UK WAN connection on Bubba 2

[Ubi]

Just try it. you're not going to blow it up if you stick a cable into the wrong port!

[mc01]

Yes have done so but have a couple of scenarios.

1) Reinstall comes up with a stable blue light when finished
2) " " " " " flashing blue light when finished

Either way can't find IP address using either WAN or LAN port. My router has a dhcp server set to a non standard netmask as assigned by my internet provider, but that should still work on the Bubba as all PC's work fine using this.

Standard Install on .pdf manual doesn't mention SSH login but Info for Rescue system in manual does so...a bit confusing to be honest as it means trial & error. Just need to restore Bubba so I can get on with network setup...another late night coming up I think

[ryz]

I would guess that after an reinstall you should connect to the LAN port and also that it is the Bubba that is the DHCP server so you should set your computer to be and DHCP client to get an IP address from the Bubba. So you should connect directly to the Bubba and not through any routers and such

[mc01]

Thanks Ryz - have tried it but think that router is not helping the Bubba2 in its search for an IP address (it's the whole reason I'm trying to revert to a modem alone so that I can use the Bubba for a DHCP server). New modem has dodgy firmware also and it would be on the LAN setup page, just my luck). This has got to be the network setup from hell Had I not locked myself out of the Bubba which is my own fault, I think the Bubba is the most reliable piece of hardware I've yet to use...

I did see on another thread that using the modem in Bridge mode is the way to get Bubba to deal with the LAN IP addresses etc (especially as I'm static), however in the UK most ISP's have PPPoA so I need to enter that in the modem. I could use PPPoE but then the Bubba2 has no GUI so I can't log it in through the modem. Did see a Vigor 150 modem that looks very well made, reviews are excellent, but didn't buy it due to it not having a memory - it passes on the details to the router (or bubba) and in this case the bubba can't log in using PPPoE (unless I'm mistaken)

[dmeads89]

Hi

I have the same problem as originally mentioned. I would like to use my new bubba 2 as the router and get rid of my stupid home hub. However the rj11 comes out and at the moment the home hub acts as the router and modem, and bubba only accepts rj45 and needs a modem to make the connection.

The reason I want it as the router is so I can access it externally. I couldn't make out what the outcome of the best modem to buy for this job was. Any help would be greatly appreicated.

Thanks

[mc01]

Hi Dmeads89

Ok, after the number of hours spent (and still trying as I write ) then I can tell you the basics. A modem (or modem/router set to bridge mode I think) will allow the Bubba2 to act as server/firewall/router. If you want the Bubba2 as a server only then use the Bubba2 LAN port connected to one of your router's LAN ports. If you do this then NAT settings have to be used on the router's settings page to allow www port 80 WAN to LAN requests to be directed to the IP address of the Bubba2. This therefore means you need to have a static IP address for the Bubba2 so it can always be pointed to - but this can be done with DHCP as long as your router allows an IP address to be reserved in DHCP for a server for example. My Zyxel 660HN-F1Z router allows this but has a firmware glitch (as far as I can tell) that doesn't allow NAT to get through correctly - so my router is useless for this purpose. I've just bought a D-Link DSL 320B modem which allows DHCP to be set (except this too has a glitch which means it can't be altered, neither can the netmask), so I'm now on to D-Link technical who have yet to give me a reply so more updates on this. In the meantime I had to reset the Bubba2 using standard installation and am still trying 24 hours later - seems the install process is not working correctly but may be due to the DHCP side of things not working during setup. This is a problem in itself so all I will say is don't change the WAN settings on the Bubba2 until you are sure the modem is set up correctly....

[mc01]

Should mention to clarify (as I was told in earlier posts) that the WAN port on Bubba2 is from the modem's LAN or output port and the cable has the RJ45 connector on both ends. The phone line to modem input (adsl) port is an RJ11 at one end and a BT connector at the other (for the UK anyhow in most cases).

[mc01]

Update: Still unable to re-install Bubba2. The flashing lights don't stop after the starting procedure has finished (after correctly placing the USB stick in/power button held down/power lead inserted). I have tried so many variations of time holding down the button...but still have no Bubba. A bit confusing as the light flashes 2x per second for half a minute, then speeds up to 4x per second. The instructions say to hold the button until 5 seconds after the light flashes at 4Hz so I am assuming 4Hz = 4x per second? Also have tried altering the Modem settings but as I have PPPoA then not too much choice - either set the modem to do DHCP or prevent modem doing DHCP. I can gain access to the LAN network from my PC from the Modem through the Bubba2 even though it's not working, but there is no internet connection like this on my PC and the Bubba2 doesn't show on Ipconfig /all. I can however plug the Modem into my PC LAN socket and access the internet. I am pretty sure something has failed on the Bubba now as after an install the light does one of three things:
1: Flash twice per second = Install done
2: Flash once per second = Rescue Disk
3: Stay on for 3 seconds, off for 1, on for 1, off for 0.2s = No hard drive found

Unless I'm doing something wrong with the Modem link to the Bubba2 WAN port, I cannot gain SSH access - mainly due to the Bubba2 not gaining an IP address (as far as I can tell by manually typing in the default, and my network IP addresses if assigned by the Modem DHCP). I simply cannot access it even through the WAN port, or on the internet coming into my IP address of the gateway.

Therefore: Can anyone point me to a way to re-format my Hard drive using a PC? I have an old redhat O/S PC which may be easier but I'm not 100% sure on the way to format a drive via this as I've been away from Linux for about 5 years. Can anyone also tell me if the reinstall will fail if the WAN is not connected - therefore not allowing an IP address to be selected? I only want to know as of course this may still not be setup correctly and be the cause of this problem. I think some sort of way to connect to the Bubba2 using the LAN or USB to do a re-install would be good to allow a better idea of what is happening during startup - I see the Bubba 3 seems to have a log file left on the USB stick - even that would be better than just the LED as sometimes (in my case) the LED varies its flashing on each re-install attempt so I have no idea what is wrong.

Thanks anyone!

[dmeads89]

Thanks for your post mc01.

I wish I had some knowledge to pass on to help with your issue.

The main reason I wanted to use it for the router firewall as well was because I want to setup the access externally via the web. I hate my bthome hub it's such a bad device but I will look into configuring the nat rules to point port 80 to my bubba.

Do you know if I may need to open 443 to the bubba ip as well or what other ports I may not ( I won't be using the email function).

Thanks

dmeads89

[mc01]

Thanks dmeads89

I found the Excito memory stick was incorrectly formatted from new, having been formatted using FAT instead of the recommended FAT32. The re-install now worked to the point of getting the blue light to stay on at the end of the 15 min or so install (500mb HDD).

I still can't plug in and access though (but could when took it out of the box when new), so I'm not quite sure why and as no contact with my PC is made to obtain an IP address I'm not sure whether the install needs the WAN during setup to make it behave correctly. Still working on trying to hook up with it - need an IP address at least so I can find it!

Not sure on the port you mention regarding access to your server dmeads89 - I think skype uses that port if my googling was accurate

[mc01]

Sorted
It was the USB stick in the end. I found the best method was to use a Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo with a USB card reader. Formatted using FAT32 on my PC, then re-installed Bubba2 correctly. At the end the light stayed on and the disk kept working (WAN was connected during setup with DHCP server). Even could "see" the Bubba2 on the router's client list with the WAN cable connected before powering down, but couldn't log in as it is set up to reject admin login on WAN as standard.

Now I am back to two weeks ago when the Bubba2 arrived, next task is to try to get it visible outside my WAN. At present am trying to get D-Link to help with my new modem but so far their technical help has been very generalised and workarounds suggested when I know the firmware has faults...looks like it will be sent back

Just to add i'm glad to say Excito's technical support has been very prompt and helpful.

[mc01]

Still having issues with NAT on my router - seems the settings aren't being saved correctly. Does anyone know whether a cone setting in NAT can be set too strict and cause a web server to be inaccessible

[mc01]

Just sorted DMZ on router for testing purposes, but still cannot access Bubba default web page via WAN (or any other service on the Bubba2 either in or out of the LAN). Notice that in the Bubba2's LAN setup page if I enter a fixed IP address and subnet mask, then select the LAN's router address for gateway and Internet provider's DNS server IP addresses, they reset to 0.0.0.0 when I select update. Is this a glitch, or is it supposed to be like that? Just I am looking more at the Bubba2's settings now I see the router's DMZ is correctly set. Perhaps the firewall needs altering on the Bubba but this is greyed out. Anyone know if this has caused issues accessing the internet on the Bubba2?