Chrissy R <ChrissyR@home.gen.nz> wrote:

> > To know whether it is or not, we'll need to
> > know what netmask you're being given along with the IP address.
>
> Great - now where will I get that info?
>
> Does this help

  Yep. Most of it's irrelevant, though. The important bits are the
following three lines:

> PPP adapter ADSL PPPoA Connect:
>
> IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 210.86.53.197
> Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255

  This line is the netmask you've received. This one is very restrictive,
but that's fine - it just means that there are no other hosts considered
"local" to you. This is what you want on a regular ADSL connection.

> Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 210.86.53.197

  This might be a problem. I assume you're using an internal modem, and I
have no experience with them, but generally the default gateway is not
your own address. Anyone who knows how one of these things normally works
want to comment? I know that the M1122 here at work has its PPP peer as
the default gateway, as does my Dual Link at home. (The Dual Link also
has a 255.255.255.255 netmask, but pppd sets up a static route to the
peer's address.)

  Neither of these are internal modems under Windows, though. To be safe,
check the output of the route command ("route print" under Windows). This
should list a Default Gateway address - if not, look for a route with a
network destination of 0.0.0.0, which is the same thing. If these
addresses are also the same as the one you've been assigned, but the
connection is working, then something's very weird. (Disclaimer: this is
based on the output of "route print" under Win2K. Your mileage may vary.)

> > If the third octet is 255,
> > though, then a .255 IP address is a broadcast address, so getting one
> > yourself is a Bad Thing.
>
> Yeah - the problems is "I have a bad thing - to use your words".

  In fact, with the netmask you have above, I think a .255 address is
actually legal for a single host (the netmask means that there's only one
host on the "network", so a broadcast address would be meaningless).
*Don't* quote me on this, though - I'm no networking guru.

  Of course, the details you give above are for a working configuration,
which may be different. If you get a non-working address again, you
should note down the address, subnet mask and default gateway that are
assigned while it's *not* working, and then let us know once you have a
working address again.

> > then it doesn't actually solve anything - it's still probably
> > something Telecom have to fix. But at least then you'd know for sure
> > what they need to fix, which might help in your dealings with them.
>
> And from my understanding it is Telecom who have to fix it - and it is the
> part of Telecom who look after ADSL.

  You should still lodge the fault through your ISP, really - even if it's
a Telecom problem, complaints from an ISP representative will carry more
weight with Telecom than complaints from J. Random ADSL User. And when
you're dealing with Telecom, you need all the help you can get...

   Jonathan

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