Network Help - Blank Default Gateway

Hello

My friend is trying to hook up a coffee roasting machine to a network the machine is a "Probatone 5" it has it's own ethernet port on the back so you can hook it to a PC and run some software to get analysis from it etc.

He said that he used to run the software via his internet connection but due to the frequent IP address changes it was forever disconnecting and he had to set it up again each time. He was told by the manufacturer that he would be best off running it on a closed network via a router and they recommended a Netgear N300 as the best router that worked with their system.

I tried to setup up the above router / network for him connecting it to the laptop via Lan port 1 and then the roaster to Lan port 2. (No internet in)

The manual of the roaster says to connect with their software you need the roaster name or IP - We have the roaster name on the manufacturer's label but it didn't work, the manual said if the roaster name did not work (which it doesn't with all router setups) then try the roaster IP address... The manual suggests obtaining this from the router configuration page (looking under connected devices...)

The router itself doesn't have an IP address on the back or in the manual you have to access the settings via www.routerlogin.net which does not appear to work offline annoyingly. I know you can normally get the IP from an IP config but this does not work and I have tried all the standard ones such as 192.168.0.1 etc

The LAN is showing on the laptop as an unidentified network.

If I do an IP Config the default gateway is BLANK this is happening on 2 different laptops.

The IP address appears to be an Apipa address which is presumably something to with a closed network?

IPV4 is set to automatically obtain assign an IP address etc

The roaster does not show up as a device under "Network" if I could get into the router I could try and get the IP address but I cannot even get into the router config.

My question is the default gateway being blank is this normal because I am not connected to the internet? or should the router still allocated an IP even when offline? My understanding was if a router was connected to network then whether online or offline you should still be able to get into router setup etc?

Am I being completely stupid having never setup a closed network in my life???

Thanks in advance

 

Ummm, no. You connect the coffee roasting machine to your network via that Ethernet port, not to a PC. So you should run an Ethernet cable from the roasting machine to a spare Ethernet port on your router or nearby Ethernet switch. Then you should be able to access the machine as a network device via any PC or laptop that is also on that network.

Something is not right then. Why are you "offline"? Note it has nothing to do with Internet access. This is just about your "local" network. Why doesn't ipconfig work?

 

Sorry yes obviously I didn't explain that part very well I wasn't connecting it directly to the laptop I was going via the router

Exactly I just can't understand it but thought I was doing something wrong, this is tested with both Windows 7 and Windows 10 on 2 separate laptops. I can run IP Config but the default gateway is blank on both machines so it must be something to do with the router? I tried a factory reset of the router too and made no difference

Thanks for your reply

 

According to the manual of that Netgear N300, the default IP address to access its menu is 192.168.1.1 and you should be able to enter that in your browser address bar, then enter the Router's admin menu. The factory default login name is admin and the password is password.

 

Thanks but I tried to no avail, it just would not load. Very bizarre tried power cycling and release / renew I think it is possibly something wrong with the router

 

I found this.... But I don't know if this is the problem because it also happened on Windows 10 and it is set to obtain IP address automatically

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2555789

 

Can you access the Internet? Can the PC see the laptop? It is starting to sound like the router is having problems.

 

The laptop can connect to the internet using another router over Wifi but that router is in a different location so we can't test it for the network with the roaster (The roaster is bigger than me so can't move that either....) but point being the laptop will def 100% connect to the internet.

It does seem specific to the netgear router.

As a last resort I will try running this to see if it fixes any driver errors / winsock errors:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/netadapter-repair-all-in-one/

If it still doesn't work he is off to get a new router! Thanks

 

But not through the router the roaster is connected to.

Most network adapters today are autosensing to set if connected normally to an Ethernet connection. But maybe the roaster's (or notebook's) isn't. So in that case, to connect via Ethernet directly to the roaster with the notebook, you may need a crossover cable.

 

Well that sounds very promising!! We were using just normal ethernet cables I didn't even know about these bad boys... So...

We had the Netgear Router with an ethernet cable going from LAN port 1 to LAPTOP then a separate ethernet cable going from LAN port 2 to the roaster, would we need to replace both these ethernet cables with crossover cables?

Thanks

 

Or are you saying a crossover cable would cut out the need for a router entirely to make a direct connection?

 

Right. Crossover cables are to connect computer to computer (or in this case [hopefully] computer to roaster). When connecting to a router (a working router that is) you use normal Ethernet cables.

And just for the record, when connecting to a router, you really are connecting to the 4-port Ethernet switch that is integrated in the router. A router technically only have 2 inputs and is used to connect (or isolate) two network. In most cases, that means the home/office LAN is one network and on the other side is the Internet (through a gateway device - typically a modem).

 

If you're going to use a crossover you need to static the IPs on both devices.
Is the router new from a box? If not reset it to factory.
Most of the time the router will be in the same address range it is handing out. 192.168.1.X, try 1 & 200.

 

Oop! Good point. I forgot to mention that. It has been so long since I've used one.

 

Thanks so much and sorry just one final question how do I assign static IP addresses in particular for the roaster if it doesn't appear under network?

 

Hmmm, there's a Catch 22, huh? Does the roaster have its own front panel menu system?

 

Of course not! That would make life far too easy! Haha! It has a very very basic menu but no network options the manual says that the software you install on a PC will detect over network from roaster name (didn't work) or failing that it's ip address that they recommend you get from the router config page... That I can't access.. Nightmare! We are going to try a different router though

 

Well I'm saying the roaster doesn’t appear under network but that might have been down to the router setup? Does a crossover cable identify devices on a network that you can then assign an IP to via PC?

 

There's the rub. You don't use crossover cables on a network.

I think you are stuck running a very long Ethernet cable to that other working router that's in another location, or getting a different router.

There is another option and that is an Ethernet to Wireless adapter - sometimes called a wireless bridge like this. I have never used one so I cannot attest to how well they work. But since this one claims to support video streaming, it seems sending command to a roaster should be no problem - assuming the range between the roaster and your wireless access is not too far.

 

Still never answered if the router was "new" or previously configured.
So the laptop/PC plugged in to the router gets an IP? Open a CMD prompt and ping that address with a .255 in the last octet.
ie ping 192.168.0.255 , then type arp -a and see if there are any other devices on the network.

According to the simulator the default IP is 192.168.0.1. If you could get into the router under Maintenance is Attached Devices

 

Simulator? Huh? What simulator?

Note he said above he has a NetgearN300 and as I noted in Post #4 above,

 

Via the arp command one should be able to get mac address from the coffee machine and add a mac to ip reservation on the router. Just my thoughts. Just to be safe (mac = media access control....a unique hex address for each nic) From cmd, you can use getmac to find your mac addy.

Just a thought, the router probably already knows the mac of the coffee machine.

And, before I posted, I was thinking, whoo, network integrated coffee machine, I want one!! Then I saw it, and nope nope nope.

 

Except he cannot see the coffee roaster via the network. That said, all networked devices are supposed to have a sticker on them with the MAC address. But again, not sure that will help here.

Mr Coffee has a WeMo enabled maker - but it is still $110.

 

Just wanted to report back that I finally solved this. The Netgear router was brand new out the box still had the plastic wrapper on the router. I tried it on multiple PCs and Networks and could never get it to optain an IP only the temporary IP 169.254.x.x - and it always connected with limited access. I found this on the Netgear support site:

Symptoms:

• Getting an IP address of 169.254.x.x
• Limited or no connectivity notification

Solutions:

1. Make sure access point or the router is configured and powered on.
   Related articles: Router and adapter installation
2. Make sure network adapter is enabled.
3. Release and renew IP address on the network adapter:
   1. Click Start > Run > type cmd and click OK
   2. On the command prompt, type ipconfig/release and press Enter
   3. On the next command prompt, type ipconfig/renew and press Enter
   4. Check if your computer obtains an proper IP address other than 169.254.x.x or 0.0.0.0
4. If the problem continues, Power cycle router and computer:
   1. Turn off the computer and turn off router
   2. Turn on router and turn on computer
5. Make sure you have entered the correct security key when connecting to a secured wireless network.
   Tip: Disable the security on the AP/router and try connecting again.

HOWEVER much to my dismay NONE of this worked and it was the same story. We even tried another Netgear router and it was the same story!!! Yet a borrowed router that was a less known brand worked perfectly with the roaster!!!

In the end in a last ditch attempt I factory reset the router with a pin and it worked perfectly!! I must have setup about 20 routers in my life and never had to do a factory reset straight out the box!!! FFS! - Should have tried this first thing! No where in their manuals or guides do they say to try this when istalling, just power cycling if there are any problems!

I am wondering why a brand new router would need a factory reset if it's issued straight from factory? I suspect it might have been a repackaged return! Never in my life have I had this issue with any other router! You live and learn!

 

I doubt it was a repackaged return. Netgear is a reputable company. Of course that does guarantee anything (re: Volkswagen) but it is just not in Netgear's best interest to rip their customers off.

My "guess" is the last update they applied at the factory before the packaging was sealed didn't complete properly. And since quality checks are only done on small samples and not every single unit, this one slipped by and you just happened to be the lucky winner who got it!

I am glad you got it sorted out and thanks for coming back and posting your solution.