Hi all. I am a software engineer, so not totally clueless, but i have got my head a bit fuzzled here. Scenario. University supplies one network socket. The uni net work requires your mac address to register, but after that, IP allocation is done by DHCP. We are allowed one IP. So, i want to set up a wireless subent in my room. I have two wireless enabled laptops. and a Dell 1170 truemobile base station (not access point - different model - dell stupidly called them the same number) The WAN port on the base station can obtain its IP by DHCP, but the LAN port cannot. Does this mean that basically i cannot use this base station under these circumstances, or can I put a patch from the wall socket into the WAN port? What is the difference between the WAN port and the LAN port physically, is the WAN an uplink?? Any help would be grately appreciated. I basically need to be able to connect a Wireless router to a university network that supplies IP by DHCP. doesnt sound too complex does it!! Cheers for the help in advance. Paul

What your asking is actually very simple. You will need to hookup the network socket from your wall into the WAN port. Your base station acts as a wireless router. The WAN port is like a NIC interface, it wants a physical connection and logical address. The LAN port is part of a switch or hub, all it will do is pass along the information is recieves. WAN ports are physical interfaces that move information through themselves, whereas the LAN ports are logical. LAN ports will pass information to other interfaces until the information finds it's way home. If that confused you, just use a patch cable (or straight-through, same thing) to plug your wall socket to your WAN port. Then you should have connectivity on all computer, but your IT dept will only see the one port.

Paul591 you might want to review your units documentation here. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/comm/1h824/enu/intro/index.htm according to this your unit can be a dhcp server to your wired and wireless clients. This is what you are talking about concerning "The WAN port on the base station can obtain its IP by DHCP, but the LAN port cannot" Golly gee wilerkers everyone! Learn to Internet Search