Sharing Internet connection using speedstream 5660 and SMC wireless router

[Adrian]

Hi,

I have been trying to setup my home network to share an internet connection
but have been unsuccesful so far.

I have a speedstream 5660 DSL router (can be configured as bridge as well)
connected to an Ethernet port of a SMC2804BRP-G wireless router. To
simplify things, I am not even using the wireless capability, just one
computer connected directly to the router.

When I setup the 5660 as a router, it connects to the Internet ok - I can
see the IP address and default gateway on the status page. Of course, I set
the login info in the 5660. The problem is that I could not figure out how
to configure the SMC router and my computer to access the Internet
connection from within my intranet.

I also tried with 5660 setup as a bridge, in which case I connect it to the
WAN port of the SMC router. I set the login parameters of my Internet
account in the SMC router, but I have been unable get it to login to the
Internet - it keeps saying Disconnected on the SMC status page.

I will appreciate any ideas on how to make this work.

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

If the 5660 is a router, then I'd get rid of the SMC router - even if only
for starters.

I *think* these are your choices without researching your particular
devices.

If the 5660 is a router, then it expects to connect to multiple computers
with straight cables, right? So that's one option - without the SMC.
Since it's a router, you can think of it having an Outside IP address (on
the internet) and an Inside IP Address (on your LAN). You can probably see
the Outside IP Address that's assigned by your ISP in the router Status.
You want to know the Inside LAN IP address of the router - because this
determines the IP address range it will deal with in the Inside LAN.
It is likely the same IP address that you use to get browser access to the
control panel of the 5660.
If you set up DHCP on the 5660, then the computers plugged into it can get
their IP addresses automatically or can be set manually (with no addresses
the same please!).
This should work fine.
If you run the command line IPCONFIG, you should see the addresses assigned
by the router and glean the IP address range that's in use.

Now to introduce the SMC.
The simplest way to use the SMC is to plug all the computers *and* one port
of the 5660 into the LAN side of the SMC. Now you'd be using it as a simple
switch.
Maybe you turn off DHCP on the SMC - this is because a computer connected to
the SMC might then get an address from the 5660 and maybe from the SMC -
which should be in a different range. That would be a confusion and, I
think, an unneeded problem waiting to happen. Otherwise, you don't need to
"manage" the SMC in this mode.
Maybe you can get one more port out of the SMC if you feed the 5660 into the
WAN side of the SMC and turn off NAT on the SMC - so you don't create a new
LAN IP address range (and do turn off DHCP on the SMC).


A more complicated way to use the SMC is to allow it to add a cascaded NAT
layer. This might be preferable if you want to use the "more normal" ways
of using the router - but it may well be harder to get it working depending
on the characteristics of the two routers.
If you do this:


You need to have DHCP turned on on the 5660 because the WAN port on the SMC
will probably want to get an IP address via that mechanism - just as if it
were connected to a plain old modem.
Then, assign in Internal IP address to the SMC that is in a differenct range
than the SMC's internal IP range. If all your computers are already set up
in a range then you might save work by changing the internal IP address of
the 5660 so that you can use that range on the internal side of the SMC.
So, if the 5660 is 192.168.1.1 and the Outside address of the SMC is
192.168.1.xxx then you might set the internal IP address on the SMC to be
192.168.2.1 and all the computers on the inside of the SMC will have IP
addresses in the range 192.168.2.xxx.

Whether you use DHCP on the SMC and whether you use automatic addressing or
manual addressing or a combination of both on the computers is up to you.
If you don't use automatic addressing on the computers, you will need to
identify the inside router as the Gateway and you will need to identify DNS
server addresses. I prefer to use a couple of DNS addresses that point to
my ISP's DNS servers.

Fred

 

[Adrian]

Hi Fred,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed answer!

I will exeperiment with your ideas and get back to the group with the
results.

Thanks again,

Adrian

 

[Adrian]

Hi,

I tried everything, but could not get it to work. In bridge mode, the 5660
doesn't have the option to enable a DHCP server, only in router mode.

I wanted to try 2 other configurations: the 5660 plugged directly into the
network adapter of the computer, but it looks like I don't have the right
cable. I also tried to use a simple hub instead of the router, but
strangely, the cable doesn't seem right for this configuration either - the
leds on the hub won't light up, while they do when I plug the 5660 into the
SMC router. I was sure there was an option somewhere to select a direct or
crossed cable in the adapter or the 5660 (so I could use any cable with the
right setting), but couldn't find it.

All these are extremely confusing.

One more thing - maybe somebody here has the right settings for the
SpeedStream 5660 modem to connect to SBC (perviously Pacific Bell) in the
San Francisco Bay Area - I haven't been able to get them from their customer
support.

Thanks,

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

I didn't suggest using the 5660 in bridge mode - only in router mode. So,
the instructions I hope are clear enough. There is no need to consider the
bridge mode that I can think of.

I looked up the 5660 installation instructions:
http://help.stargate.net/download/docs/5600qs.pdf

It comes with a crossover cable for going into a normal hub port.
It comes with a straight cable for going into a PC NIC directly.
The straight cable is what you need for going into a router WAN port.
So, I believe you don't need the crossover cable in any of the
configurations I mentioned - except maybe the one where the SBC would be
used as only a switch (with the WAN /uplink port *not* used at all).

When you say "it looked like I didn't have the right cable" - well the
instructions say that you get both kinds in the box. So maybe all you have
is a crossover cable?

Do you know how to determine what kind of cable it is? Here's how:

Hold the two cable ends side by side - both pointing away from you and with
the retention clips underneath so you can see through the plastic easily
from above.
If the wires are exactly arranged the same, it is a straight through cable.
If the wires are arranged differently between the two connectors it is a
crossover cable.
See:
http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/network/cable/cable5.htm
as a reference for cable color coding / wiring if you like.

Fred

 

[Adrian]

Thanks again!

I wrongly assumed that in order to use the modem connected to the WAN port
of the router, it would have to be configured in bridge mode. I will try in
router mode.

As for the cables, I only got the modem and a few filters from somebody who
didn't need it anymore, so no cables. Moreover, this modem was a 5260 which
I "upgraded" by flashing the 5660 firmware.

Adrian

 

[Adrian]

I tried everything and still no luck.

There are some strange things though. I tried to use a plain hub instead of
the SMC router, but the only way I could connect the 5660 modem to the hub
was using a crossover cable. Nevertheless, I managed to get the admin pages
and I saw that the modem was connected to the ISP (I have an IP address, a
default gateway etc), but still no connection to the internet from my
computer.

So here it is the topology:

ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem <-> Hub <-> Computer.

I haven't been able to use the modem connected directly to the computer
network card - none of the leds is on with either direct or crossover cable.

If anybody has any idea how to make this work, please let me know - I'm at
the end of my patience with all these tests .

Thanks,

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

I tried everything and still no luck.

There are some strange things though. I tried to use a plain hub instead
of
the SMC router, but the only way I could connect the 5660 modem to the hub
was using a crossover cable. Nevertheless, I managed to get the admin
pages
and I saw that the modem was connected to the ISP (I have an IP address, a
default gateway etc), but still no connection to the internet from my
computer.

So here it is the topology:

ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem <-> Hub <-> Computer.

I haven't been able to use the modem connected directly to the computer
network card - none of the leds is on with either direct or crossover
cable.

If anybody has any idea how to make this work, please let me know - I'm at
the end of my patience with all these tests .

Thanks,

Adrian

Adrian,

You have the first problem solved! Good.

As a preface, perhaps it would help you to know a couple of things about
cabling and interconnects with the cables:
First things:
- All computers are wired the same of course. So, they transmit on one pair
of wires and receive on another pair.
- If two computers were connected together, they would need to crossover so
that one Transmit would be connected to the other's Receive and vice versa.
- If two computers are connected through a device such as a hub, a simple
switch or the LAN side of a router, the device expects this and takes care
of the matching Receive and Transmit internal to the device.
- If a modem or router can go direct (i.e. with a direct cable) into a
computer, then its wires are already "crossed over" coming out.

Second things:
- A hub, a router's LAN side and a switch expect straight cables from
computers.
- So as above, if one is going to plug a modem into one of these devices,
then it should be crossed over (again) to make it correct. This means a
crossover cable from the modem to the hub - so what the hub sees is "like a
computer".
- Because routers and switches and hubs expect to see straight connections
from computers at their ports, some of them resolve the crossover situation
by providing you with an Uplink or Internet or WAN port which is really just
a crossed-over port. This is often used this way:

- The crossed over modem output goes into the hub through its Uplink port
with a straight cable. The hub uplink port takes care of crossing it over
again so it looks like a computer. Then, the connection is treated like any
other computer in the hub.
- You could just as readily use a crossover cable and plug it into one of
the regular ports.
- Note: most of these devices simply add a connector at one end that is a
crossed-over version of the port right next to it. So you might have ports
1,2,3,4,X *and* you cannot use *both* port 4 and port X at the same time
because they are really the same port. You may see a line on the face plate
that "connects" the two ports. So be warned of this - it's really easy to
plug two cables into these two openings - it won't work.

- Some switches are "autosensing" and can take either type of connection -
straight or crossed over and will sort things out. But, there's a lot of
hardware out there that doesn't have this capability.

You said:
Topology:

ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem <-> Hub <-> Computer.

Then you said:

I haven't been able to use the modem connected directly to the computer
network card - none of the leds is on with either direct or crossover
cable.

Which implies a topology:
ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem <-> Computer.

You also said:
"the only way I could connect the 5660 modem to the hub
was using a crossover cable. Nevertheless, I managed to get the admin pages
and I saw that the modem was connected to the ISP (I have an IP address, a
default gateway etc), but still no connection to the internet from my
computer."

Well, the 5660 modem expects to connect directly to a computer with a
straight cable - so it is crossed over. The hub expects to see straight
computer connections. So, you need to go to the hub from the 5660 with a
crossover cable *Unless* you connect into the hub's Uplink with a straight
cable.

Here are the topologies where <-> means "straight cable"; "<X> means
crossover cable; "[P]" means straight port; [Q] means a normal hub or switch
port; and "[X]" means crossed over or Uplink or WAN... port.

A: ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [P]Computer

B: ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [X] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer
or
C: ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <X> [Q] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer

So, two computers connect with a crossover cable as follows:

Computer [P] <X> [P] Computer


Using this notation, your first description above would be:

ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem [X] <?> [?] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer
I can't tell what kind of cable and which port on the hub you used from the
modem here.
If it were to work, it would have to be B or C from above.

In contrast:
ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [Q] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer ****Will not work.
or
ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <X> [X] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer ***Will not work.


You also showed:
ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [P]Computer
Which should work as shown with a straight cable.

The fact that you got a connection to the admin pages means that you have
everything cabled and ported properly! So, that's really important!.

So, now your only concerns are getting internet access and expanding the
network.
When you say that you have an IP address, what exactly do you mean?:

Do you mean that you have an IP address provided from the 5660 using DHCP
and are set to get it "automatically" on the computer? Exactly what is the
IP address on the computer?

Can you see that the modem is connected and has an external IP address from
the ISP?
This is probably the problem now because the computer can see the modem /
router.
You may have to select PPPOE or some *other connection mode* on the modem
for your ISP.
Since you introduced this modem, are you sure it's compatible with your ISP?
Are all the settings internal to the modem compatible? There are some that
may need to be changed in order for it to work. Your ISP can help you to a
point in knowing what the settings need to be and you may have to figure out
for yourself how to set them on this modem.

Fred

 

[Adrian]

Hi Fred

As a preface, perhaps it would help you to know a couple of things about
cabling and interconnects with the cables:

[snip]

Thanks for the detailed explanation on cable configurations - with your
help and many trials I was finally able to figure out what the cable issue
was: the network adapter on my computer was on 100Mbs while the modem only
supports 10Mbs, so I changed the setting to Auto on the adapter.

I then tried to connect to the Internet using a direct connection between
the computer and the modem (no more wireless router or hub), and while the
status page shows that the ISP side is fine, I can't get it on my computer.

So, now your only concerns are getting internet access and expanding the
network.
When you say that you have an IP address, what exactly do you mean?:

Do you mean that you have an IP address provided from the 5660 using DHCP
and are set to get it "automatically" on the computer? Exactly what is the
IP address on the computer?

Can you see that the modem is connected and has an external IP address from
the ISP?

Actually I get both - on the ISP side I see a valid IP address (63.x.y.z)
and default gateway, and on the computer side I got an address given by the
DHCP server of the 5660.

Here is the status page: http://www.amichel.com/router/status.jpg

This is probably the problem now because the computer can see the modem /
router.
You may have to select PPPOE or some *other connection mode* on the modem
for your ISP.

This seems to be ok on the status page.

Since you introduced this modem, are you sure it's compatible with your

ISP?

Yes, it's supported by SBC. Actually I got it from somebody who used it to
connect also to SBC.

Are all the settings internal to the modem compatible? There are some that
may need to be changed in order for it to work. Your ISP can help you to a
point in knowing what the settings need to be and you may have to figure out
for yourself how to set them on this modem.

I called SBC tech support but after an hour with them, they still couldn't
figure out the problem. It looks like the router part of the modem is not
setup right. I guess NAPT or the routes or some other settings have wrong
parameters (they have default values though).

Here they are, maybe something obvious catches your eye:

I tried with NAPT disabled or enabled. When enabled, there were no NAPT
servers configured though, and I am not sure what or if I should add
something there, as I don't have any server running locally.

In the troubleshooting section of the router pages it says: "Check to see
that there are static routes set up to the specified network". Here is the
routes page: http://www.amichel.com/router/routes.jpg . I tried to enter
different static routes, but I got failure messages.

It also says: "Make sure the default route (IP gateway) is defined
correctly. It must be on the same subnetwork as your router". I assume they
are referring to the default gateway on the ISP side, which seems to be ok.

On the computer, everything is set to automatic, so no static addresses, no
default gateways.

Thanks,

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

Run Start / Run / CMD ... or Start / Program / Command Prompt or DOS Window
.....
Type:
IPCONFIG /ALL

What do you get? I can see the router LAN IP address and subnet mask but I
can't see the computer addresses.

Fred

Hi Fred

As a preface, perhaps it would help you to know a couple of things about
cabling and interconnects with the cables:

[snip]

Thanks for the detailed explanation on cable configurations - with your
help and many trials I was finally able to figure out what the cable issue
was: the network adapter on my computer was on 100Mbs while the modem only
supports 10Mbs, so I changed the setting to Auto on the adapter.

I then tried to connect to the Internet using a direct connection between
the computer and the modem (no more wireless router or hub), and while the
status page shows that the ISP side is fine, I can't get it on my
computer.

So, now your only concerns are getting internet access and expanding the
network.
When you say that you have an IP address, what exactly do you mean?:

Do you mean that you have an IP address provided from the 5660 using DHCP
and are set to get it "automatically" on the computer? Exactly what is the
IP address on the computer?

Can you see that the modem is connected and has an external IP address from
the ISP?

Actually I get both - on the ISP side I see a valid IP address (63.x.y.z)
and default gateway, and on the computer side I got an address given by
the
DHCP server of the 5660.

Here is the status page: http://www.amichel.com/router/status.jpg

This is probably the problem now because the computer can see the modem /
router.
You may have to select PPPOE or some *other connection mode* on the modem
for your ISP.

This seems to be ok on the status page.

Since you introduced this modem, are you sure it's compatible with your

ISP?

Yes, it's supported by SBC. Actually I got it from somebody who used it to
connect also to SBC.

Are all the settings internal to the modem compatible? There are some that
may need to be changed in order for it to work. Your ISP can help you to a
point in knowing what the settings need to be and you may have to figure out
for yourself how to set them on this modem.

I called SBC tech support but after an hour with them, they still couldn't
figure out the problem. It looks like the router part of the modem is not
setup right. I guess NAPT or the routes or some other settings have wrong
parameters (they have default values though).

Here they are, maybe something obvious catches your eye:

I tried with NAPT disabled or enabled. When enabled, there were no NAPT
servers configured though, and I am not sure what or if I should add
something there, as I don't have any server running locally.

In the troubleshooting section of the router pages it says: "Check to see
that there are static routes set up to the specified network". Here is the
routes page: http://www.amichel.com/router/routes.jpg . I tried to enter
different static routes, but I got failure messages.

It also says: "Make sure the default route (IP gateway) is defined
correctly. It must be on the same subnetwork as your router". I assume
they
are referring to the default gateway on the ISP side, which seems to be
ok.

On the computer, everything is set to automatic, so no static addresses,
no
default gateways.

Thanks,

Adrian

 

[Adrian]

Hi Fred,

You saved me!

I ran ipconfig /all and I saw a bunch of IP addresses of all adapters,
including the one for the other modem SpeedStream 4060 which was connected
to a USB port (but not to the phone line). In order to see what address the
5060 modem has, I disconnected the 4060, and like by magic, I got my home
page in the browser.

So all along the 5060 was working, just my computer was trying to connect
using the other modem which was still plugged into the USB port. I'm not
sure why, but I'm glad it's working.

Thanks a lot for your help and good info!

Adrian

BTW, I'm posting this using the 5660

 

[Adrian]

Ok, things are working more or less but there is still one remaining issue
that's nagging me.

Here is my current setup that works:
5660 as router <--> LAN port of the SMC router (used as switch) <-->
computer. So the 5660 is connected to one of the LAN port of the SMC router,
which acts simply as a switch. This prevents me from using any of the
advanced features of the SMC router such as NAT, Firewall, which work on the
WAN port only.

I have not been able to connect using the WAN port of the router:
5660 as router or bridge <--> WAN port of SMC router <--> computer.

I tried with 5660 in bridge mode as well as router mode but I keep getting
"Not connected" in the status page of the SMC router. BTW, I set it up to
connect using PPPoE using my login info.

I would appreciate any suggestion.

Thanks,

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

To repeat:

Here are the topologies where:
<-> means straight cable;
<X> means crossover cable;
[P] means straight port;
[Q] means a normal hub or switch port;
and
[X] means crossed over or Uplink or WAN... port.

A: ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [P]Computer

B: ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [X] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer
or
C: ISP <-> 5660 Modem [X] <X> [Q] Hub [Q] <-> [P]Computer

Using this notation, your description of what works would be:

ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem [X] <X> [Q] SMC [Q] <-> [P]Computer

Note that there is a crossover cable between the 5660 and the SMC LAN port.
This must be what you have that works (unless the SMC is autosensing - which
it probably isn't).

In order to use the SMC as a router, you would need:

ISP (SBC) <-> 5660 Modem [X] <-> [X] SMC [Q] <-> [P]Computer

Note that the crossover cable has been replaced with a straight cable
between the 5660 and the SMC WAN connection.


Also, you say

I tried with 5660 in bridge mode as well as router mode but I keep getting
"Not connected" in the status page of the SMC router. BTW, I set it up to
connect using PPPoE using my login info.

When you say "I set *it* up to > connect using PPPoE..", which one do you
mean by "it"?
The 5660 should be doing the connecting to the ISP - and not the SMC.
Your computer should not be attempting any of the PPPOE connecting nor
should the SMC.
The 5660 should be set up for DHCP and the SMC should be getting an IP
address on the WAN side from the 5660. This is important as I believe the
SMC will probably not have the ability to set its own WAN IP address.
Then, the SMC might be set up to provide DHCP on the LAN side for the
computer(s).
I would set the SMC LAN IP address range to *not be* the same as the IP
address range on the 5660 LAN / SMC WAN.

You still haven't provided the results from IPCONFIG /ALL ......
In addition, what is the IP address range between the 5660 and the SMC?

Fred

 

[Adrian]

Hi Fred,

Again, thanks for your advice. I discovered that the SMC router has an
option to get the WAN IP address from the provider, so now it seems to
communicate all right with the 5660 modem over the WAN port.

BTW, the wiring seems to be fine now - SMC is autosensing.

Here is the result of ipconfig /all with this new configuration (modem
connected to the WAN port).

D:\>ipconfig /all

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : some_host_name
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit
Ethernet
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : some_address
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, October 20, 2004
8:39:33 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, October 27, 2004
8:39:33 AM

And here is the contents of the SMC router status page:
http://www.amichel.com/router/status.jpg which shows that the modem is
connected and that the WAN port has an IP address. I still can't get to the
Internet from my computer though - I tried different values for the default
gateway on the computer: 192.168.2.1 (the SMC router), 192.168.2.99 (the
5660 modem), 192.168.2.102 (the WAN port) or no default gateway at all, but
none of them worked.

The modem has the IP address 192.168.2.99, DHCP enabled with the address
pool is 192.168.2.100 - 192.168.2.199,

The SMC is 192.168.2.1, DHCP enabled and the address pool 192.168.2.2 -
192.168.2.98.

I feel I'm really close (thanks to you!) - but some setting must be wrong,
and I couldn't determine which one.

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

Without wading through all the details just yet, I would change the IP
address range on one or the other. They are both using 192.168.2.xxx
I'd make one of them 192.168.1.xxx

I see the SMC "Gateway" is 192.168.2.1 and that DHCP is enabled on the SMC.
So, if you can change the SMC gateway or LAN side to 192.168.1.1 then your
computer(s) should get numbers via DHCP that are 192.168.1.xxx

I have no idea what will happen with NAT in the SMC if the WAN and LAN
address ranges are the same - it would be a bit of a guess about the guts of
the SMC. Thus, I suggest you change the LAN address range so that there is
no question about it. Then the NAT function in the SMC will be doing its
job without question and without confusion.

It doesn't matter if the SMC is autosensing as long as you only have
computers and straight cables on the LAN side. You're no longer using it as
a switch from the 5660 and it now appears you have connectivity. Your
computer is getting an expected IP address from the SMC now it appears.

It's likely now that you don't have DNS working.
In the DNS section of the TCP/IP setup for your computer's interface, I
would add the IP address of one or two of your ISP's DNS servers. This way
you don't have to rely on either the 5660 or the SMC for DNS service. In
fact, the ISP DNS server addresses are the ONLY ones that I use - under the
notion that I only need name service when I'm connected and when I'm
connected I do have access to those servers.
(You may have to enter a fixed IP address, subnet mask, etc. for the
computer if you do this - but that's easy enough. You can just copy
everything that you saw in IPCONFIG /ALL - and enter the DNS addresses from
your ISP.

Fred

 

[Adrian]

Fred, you are good!

I changed the IP address of the SMC router to 192.168.1.1 and the range of
address for DHCP to 192.168.1.2-192.168.1.99 and the connection started to
work immediately. This is great!

One other thing now. I receive/send emails using my ISP and another
provider. Before installing this new modem, I could send/receive on all my
email accounts. With the 5660 (even without the SMC router), sending emails
throught the SMTP server of the other provider (not the ISP) fails. Sending
through the ISP SMTP server works fine. Here is the error message:

"The message could not be sent because one of the recipient was rejected by
the server. Server response: "550 PPPoX pools - 1070519899'. (Account
'(e-mail address removed)', SMTP Server: 'mail.xxx.com', Error Number: 0x800ccc79)."

I googled the 550... message but could not find out what that means,
especially in my context.

Any idea?

Again, I really appreciate your help!

Thanks,

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

Well, normally you should not depend on *sending* except via your ISP.
So, you set up the accounts to receive from wherever and to send via your
ISP.
So "sending emails through the SMTP server of the other provider (not the
ISP) fails"
is not at all surprising.
It's amazing that it would have worked before.
The accounts should be set up like this:

"Local" account:
Incoming Server: mail.atmyisp.com or pop.atmyisp.com
Outgoing Server: mail.atmyisp.com or smtp.atmyisp.com

"Remote" account:
Incoming Server: mail.remote.com or pop.remote.com
Outgoing Server: mail.atmyisp.com or smtp.atmyisp.com

Fred

 

[Adrian]

Thanks for your answer as usual!

Well, normally you should not depend on *sending* except via your ISP.
So, you set up the accounts to receive from wherever and to send via your
ISP.
So "sending emails through the SMTP server of the other provider (not the
ISP) fails"
is not at all surprising.
It's amazing that it would have worked before.
The accounts should be set up like this:

Actually it works even now if I am replying to an email received throught
the "other" SMTP server rather than sending a new one.

Yes, sending through the SMTP server of my ISP works, but I'm still not sure
why I should not use another SMTP server. It's not my ISP that's blocking -
they seem to be totally transparent, regardless of what you send or receive,
but the other email provider. I guess there is something in the routing of
IP packets within my home network, that makes them reject my emails,
thinking that they are spam or something. At some point I made some changes
in the modem parameters and the email started to work again as before, but
then I reset all parameters and haven't been able to do it again.

But this is not an issue, I am sending now through my ISP SMTP server.
What's important, my network works as I wanted to, so thanks for all your
help!

Best regards,

Adrian

 

[Fred Marshall]

Adrian,

Yes, to prevent spam and other misuse, most mail servers will not send out
mail that is coming from a "foreign" server. So, it's blocked.

Glad to hear that all is working now.

Fred