Misc network questions

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Have a few network questions.
The Tivo site lists USB adapters to use with a wireless network. Are
these the only adapters that work or just adapters confirmed to work?

I have spare USB adapter. If I hook it up to Tivo, will it be
recognized? Will it allow me to tranfer photos from my PC?

I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
open?

If I have a network hard drive attached to my router, will Tivo 'see' it?

 

[seth]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

"J Lunis" <jay.lunis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:Gvtze.1452$yL4.791@fe02.lga...
> Have a few network questions.
> The Tivo site lists USB adapters to use with a wireless network. Are
> these the only adapters that work or just adapters confirmed to work?

They have been confirmed to work. If your adapter is based off of a similar
chipset, it may work as well.

> I have spare USB adapter. If I hook it up to Tivo, will it be recognized?
> Will it allow me to tranfer photos from my PC?

Maybe. You didn't mention which one though, so no one can really answer.

> I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
> go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
> open?

Wired or wireless doesn't matter. Still require ports to talk through.

> If I have a network hard drive attached to my router, will Tivo 'see' it?

Not directly. If the PC you are running TiVo Desktop on (and publishing
photo content from) shares a folder from that NAS, then yes, the TiVo will
see it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Seth wrote:
> "J Lunis" <jay.lunis@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:Gvtze.1452$yL4.791@fe02.lga...
>
>>Have a few network questions.
>>The Tivo site lists USB adapters to use with a wireless network. Are
>>these the only adapters that work or just adapters confirmed to work?
>
>
> They have been confirmed to work. If your adapter is based off of a similar
> chipset, it may work as well.
>
>
>>I have spare USB adapter. If I hook it up to Tivo, will it be recognized?
>>Will it allow me to tranfer photos from my PC?
>
>
> Maybe. You didn't mention which one though, so no one can really answer.
>
Dell Wireless 1450 USB adapter

>
>>I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
>>go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
>>open?
>
Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired conenction) is
assigned an address on my router, does the router automatically open
ports when needed or do I have to go into the router and leave ports
open all the time like I am required to do with the wireless adapter?
>
> Wired or wireless doesn't matter. Still require ports to talk through.
>
>
>>If I have a network hard drive attached to my router, will Tivo 'see' it?
>
>
> Not directly. If the PC you are running TiVo Desktop on (and publishing
> photo content from) shares a folder from that NAS, then yes, the TiVo will
> see it.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

> Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired conenction) is
> assigned an address on my router, does the router automatically open
> ports when needed or do I have to go into the router and leave ports
> open all the time like I am required to do with the wireless adapter?

From a routing point of view, there is no difference between wired or
wireless connections, though your router may allow you to assign
different policies to each one. If one requires opening ports, then so
will the other one. The only effective difference between wired and
wireless connections is that you can assign WEP or WPA key-based
encryption on wireless connections.


Randy S.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article <Gvtze.1452$yL4.791@fe02.lga>, J Lunis <jay.lunis@gmail.com>
wrote:

> I have spare USB adapter. If I hook it up to Tivo, will it be
> recognized? Will it allow me to tranfer photos from my PC?

Plug it in. Go to the main menu on your TiVo and select

Messages & Setup > Settings > Phone & Network

At this point, my screen shows options "Change connection type" and
"Edit phone or network settings." If you see these and are able to use
them to get on your network, then your wireless adapter works. If not,
it doesn't. Make sure you have the latest version of the TiVo
software.

> I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
> go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
> open?

I did not have to open any ports on my router. (One only needs to open
router ports to let computers outside of your local network initiate
connections to inside the local network. In the case of TiVo, the box
"phones home" and initiates the connection from inside the local
network, so no need to open ports.)

> If I have a network hard drive attached to my router, will Tivo 'see' it?

I don't think so. As Seth said, you have to have a computer running
TiVo Desktop or some equivalent software.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Lot-o-fun wrote:
> In article <Gvtze.1452$yL4.791@fe02.lga>, J Lunis <jay.lunis@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>>I have spare USB adapter. If I hook it up to Tivo, will it be
>>recognized? Will it allow me to tranfer photos from my PC?
>
>
> Plug it in. Go to the main menu on your TiVo and select
>
> Messages & Setup > Settings > Phone & Network
>
> At this point, my screen shows options "Change connection type" and
> "Edit phone or network settings." If you see these and are able to use
> them to get on your network, then your wireless adapter works. If not,
> it doesn't. Make sure you have the latest version of the TiVo
> software.
>
>
snipped

OK, did all that. Tivo now shows th IP address of the router and shows
signal strength as 'Excellent.' Entered the 15-digit Tivo ID into the
PC software. Problem - after I manually enter the IP address of the
router (don't know why since Tivo seems to already know), and select it
I get a message there is no server present.

 

[seth]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

"J Lunis" <jay.lunis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:42CE8305.2010606@gmail.com...
>>>I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
>>>go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
>>>open?
>>
> Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired conenction) is assigned
> an address on my router, does the router automatically open ports when
> needed or do I have to go into the router and leave ports open all the
> time like I am required to do with the wireless adapter?

Shouldn't have to open any ports on the router as nothing is connecting from
the outside. If you have a personal firewall on your PC(s), you may have to
open certain ports there.

What kind of ports you had to open on the router to use a wireless PC, I
don't know. Shouldn't have to open any ports just to use wireless. Opening
ports is to allow things outside the network to connect in.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Seth wrote:
> "J Lunis" <jay.lunis@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:42CE8305.2010606@gmail.com...
>
>>>>I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
>>>>go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
>>>>open?
>>>
>>Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired conenction) is assigned
>>an address on my router, does the router automatically open ports when
>>needed or do I have to go into the router and leave ports open all the
>>time like I am required to do with the wireless adapter?
>
>
> Shouldn't have to open any ports on the router as nothing is connecting from
> the outside. If you have a personal firewall on your PC(s), you may have to
> open certain ports there.
>
> What kind of ports you had to open on the router to use a wireless PC, I
> don't know. Shouldn't have to open any ports just to use wireless. Opening
> ports is to allow things outside the network to connect in.
>
>
Thanks for the reply.
Tried disabling Norton Firewall. Made no difference. Tivo still can't
find the server.
Isn't the firewall AFTER the router?
Would disabling the firewall confirm it is not causing the problem with
the connection?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article <42CECEA6.708@gmail.com>, J Lunis <jay.lunis@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Seth wrote:
> > "J Lunis" <jay.lunis@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:42CE8305.2010606@gmail.com...
> >
> >>>>I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
> >>>>go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
> >>>>open?
> >>>
> >>Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired conenction) is assigned
> >>an address on my router, does the router automatically open ports when
> >>needed or do I have to go into the router and leave ports open all the
> >>time like I am required to do with the wireless adapter?
> >
> >
> > Shouldn't have to open any ports on the router as nothing is connecting
> > from
> > the outside. If you have a personal firewall on your PC(s), you may have
> > to
> > open certain ports there.
> >
> > What kind of ports you had to open on the router to use a wireless PC, I
> > don't know. Shouldn't have to open any ports just to use wireless.
> > Opening
> > ports is to allow things outside the network to connect in.
> >
> >
> Thanks for the reply.
> Tried disabling Norton Firewall. Made no difference. Tivo still can't
> find the server.
> Isn't the firewall AFTER the router?
> Would disabling the firewall confirm it is not causing the problem with
> the connection?

Most routers are themselves firewalls and block most ports.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

>>Thanks for the reply.
>>Tried disabling Norton Firewall. Made no difference. Tivo still can't
>>find the server.
>>Isn't the firewall AFTER the router?
>>Would disabling the firewall confirm it is not causing the problem with
>>the connection?
>
>
> Most routers are themselves firewalls and block most ports.

Hmm, I don't think that's very accurate. Most routers are NAT devices
(though I agree, more and more are adding true firewall functions), and
thus drop incoming packets unless specifically configured to handle
them. But for purely internal connections (like what the OP describes)
they don't block any traffic, and I'm not sure there's any options to do
so (there might be some to regulate traffic between wired and wireless
networks).

Randy S.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Jack Zwick wrote:
> In article <42CECEA6.708@gmail.com>, J Lunis <jay.lunis@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>>Seth wrote:
>>
>>>"J Lunis" <jay.lunis@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>>news:42CE8305.2010606@gmail.com...
>>>
>>>
>>>>>>I read where Tivo requires me to open specific ports on my router. If I
>>>>>>go to a wired connection from Tivo to my router do I need to have ports
>>>>>>open?
>>>>>
>>>>Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired conenction) is assigned
>>>>an address on my router, does the router automatically open ports when
>>>>needed or do I have to go into the router and leave ports open all the
>>>>time like I am required to do with the wireless adapter?
>>>
>>>
>>>Shouldn't have to open any ports on the router as nothing is connecting
>>>from
>>>the outside. If you have a personal firewall on your PC(s), you may have
>>>to
>>>open certain ports there.
>>>
>>>What kind of ports you had to open on the router to use a wireless PC, I
>>>don't know. Shouldn't have to open any ports just to use wireless.
>>>Opening
>>>ports is to allow things outside the network to connect in.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Thanks for the reply.
>>Tried disabling Norton Firewall. Made no difference. Tivo still can't
>>find the server.
>>Isn't the firewall AFTER the router?
>>Would disabling the firewall confirm it is not causing the problem with
>>the connection?
>
>
> Most routers are themselves firewalls and block most ports.
OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was
a success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of connection
to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I connect to
TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through Network? If
network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to outside through the
router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the sw is running and
files are published). I have also gone to TIVO central on the web site
and instructed TIVO to record a program - which it did.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article <42CEEA8D.1090500@gmail.com>, J Lunis <jay.lunis@gmail.com>
wrote:

> OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was
> a success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of connection
> to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I connect to
> TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through Network? If
> network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to outside through the
> router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the sw is running and
> files are published). I have also gone to TIVO central on the web site
> and instructed TIVO to record a program - which it did.

testing your connection uses a standard likely open port.

Other TiVo functions use other ports.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article
<jackzwick-61D3FD.18521708072005@newssvr11-ext.news.prodigy.com>, Jack
Zwick <jackzwick@yahoo.com> wrote:

> In article <42CEEA8D.1090500@gmail.com>, J Lunis <jay.lunis@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was
> > a success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of connection
> > to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I connect to
> > TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through Network? If
> > network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to outside through the
> > router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the sw is running and
> > files are published). I have also gone to TIVO central on the web site
> > and instructed TIVO to record a program - which it did.
>
> testing your connection uses a standard likely open port.

Most routers that I know of have *no* open ports by default.

Testing the TiVo connection initiates a connection from behind the
router, so it doesn't need an open port.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

J Lunis wrote:

> OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was a
> success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of connection
> to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I connect to
> TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through Network? If
> network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to outside through the
> router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the sw is running and
> files are published). I have also gone to TIVO central on the web site
> and instructed TIVO to record a program - which it did.

It works best when both your TiVo and your PC are on the same LAN
with no firewall between the two. For instance:

Cable modem connects to WAN port on wireless router.
TiVo connects to one of the four wired LAN ports on the router.
PC connects wirelessly to the router.

A situation that I've seen not work is:

Cable modem connects to WAN port of firewall-router.
TiVo and wireless router both connect to LAN ports on firewall-router.
PC connects wirelessly to the wireless router.

In that case, there were two firewalls. The one directly attached to
the cable modem protected the home equipment from the wild Internet.
The one in the wireless router "protected" the PC from the TiVo - it
was blocking half of the UDP packets that were being broadcast from
one to the other.

>>> Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired connection) is
>>> assigned an address on my router, does the router automatically
>>> open ports when needed or do I have to go into the router and
>>> leave ports open all the time like I am required to do with
>>> the wireless adapter?

Ports in the firewall/router configuration are irrelevant when both
devices are on the same LAN. If your TiVo gets an address assigned
by your router and your PC gets its address assigned by the same
router, then broadcast packets should be flowing freely between the two.
Problems occur when there are two DHCP servers.

-Joe

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Joe Smith wrote:
> J Lunis wrote:
>
>> OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was
>> a success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of
>> connection to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I
>> connect to TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through
>> Network? If network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to
>> outside through the router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the
>> sw is running and files are published). I have also gone to TIVO
>> central on the web site and instructed TIVO to record a program -
>> which it did.
>
>
> It works best when both your TiVo and your PC are on the same LAN
> with no firewall between the two. For instance:
>
> Cable modem connects to WAN port on wireless router.
> TiVo connects to one of the four wired LAN ports on the router.
> PC connects wirelessly to the router.
>
> A situation that I've seen not work is:
>
> Cable modem connects to WAN port of firewall-router.
> TiVo and wireless router both connect to LAN ports on firewall-router.
> PC connects wirelessly to the wireless router.
>
> In that case, there were two firewalls. The one directly attached to
> the cable modem protected the home equipment from the wild Internet.
> The one in the wireless router "protected" the PC from the TiVo - it
> was blocking half of the UDP packets that were being broadcast from
> one to the other.
>
> >>> Here is where I show my ignorance. If Tivo (wired connection) is
> >>> assigned an address on my router, does the router automatically
> >>> open ports when needed or do I have to go into the router and
> >>> leave ports open all the time like I am required to do with
> >>> the wireless adapter?
>
> Ports in the firewall/router configuration are irrelevant when both
> devices are on the same LAN. If your TiVo gets an address assigned
> by your router and your PC gets its address assigned by the same
> router, then broadcast packets should be flowing freely between the two.
> Problems occur when there are two DHCP servers.
>
> -Joe
I'm lost. Here is my setup.
PC (which is running Norton) connects to the router by wire. Laptop
connects to router wirelessly. Tivo connects to router wirelessly.
Good? Bad?
If this doesn't work and I have to go the wired route from TIVO, do I
plug the other end into the wireless router of to the PC?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

"J Lunis" wrote...
> I'm lost. Here is my setup.
> PC (which is running Norton) connects to the router by
> wire. Laptop connects to router wirelessly. Tivo
> connects to router wirelessly. Good? Bad?
> If this doesn't work and I have to go the wired route from
> TIVO, do I plug the other end into the wireless router of
> to the PC?

This is exactly my setup, and works fine, though I haven't
tried to do what you're trying. My cable modem comes in to
the WAN port of a wireless router. Two PC's are wired
directly to LAN ports on that router, and two laptops and
the TiVo connect via wireless. The PC's and laptops can all
share files, as long as proper sharing permissions are given
on the host PC.

Your TiVo is getting its updates via your router over the
internet. It should have access to anything on the LAN
that's run by that router, and vice versa. If you're trying
to get files from your PC to your TiVo, perhaps the sharing
permissions setting on those files is an issue?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

> OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was
> a success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of connection
> to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I connect to
> TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through Network? If
> network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to outside through the
> router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the sw is running and
> files are published). I have also gone to TIVO central on the web site
> and instructed TIVO to record a program - which it did.

This means the Tivo is seeing the network adapter and using the link. Most
SoHo (small office/home office) routers handle this by opening/closing port
sessions as needed based on the inside devices making outbound requests.
That is, the Tivo goes out and asks for data and the router handles the
session. The only data 'incoming' is based on the outgoing request from
your Tivo box.

This is at least telling you the router and Tivo setup is configured well
enough to let it function. So it would appear you can continue using the
Wifi adapter on the Tivo. I generally prefer using a wired connection as
the speed is usually better, that and it doesn't slow down the other WiFi
devices I have running. The Tivo's already "wired" to the coax cables (in
my case for DirecTV) and telephone lines so adding CAT5 ethernet really
isn't that big a deal.

When you speak of ports needing to be 'open' for the wireless setup, which
port numbers? What application running on the laptop claims to need them?
Some might well need them but in *most* situations it's not usually
necessary to open inbound ports.

Also, what router device are you using? And what sort of ISP connection
(dsl/cable)? Some of the SoHo boxes handle the wired and wifi ports
differently. Some put them together on one subnet, some separate the wifi
out on it's own. That will affect what sort of firewall settings might be
involved (if any).

-Bill Kearney

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

wkearney99 wrote:
>> OK, a little of topic, but, when I test connection I am told it was
>>a success. Under connetion type, I have 'Network' as type of connection
>>to connect to TIVO. And this succeeds also. Now, when I connect to
>>TIVO for an update, am I connecting by phone or through Network? If
>>network, I presume this means TIVO can connect to outside through the
>>router. Still can't get photos or music (yes the sw is running and
>>files are published). I have also gone to TIVO central on the web site
>>and instructed TIVO to record a program - which it did.
>
>
> This means the Tivo is seeing the network adapter and using the link. Most
> SoHo (small office/home office) routers handle this by opening/closing port
> sessions as needed based on the inside devices making outbound requests.
> That is, the Tivo goes out and asks for data and the router handles the
> session. The only data 'incoming' is based on the outgoing request from
> your Tivo box.
>
> This is at least telling you the router and Tivo setup is configured well
> enough to let it function. So it would appear you can continue using the
> Wifi adapter on the Tivo. I generally prefer using a wired connection as
> the speed is usually better, that and it doesn't slow down the other WiFi
> devices I have running. The Tivo's already "wired" to the coax cables (in
> my case for DirecTV) and telephone lines so adding CAT5 ethernet really
> isn't that big a deal.
>
> When you speak of ports needing to be 'open' for the wireless setup, which
> port numbers? What application running on the laptop claims to need them?
> Some might well need them but in *most* situations it's not usually
> necessary to open inbound ports.
>
> Also, what router device are you using? And what sort of ISP connection
> (dsl/cable)? Some of the SoHo boxes handle the wired and wifi ports
> differently. Some put them together on one subnet, some separate the wifi
> out on it's own. That will affect what sort of firewall settings might be
> involved (if any).
>
> -Bill Kearney
>
Yeh, forgot to mention my cable modem is direct connect to the router.
Only reason I mention ports is the TIVO web site says I need certain
ports TCP 2190, UDP 2190, TCP 8080-8089) open.
THat is the way I figured. Tivo can connect to outside through the
router and signal strength and network name are OK. THe router has sent
TIVO its IP address. Everything I see works.
On TIVO web site, I have 'Transfers allowed.'
TiVO s/w is running and started. Files are listed (published) in the
TIVO sw. Everything I see tells me I should be OK. Yet when I go to
TIVO Central, select Photos and Music and select my server (to the PC or
router) I get 'Server can not be found.'

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

J Lunis wrote:

> PC (which is running Norton) connects to the router by wire. Laptop
> connects to router wirelessly. Tivo connects to router wirelessly.
> Good? Bad?

Good, as long as Norton does not interfere. It could very well be
blocking UDP broadcasts on ports that it does not recognize.

Try temporarily disabling Norton to see if that was preventing
your TiVo and PC from talking.

> If this doesn't work and I have to go the wired route from TIVO, do I
> plug the other end into the wireless router of to the PC?

To the router.
-Joe

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

J Lunis wrote:

> Only reason I mention ports is the TIVO web site says I need certain
> ports TCP 2190, UDP 2190, TCP 8080-8089) open.

Yes, those are the ports that need to be open on your PC's firewall
software. If Norton is blocking that, the changes need to be made
in Norton's configuration (not the router's configuration).

-Joe