[djdube525]

Is there a way to assign Squeeze Center a static IP so that whenever it's loaded, it always "associates" (bad word) with a specific IP on my network?

Ideally, I'd like to build a little server... but it'll be a little while before I'll do that.

The next question... whenever  I vpn into work, the squeezecenter IP gets all swizzled, so the squeeze box won't connect unless I manually change the ip address of the squeeze center... but I don't want to have to do that each time I vpn into work... is there an easy way around this? Some "idiot" instructions?

Many thanks!

Dave

[JEaton]

Is there a way to assign Squeeze Center a static IP so that whenever it's loaded, it always "associates" (bad word) with a specific IP on my network?

If the machine on which you run SqueezeCenter has just a single IP address, then SquezeCenter will be located at that address.  So it's a matter of getting the computer to use a static IP address.

There are generally two ways of doing this.  I assume that you have a router or firewall on your network and that your computer currently pulls an IP address using DHCP from a DHCP server running on the router.

1. Manually set a static IP address in the computer's network properties.  In these settings you'll need to set the IP address and the network subnet mask, plus you'll have to designate DNS servers that the machine will use.  If you continue to run DHCP on the router, then you'll need to make sure you use an IP address that's outside of the DHCP "pool", but still on your local network.

2. The second way is to use a DHCP reservation.  Most routers will let you reserver certain addresses for certain machines.  You'll need to find your computer's network MAC address first and then configure the reservation on your router, tying the MAC address to the IP address you assign.

This might be a little easier, as the network subnet mask and the DNS server may be automatically assigned by the DHCP server, as they are now with your dynamic address.

The next question... whenever  I vpn into work, the squeezecenter IP gets all swizzled, so the squeeze box won't connect unless I manually change the ip address of the squeeze center... but I don't want to have to do that each time I vpn into work... is there an easy way around this? Some "idiot" instructions?

That's hard to figure out from here. It could be that when you establish the VPN connection, it effectively takes your computer off of your local home network.  This could be for security reasons and you may not be able to work around it.

Do you know the "before" and "after" IP addresses?  That might tell us something.

[djdube525]

Ahhh - why I don't know but I thought Squeeze Center was always 1 higher than the PC...

I happen to be running Tomato on my linksys router... and essentially set a static IP for the PC.
And low and behold... it worked. Very cool!

The second part... yeah, due to security, a tunnel is created, so my PC is essentially on the corporate network. Bummer... no way around that one I suppose... but the above has been very helpful!

Dave

[JEaton]

The second part... yeah, due to security, a tunnel is created, so my PC is essentially on the corporate network. Bummer... no way around that one I suppose.

I take it you're using a software VPN client running on the PC?

What you could try, if you have the necessary security information, is establishing the tunnel from the Linksys router to the corporate VPN endpoint.  I'm sure Tomato must be capable of doing this.  Then your PC remains on the home network and only traffic to/from the work network gets routed trhough the tunnel.  Ideally, you would set up the security so that only traffic from that PC (use its static IP address) will be allowed through the tunnel.

[bpape]

To use a tunnel properly, you MUST have a static IP.  Don't worry about SC.  Set the static IP for the machine it's running on and you;re good to go

Bryan

[djdube525]

The second part... yeah, due to security, a tunnel is created, so my PC is essentially on the corporate network. Bummer... no way around that one I suppose.

I take it you're using a software VPN client running on the PC?

Yup

What you could try, if you have the necessary security information, is establishing the tunnel from the Linksys router to the corporate VPN endpoint.  I'm sure Tomato must be capable of doing this.  Then your PC remains on the home network and only traffic to/from the work network gets routed trhough the tunnel.  Ideally, you would set up the security so that only traffic from that PC (use its static IP address) will be allowed through the tunnel.

On another unrelated note... we have a Roku Box in our bonus room which is on a different floor and opposite side of the house as the linksys box. For many reasons, it is extremely difficult to get a wired connection up there, so was running it wirelessly. Unfortunately, the signal strength isn't the best, so the video quality can be suspect. Add a new Oppo and wanted to find a way to bring internet access to that.

Ended up picking another linksys router and installed the Tomato firmware on that as well. After a little fiddling I've finally got WDS running last night. For those who happen to have a broadcom based router (google "Tomato firmware" - they have links for supported devices), the firmware is very cool... lots of extra features. Highly recommended.

[rahimlee54]

The second part... yeah, due to security, a tunnel is created, so my PC is essentially on the corporate network. Bummer... no way around that one I suppose.

I take it you're using a software VPN client running on the PC?

Yup

What you could try, if you have the necessary security information, is establishing the tunnel from the Linksys router to the corporate VPN endpoint.  I'm sure Tomato must be capable of doing this.  Then your PC remains on the home network and only traffic to/from the work network gets routed trhough the tunnel.  Ideally, you would set up the security so that only traffic from that PC (use its static IP address) will be allowed through the tunnel.

On another unrelated note... we have a Roku Box in our bonus room which is on a different floor and opposite side of the house as the linksys box. For many reasons, it is extremely difficult to get a wired connection up there, so was running it wirelessly. Unfortunately, the signal strength isn't the best, so the video quality can be suspect. Add a new Oppo and wanted to find a way to bring internet access to that.

Ended up picking another linksys router and installed the Tomato firmware on that as well. After a little fiddling I've finally got WDS running last night. For those who happen to have a broadcom based router (google "Tomato firmware" - they have links for supported devices), the firmware is very cool... lots of extra features. Highly recommended.

I use this and DD-WRT, another linux based router program, and they both work flawlessly.  If you want to add wireless to a room and your items only have wired ports just get a router pop DD-WRT and bridge it to your main router, it sounds complicated but it is really easy.  Plus you can get routers to bridge with for around 25 bucks.

[mikel51]

The next question... whenever  I vpn into work, the squeezecenter IP gets all swizzled, so the squeeze box won't connect unless I manually change the ip address of the squeeze center... but I don't want to have to do that each time I vpn into work... is there an easy way around this? Some "idiot" instructions?

This depends on your VPN software.  Some software will make this impossible.  I put my home network on the 10.254.254.?? subnet.  I assign my router 10.254.254.1.  My NAS is 10.254.254.100.  I let router assign 10.254.254.101-130 to devices on the network, and I tell my router to give the same reserved IP address to my different computers.  My home theater PC (with squeeze center) is always assigned 10.254.254.120.  My work and home laptops each get their own IP addresses.

The point of all this is so that there is a different subnet for my work network and my home network.  Then when I VPN into work, the 169.xxx.xxx.xxx subnet goes to work devices and the 10.254.254.xxx subnet goes to my home printers, squeezecenter etc.  Things get really confusing if both work and home networks both use the 169 subnet.  My employer provides two different vpn packages.  The rsa ace software allows me to access devices on my home network while using the vpn connection.  Aventail is set to prohibit us from accessing the home network while using the vpn connection....a real drag when you want to print something at home.