated. I have searched these pages already and haven't found anything that answers my questions exactly.

I already have a Zyxel router, I presume the easiest way to set this up would be to replace it with the Linksys rather than daisy chaining the Linksys and just using it as a wireless hub.
In using the Linksys, how then do I set it up to share the IP address etc?
I have the eircom settings for the router, setting it us exactly as the existing modem is pretty simple. My questions:
I presume I need to have the router nat IP addresses from both PCs.
Do I need to set up the account username and password on the router now, and have it get an IP address allocated by Eircom?
Do I need to set up static IP addresses on the PC & Laptop, or do I configure this on the router and have the router to allocate these?
If yes to this, do I need to run the eircom software any more to get onto the net?
Any other advice welcome. I'm ok on the network side of things, but been a while since I had to do anything like this.
Cheers.

Jammer

what model is the router?

if the router has an inbuilt modem, then just connect it to the phoneline, and give it the same settings as you would with your other router, it should detect the ADSL and start sharing it.

Configure the router through the web interface (generaly through an IP like 192.168.1.1). Here you will be able to enable and disable security settings and input the details of your connection. Its advisable somewhere along the line, if you can, to change the networks default IP. 192.168.1.X is used by alot of people, so generaly people trying to sniff connections just look for IP's in that range. change it to something like 18.13.4.X

Alot (most/all) routers these days have inbuilt DHCP servers, which means it will allocate an IP address to any PC looking to connect. To avail of this, you will need to have your PC/Laptop set up to 'Obtain an IP Address Automatically' in network properties. This can be a problem, security wise so its advised you use mac-address filtering and/or WEP, so your neighbours dont piggy back on your connection.

r22

It's a WRK54G.

Jammer

it doesnt have built in modem, you'll need to configure the modem u got from eircom, and plug it into the router. should be a diagram on the back of the box?

r22

It does have a built in modem. I was confused about this, but I'm on configuring it now.

r22

The only thing I can't see how to configure is the VPI & VCI stuff.

Jammer

Was lookin at specs here: http://www.broadbandstuff.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=240

Note: This product does not contain a modem and is not compatible with USB modems.

r22

Ah I stand corrected! Flippin confusing little bugger.

r22

What confuses me is it asking for all this internet connection information.

r22

Thanks for the help Jammer. It's so simple to set up I don't know why I didn't flake away at it before posting. DOH!

Jammer

just needed some encouragement i guess!

besty

im having trouble setting up the wireless router i got today if anyone feels like helping.the pc connection is still fine and the router is connected to it. my laptop is reading the signal as excellent but i cant get onto the internet with it. im trying to follow the manual but it is very confusing. does anyone have any ideas for what i have to do with the settings? IP addresses etc.

(Please bear in mind im v. inexperienced with these kind of things!)

Thanks