RV042 & E4200

[dhbosboom]

Good evening everyone!  I'm new to this discussion page but I have a problem that needs to be resolved.  Because I cannot lose my internet connection (I use it for phone service as well as updating my websites) I opted to use Cisco RV042 router.  I had no problems setting it up for my cable broadband or my (older) DSL service.  But a totally wired-in service prevented me from easily adding on to my network, so recently I purchased a Cisco (Linksys) E4200 to add on to my net.  I was surprised that I was able to connect them without a problem and for several months both systems worked without a glitch.

Then it happened.

My broadband company started to make "repairs" on the street and so I had intermittent signal from them.  Each time I lost the connection, the back-up came on-line.  Then I lost both network signals.  So I (ever adventurous) went in to both local routers and started to play with parameters. (I know, I know. I should have left it alone.  But I didn't!) I made the entire network come crashing down around me. I have no one to blame but myself.  And I'm not ready to "fire" me yet.  It took 2 days but I got the E4200 to work again.  I started from scratch. Reset it all.  Now I have it working right.

But I'm only connected with the broadband net and I REALLY want to include the RV042 back into the system.

I'm fairly sure that what I did (and cannot recreate again, even accidentally) was NOT overlap some combination of IP addresses. Can anyone tell me what addresses are needed by each router so that they can coexist and "play nice" together again?

Feeling foolish but not afraid to ask for HELP!

Thank you.

David

[mpyhala]

Hi David,

Thank you for posting. The routers have the same default IP address, 192.168.1.1. If connected together they will have an IP conflict which will take your network down. I would do the following:

1. Set the E4200 aside and factory default the RV042.
   
2. Set the RV042 up the way it was originally with two internet connections.
   
3. Plug a PC directly to the E4200 ONLY and change the LAN IP address to 192.168.1.254
   
4. Configure the wireless settings on the E4200
   
5. Turn OFF the DHCP server in the E4200. Do this last as you will lose access to it.
   
6. Plug the E4200 into the RV042 LAN to LAN. Ignore the Internet port on the E4200, you will not be using it anymore.
   

That's it. You should be able to get wireless access from the E4200 and your wireless clients should get a DHCP IP address from the RV042. If you need to make changes to the E4200 you can access it at 192.168.1.254 instead of 192.168.1.1

When everything is working properly, make a backup of the configuration files from each router. The next time you mess up the settings it is a simple matter of restoring two config files to get you back in business.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

[dhbosboom]

Thank you for your fast reply.  I'll make these changes tomorrow and get back to you when it works!

And I always make back-ups. I once lost a 1500 person mailing list from a hard drive crash.  Cost me over $1000 to retreive the data.  I make back-up or everything in all my computers!!

Thanks again.

David

[dhbosboom]

Absolutely flawless instructions!! They worked the first time.

Feeling slightly smarter again.

Thanks,

David

[mpyhala]

David,

Thanks for the feedback. Happy to hear you got it working properly.