Quick Question... CAT5 splitter or switch needed?

[modman]

The main UVerse service does indeed connect to a router...but that is upstairs near my PC. I asked the technician to run a separate incoming coax downstairs near my audio rack. The coax feeds a Cisco IPN4320 set-top box, which appears to be a modem, not a router. I don't know why I'd need a separate IP address for the receiver and the LG player...do I? If so, won't a simple splitter suffice?

Thanks for the thoughtful comments.

 

[jonnythan]

Ethernet doesn't work like that. Ethernet is a point-to-point bi-directional connection. Each terminus on the network needs its own addressable identifier.

Anyway, the Cisco STB is an IPTV receiver. That means it lets you watch TV over an ethernet network instead of a traditional cable network. The ethernet port on the back of the STB is not an "output" - it's essentially the same as the coax connection. That is, it's a way to get a TV signal into the STB. You can't connect it to another device and have internet connectivity.

The only internet connection you have in your home is through the upstairs router.

There are a couple of possible solutions for you:

1) Run an ethernet cable from upstairs to your A/V rack, then plug in a switch there and plug your two devices into it.

2) Use a wireless bridge. Assuming the upstairs router has wireless, the wireless bridge will create a wireless link from the A/V rack to the router upstairs. You can then plug your two devices into the wireless bridge, assuming it has more than one ethernet port. Such a device looks like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156307

 

[modman]

Thanks...but that doesn't jibe with my experience. Before I got the new receiver, I ran a CAT5 cable from the Internet output of the Cisco box to an LG Blu-Ray player and had full internet connectivity.

 

[jonnythan]

Huh. Well the manual for the STB doesn't mention that sort of functionality in any capacity whatsoever. It would seem highly unusual for an IPTV set top box to have some hidden router functionality.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The main UVerse service does indeed connect to a router...but that is upstairs near my PC. I asked the technician to run a separate incoming coax downstairs near my audio rack. The coax feeds a Cisco IPN4320 set-top box, which appears to be a modem, not a router. I don't know why I'd need a separate IP address for the receiver and the LG player...do I? If so, won't a simple splitter suffice?

Thanks for the thoughtful comments.

Then BMX is right - you need a switch....

 

[highfigh]

That has got to be one of the ugliest things Ive seen in a long time....

WOW.....

Is that made by Playskool or Fisher-Price?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Is that made by Playskool or Fisher-Price?

It's actually made by Lego

 

[BMXTRIX]

The ethernet port on the back of the STB is not an "output" - it's essentially the same as the coax connection. That is, it's a way to get a TV signal into the STB. You can't connect it to another device and have internet connectivity.

Had a question about this...

Are you sure?

I can't find any documentation at all from Cisco that indicates exactly how this port can be used.

Since the home is provided Ethernet, phone, and cable TV all over the fiber connection to the home, which then carries it the last bit throughout your home on a piece of coax, then all it would take would be a decent chip to pull the home network ethernet connection off the coax and make it an available internet feed from the network.

It's struck me as one of the best possible features for these boxes! The coax is already at the TV location, the TV and Blu-ray player, and receiver all need Internet connections, so the cable feed provides the STB with Internet, and the LAN port on the back acts as a Ethernet output port. Like a feed off a switch.

I have a customer who has several RNG 150 boxes as well as some other boxes and I wanted to actually test these connections to see what I would get, but because there is zero documenation that I have found, I wanted to know if you had found documentation or are 100% sure that the Ethernet jack does not possibly offer a connection to the Internet.

It would make a lot of sense for the STB to not have a router, but to have a network switch internally. If it is fed coax (w/Internet connection), the STB is given an IP address on the home network and is visible to the cable company (it is for sure). So, it then only needs to provide an output feed which also allows for Internet capability. I certainly would have designed the STB this way. But, they tend to be pretty poorly design, so who's to say?

edit: Looks like it may work, but with a note of caution (of course)...
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24537696-UVerse-IPN4320-network-connection

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks...but that doesn't jibe with my experience. Before I got the new receiver, I ran a CAT5 cable from the Internet output of the Cisco box to an LG Blu-Ray player and had full internet connectivity.

Simple test:

Plug your laptop (if you have one) into the Ethernet port on the back of the Cisco cable box. Make sure your wi-fi is turned off on the laptop.

See if you can connect to the Internet.

If you can, then you should be good with a switch like the one I listed. If not, then you may need a wi-fi bridge or similar as listed previously.

 

[jonnythan]

Had a question about this...

Are you sure?

I can't find any documentation at all from Cisco that indicates exactly how this port can be used.

Since the home is provided Ethernet, phone, and cable TV all over the fiber connection to the home, which then carries it the last bit throughout your home on a piece of coax, then all it would take would be a decent chip to pull the home network ethernet connection off the coax and make it an available internet feed from the network.

It's struck me as one of the best possible features for these boxes! The coax is already at the TV location, the TV and Blu-ray player, and receiver all need Internet connections, so the cable feed provides the STB with Internet, and the LAN port on the back acts as a Ethernet output port. Like a feed off a switch.

I have a customer who has several RNG 150 boxes as well as some other boxes and I wanted to actually test these connections to see what I would get, but because there is zero documenation that I have found, I wanted to know if you had found documentation or are 100% sure that the Ethernet jack does not possibly offer a connection to the Internet.

It would make a lot of sense for the STB to not have a router, but to have a network switch internally. If it is fed coax (w/Internet connection), the STB is given an IP address on the home network and is visible to the cable company (it is for sure). So, it then only needs to provide an output feed which also allows for Internet capability. I certainly would have designed the STB this way. But, they tend to be pretty poorly design, so who's to say?

edit: Looks like it may work, but with a note of caution (of course)...
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24537696-UVerse-IPN4320-network-connection

Here's a link to the manual:
http://www.att.com/media/en_US/swf/uverse_center/uverse/downloads/att-series-receiver-install-manual.pdf

The ethernet and coax are an either/or option to get network into the box. Look at pages 9 and 10.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Here's a link to the manual:
http://www.att.com/media/en_US/swf/uverse_center/uverse/downloads/att-series-receiver-install-manual.pdf

The ethernet and coax are an either/or option to get network into the box. Look at pages 9 and 10.

Yeah, I saw that, and it provides absolute minimal information unfortunately, with some contradicting information on the web and from the OP's own experience.

I really wish that a detailed user's manual was available to customers and that they made sense. Information on external hard drives, the ports and what they actually are for, etc. Ah well.

The only guarantee, at this point, seems like it would be a wireless access point of some sort.

 

[modman]

Mystery solved.

I followed your advice and connected my laptop (wireless disabled) to the Network output port of the set-top box. Bingo...internet access!

So I will proceed with getting a high-speed switch and move on.

Thanks to you all.

MM

 

[modman]

It works!

Hooked up a high-speed switch, and now all devices are connected to the net.

Thanks for the advice, folks!