Using the Versalink 327W Modem/Router with a cable modem

TomD · 03-30-2006, 06:10 AM

As a new member, I think I posted this in the wrong forum. Hopefully tjis is the right one!

I had Verizon DSl for about 3 months, at which time I was disqualified, because I was 2000 feet too far. As a result, I had to get Comcast Broadband, which comes with a Motorola cable modem, but no router.

Since I have the VersaLink 327W Modem/Router, I thought I would try using just the router portion. Since it’s not a plug and play device, one needs to know how to set it up properly, and so far I’ve been unsuccessful. Unfortunately Westell will not support it, even though they admit that it can be used that way, because it’s made exclusively for, and supported by phone companies. But, Verizon only knows how to use it with DSL.

I tried following a number of suggestions, including several on this site, to no avail. One of the big problems is that the menus mentioned, are all different, and none seem to be the same as mine. For example, some say don’t use just Bridged, which is the only thing on mine, but rather Routed Bridge, which I can’t find. Also, they don’t mention any options except PPPoE, which has nothing except a pulldown menu with Active/Inactive on it.

Mine has several options with pull down menus by them, which looks something like this:

pulldown PPPoE
pulldown Bridge 41
pulldown Bridge 40
pulldown Bridge 39
pulldown Bridge 38
pulldown Bridge 37
pulldown Bridge 36

All of the pulldown options are Active/Inactive. Also, every time I change one, it updates the memory, which takes about 2 minutes.

Can anybody help me with this?

johnwill · 03-30-2006, 01:03 PM

The only input to the WAN side of that router is the DSL line, so you'll need to pick up another router to do this trick. I'm having a difficult time with the concept of it being usable that way, other DSL modem/router units can't be used in that manner.

TomD · 03-30-2006, 02:00 PM

John,

Thanks for the reply.

Westell assures me that it can be used that way, but they can't help me as it's a proprietory item that is supported by the phone companies.

Here's something that they pointed me to, on "www.dslreports.com", but I must still be doing something wrong, as it doesn't work.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13756566

I've already joined several forums trying to get help, and I didn't want to join another, but I may have to.

If you understand something fro this site that's going over my head, I sure would appreciate the help.

The important text from that site is as follows:

==================================================
Thread:
Use Versalink 327W with cable modem

I am temporarily at a house that has a cable modem that is working fine and has a ethernet connection out of a cat-5 cable. I want to hook it up to the Versalink and use the Versalink as a wireless router only (i.e., no DSL modem).

I have tried to Enable ETHERNET PORT 1 and then use the advanced WAN features to create a bridge (as noted in the user guide at 12.6.5 "Configuring VersaLink’s Protocol Settings for Bridge Mode"). Maybe this is the wrong way to go.

Anyone know how to make this work?

reply by author:

Well, I figured it out. The key was to reset the cable modem and then the 327W after setting everything up.

In case anyone wants to know, here are the steps:

1. Go to Configuration --> Advanced WAN --> WAN
2. Change WAN port from DSL ATM to ETHERNET PORT 1
3. Make sure that it is set up as a Routed Bridge
4. Once modem resets, select WAN again from the Advanced WAN menu
5. Click the "Edit" button
6. Change the DHCP to enabled
7. Save your changes
8. Turn off both cable and dsl modem
9. Turn on cable modem first, then dsl modem after a couple of seconds.
10. You should be all set.

Hope this helps.

Note, I only get Bridged not Routed Bridge.

johnwill · 03-30-2006, 04:02 PM

Well, since it's news to me that you can do that, I probably won't be of much help!

I see that he managed to get it running. Did you try resetting it to factory defaults before starting on the configuration? One change I'd make, wait to turn it on until the cable modem establishes sync with the ISP.

TomD · 03-31-2006, 03:13 PM

John,

The suggestion above works, but not as smoothly as he suggests. After doing everything, the system couldn't still couldn't make a conection, but it asked me if I want it to try to fix the problem, to which I said yes. At that point evrything seemed to go into a stuper and nothing happened. So, I closed the Internet Explorer, restarted it, and there it was as pretty as could be. So now we know that it can be used as strictly a router. The acid test will be when I try my new laptop which has a Wi-Fi adapter. If that works, we're home free. I'll let you know

TomD

PS, thanks again, and thank god for these forums, they're worth their weight in gold.

johnwill · 04-01-2006, 01:01 PM

Well, I'm not sure how much help we were this time, perhaps moral support.

Glad to see it works, I can't imagine why the wireless wouldn't work, since that is indeed on the LAN side of the router, and you've already gotten past that issue.

energizer420 · 03-11-2008, 10:23 AM

hey guys just passen through trying to figure out how to do just this, thank you so much for putting your info up for all to read it. just wanted to give thanks. so thanks haha.

03-30-2006, 06:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
TomD Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Using the Versalink 327W Modem/Router with a cable modem As a new member, I think I posted this in the wrong forum. Hopefully tjis is the right one! I had Verizon DSl for about 3 months, at which time I was disqualified, because I was 2000 feet too far. As a result, I had to get Comcast Broadband, which comes with a Motorola cable modem, but no router. Since I have the VersaLink 327W Modem/Router, I thought I would try using just the router portion. Since it’s not a plug and play device, one needs to know how to set it up properly, and so far I’ve been unsuccessful. Unfortunately Westell will not support it, even though they admit that it can be used that way, because it’s made exclusively for, and supported by phone companies. But, Verizon only knows how to use it with DSL. I tried following a number of suggestions, including several on this site, to no avail. One of the big problems is that the menus mentioned, are all different, and none seem to be the same as mine. For example, some say don’t use just Bridged, which is the only thing on mine, but rather Routed Bridge, which I can’t find. Also, they don’t mention any options except PPPoE, which has nothing except a pulldown menu with Active/Inactive on it. Mine has several options with pull down menus by them, which looks something like this: pulldown PPPoE pulldown Bridge 41 pulldown Bridge 40 pulldown Bridge 39 pulldown Bridge 38 pulldown Bridge 37 pulldown Bridge 36 All of the pulldown options are Active/Inactive. Also, every time I change one, it updates the memory, which takes about 2 minutes. Can anybody help me with this?

03-30-2006, 01:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 39,772 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Windows 7, Linux Blog Entries: 1	The only input to the WAN side of that router is the DSL line, so you'll need to pick up another router to do this trick. I'm having a difficult time with the concept of it being usable that way, other DSL modem/router units can't be used in that manner. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

03-30-2006, 02:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
TomD Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Using the Versalink 327W Modem/Router with a cable modem John, Thanks for the reply. Westell assures me that it can be used that way, but they can't help me as it's a proprietory item that is supported by the phone companies. Here's something that they pointed me to, on "www.dslreports.com", but I must still be doing something wrong, as it doesn't work. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13756566 I've already joined several forums trying to get help, and I didn't want to join another, but I may have to. If you understand something fro this site that's going over my head, I sure would appreciate the help. The important text from that site is as follows: ================================================== Thread: Use Versalink 327W with cable modem I am temporarily at a house that has a cable modem that is working fine and has a ethernet connection out of a cat-5 cable. I want to hook it up to the Versalink and use the Versalink as a wireless router only (i.e., no DSL modem). I have tried to Enable ETHERNET PORT 1 and then use the advanced WAN features to create a bridge (as noted in the user guide at 12.6.5 "Configuring VersaLink’s Protocol Settings for Bridge Mode"). Maybe this is the wrong way to go. Anyone know how to make this work? reply by author: Well, I figured it out. The key was to reset the cable modem and then the 327W after setting everything up. In case anyone wants to know, here are the steps: 1. Go to Configuration --> Advanced WAN --> WAN 2. Change WAN port from DSL ATM to ETHERNET PORT 1 3. Make sure that it is set up as a Routed Bridge 4. Once modem resets, select WAN again from the Advanced WAN menu 5. Click the "Edit" button 6. Change the DHCP to enabled 7. Save your changes 8. Turn off both cable and dsl modem 9. Turn on cable modem first, then dsl modem after a couple of seconds. 10. You should be all set. Hope this helps. Note, I only get Bridged not Routed Bridge.

03-30-2006, 04:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 39,772 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Windows 7, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Well, since it's news to me that you can do that, I probably won't be of much help! I see that he managed to get it running. Did you try resetting it to factory defaults before starting on the configuration? One change I'd make, wait to turn it on until the cable modem establishes sync with the ISP. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

03-31-2006, 03:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
TomD Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5 OS: XP	John, The suggestion above works, but not as smoothly as he suggests. After doing everything, the system couldn't still couldn't make a conection, but it asked me if I want it to try to fix the problem, to which I said yes. At that point evrything seemed to go into a stuper and nothing happened. So, I closed the Internet Explorer, restarted it, and there it was as pretty as could be. So now we know that it can be used as strictly a router. The acid test will be when I try my new laptop which has a Wi-Fi adapter. If that works, we're home free. I'll let you know TomD PS, thanks again, and thank god for these forums, they're worth their weight in gold. Last edited by TomD; 03-31-2006 at 03:16 PM.

04-01-2006, 01:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 39,772 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Windows 7, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Well, I'm not sure how much help we were this time, perhaps moral support. Glad to see it works, I can't imagine why the wireless wouldn't work, since that is indeed on the LAN side of the router, and you've already gotten past that issue. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

03-11-2008, 10:23 AM	#7 (permalink)
energizer420 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1 OS: windows xp media center ed.	Re: Using the Versalink 327W Modem/Router with a cable modem hey guys just passen through trying to figure out how to do just this, thank you so much for putting your info up for all to read it. just wanted to give thanks. so thanks haha.