184 Napier Street, South Melbourne, 3205
Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Tel: 61-3-9699 8844
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HiP-400 works with Cable Modem including Telstra Big Pond Cable, ADSL, Optus Cable, PSTN and ethernet networks. Setup is extremely simple. It is so simple you can get it up and running in as little as 15 minutes! And it really works very well ! For full info, check out www.micronica.com.au/catalog.

Of course the best thing is to get one and try it for yourself ! So you can see and understand how easy it is :)

Following are notes for some specific common questions we have been asked about.


• Q: Any help or advice for Apple Mac users ? Does it work with Mac ?
  A: Yep! Here's a PDF Hint Sheet and also a Power Point Presentation on how to connect Apple Mac using Optus at Home service. Contributed by one obliging Mac user. Feel free to contribute your own Hint Sheets for everyone's benefit :)
  But basically just set the Mac to dynamic IP address network configuration and it will work just as good as an IBM PC.



• Q: What is the main IP Address of the HiP-400 Internet Sharer ?
  A: 192.168.123.254



• Q: If the "Auto-reconnect" feature is enabled what should the "Maximum Idle Timeout" be set to ?
  A: If "Auto-reconnect" is ENABLED then the "Maximum Timeout" is actually ignored completely.



• Q: Will HiP-400 work with the NEW Telstra Bigpond Cable Modem and system ?
  A: Yes. If you have any problems contact us for a firmware upgrade (1.95t-m Current). Please read the rest of this FAQ below how to get that done.
  Here is a customer testimonial that it works perfectly even with a two year old HiP-400:
  Ed, Just a quick note to let you know that I have got the Hip 400 working better than it ever has. No drop-outs all day and no issues logging on. I note that under item 7 of the real quick setup hints sheet, the username doesn't require @bigpond and I have also ticked Renew Ip forever. Dynamic DNS is disabled.
  Its the Motorola DOCSIS modem, model SB5100 (Surfboard) cable modem. It stands vertically on the desktop.
  Max S.
  23/7/04



• Q: My Big Pond Cable connection often drops out. Why ?
  A: There can be several reasons:
  - I recommend you use a Windows configuration with a Network Adapter configuration which has the most basic Windows network configuration installed. If you have already installed any login application software such as "Telstra Big Pond Cable Launchpad" then uninstall it completely first ! You no longer need it. And it actually does more harm than good. Keep it simple ! The HiP-400 does it all the logging in for you. That's one of great things about it. Setting up your broadband connection is so much easier :)
  - Remove the Launchpad Software from ALL of the computers connected through HiP-400. Otherwise you may be trying to log into Telstra Big Pond from a computer whilst HiP-400 is ALREADY logged in.
  - Make sure you use the right setting in "WAN Type". This is a classic indication if the link drops out every 5 minutes like clockwork. See the additional Hint Sheets on our Web Site.
  - Telstra heartbeat can be irregular. We believe this may happen in certain conditions in your network segment such as high traffic periods. And may therefore cause the link to drop out. Not much we can do about that.
  - Try setting WAN Type to Dynamic IP without username and password. Then run the Launchpad Software from ONE PC to do the actual logging in. And see if that helps. But this is not the preferred way to run it.
  - IMPORTANT: It appears that around the first week in May 2002 Telstra made a change to the Bigpond Cable data stream. Possibly related to that dreaded heartbeat that everyone talks about. If you are running firmware revision 1.93G-M or 1.94A you will suffer from a lot of dropout problems and even device loackups! If you have purchased your MICRONICA SOHOmate from MICRONICA then contact us for advice and firmware. Otherwise contact your own local dealer whom you purchased it from for help.



• Q: Can I share an Apple Mac printer through HiP-400 ?
  A: The HiP-400 has Ethernet ports and a parallel Centronics printer port. Mac printers generally do not accommodate Parallel Centronics. However they do often have an Ethernet connection. So just plug your Ethernet capable Mac printer into one of the sockets on the front of the HiP-400 and you're up and running. We don't provide any special print server software for Mac to use the Parallel Centronics port.



• Q: How do I make the Printserver work under Windows XP and Unix like systems ? Is there an LPR facility ?
  A: The lpr-xp.doc instructions are applicable not only to Windows XP but also to Windows 2000 and Unix-like systems such as Mac OSX etc. For Windows 7 try setting in Step D: Configure Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor|Port Settings Tab|LPR Byte Counting Enabled TICKED (Yes).



• Q: How do I make the print server port work ? I've loaded up the printer server software but I can't get the printer to work. Even though the HiP-400 Web Interface says the print server is "ready". My printer is and Epson Colour 600 and I get a spool error "Unable to open file".
  A: Two things to check for all printers:
  1) Depending on the printer model the Epson printer and also other printers may have particular signal setting requirements. Try disabling bi directional communication setting:
  Start->Settings->Printers->Stylus600->Main->Advanced->More Settings->High Speed: DISABLE
  2) In the Epson Spool Manager double click "Epson Stylus Colour 600 on PRTmate" and you will see the queue setup. Enable "Use Print Manager for this Port". See the following picture:
  



• Q: HP-710C printer. Prints under Win2k and Win95 but not Win98/ME. Any advice ?
  A: Yes. The prtmate driver can't intercept the printing job and redirect it to lpd with the newer printer driver that comes with Win98/ME. The old HP-710C drivers for win95 and also Win2k don't have this symptom. So if you have a HP Deskjet 710c/712c/720c/722 series printer you need to uninstall the latest 10.3 Win98 drivers and install the older Win95 Ver 10.1 driver. If you don't have it try the driver at ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/printers/software/dj156en.exe It should work with the prtmate printserver driver.
  Note: DISABLE "Bidirectional Printing" in the Windows 98 print spooler if you have a problem printing, as follows. Go to Start/Settings/Printers. Select your printer, right click the mouse, then click properties, details, spool settings, DISABLE Bidirectional Support for your printer.



• Q: Can I use HiP-400 with an ISDN Modem instead of PSTN modem or Broadband WAN connection ?
  A: Yes. All you need is a suitable ISDN Modem and Internet Service Provider who supports ISDN. HiP-400 detects CHAP protocol automatically. If you need an ISDN Modem we can even provide that. See our "The BIG Price List" on our web site at http://micronica.com.au/catalog. It even works with Telstra NT1+2 ISDN TA Terminal Adapter Modem



• Q: I can't seem to dial out and connect to my ISP using a normal PSTN modem and a phone line. Any special modem settings ?
  A: Not really. The HiP-400 is modem independant in terms of brands and models. Your choice of modem is your own responsibility. But just set up your modem paramaters in yor modem correctly and all will work. If you want to avoid modem problems we can supply HiP-400 AND a modem as a package, pretested and even preconfigured for your needs. Check out micronica.com.au/catalog/modems for our famous "Micronica Jumbuck 56K" modem. If you already have a modem contact your dealer/ modem supplier. But as a suggestion try the following "fairly safe" modem settings:
  - atz (Reset to start up defaults)
  - at&f0 (Restore to factory default profile 0)
  - atx0 (Ignore dial tone)
  - at&w0 (Write into active profile 0)
  - atz (Reset to start up defaults)
  NOTE: This is just a suggestion. Get a technically proficient dealer/consultant for advice before changing ANY settings in your modem !



• Q: I can't seem to make "Extra Settings" for my PSTN modem work.
  A: I recommend you program the settings into your MODEM not the HiP-400. But if you do want to use extra initialisation settings then don't forget to include the "AT" at the start of the string! HiP-400 simply forwards whatever you put in. As it should.



• Q: Using PSTN my modem dials my ISP but after a few seconds or one burst of ring tone it hangs up and just drops out. Any suggestion ?
  A: Try setting the serial port speed to 57600 Baud. Some modems may not like the default speed.



• Q: Can you help me cure line dropouts with my PSTN modem ?
  A: That's beyond our responsibility of course. But here's a suggestion. Try locking the modem speed down a bit. I would recommend locking it down to V34 33.4K. But if you want to try some higher speed try initialisation string such as AT+ms=,,,40000. Some modems may AT+ms,,,,,40000. Locks it down to about 40kbps. Ask your modem supplier if in doubt.



• Q: How do I get more UTP ports such as 16 ports for my larger network ?
  A: We can provide you a suitable expansion hub and the necessary crossover connection cable to provide more ports if you don't know where to get one or just want an easy, simple, pretested expansion solution which we know works :)
  Call us for pricing.



• Q: I am using Sonic Firewall pro and Safenet SoftRemote VPN Client for IPSEC. I don't know how to make it work. Any advice ?
  A: That's really the responsibility of the individual. But as a suggestion:
  - try turning DMZ on for the IP address of the workstation.
  - try opening port 500 for the IP address of the workstation.



• Q: Any advice you can give me about multiple VPN connections ?
  A: Here is some advice that may be of interest. If in doubt, seek advice from your own local network administrator familiar with your system. It depends on what kind of VPN /software you use and if you want to locate multiple VPN clients or servers on local LAN ? The VPN we support is described below. So please consider:
  1.What kind VPN, 2.Software, 3.Initial End(client) or Responser End(server).
  1. IPSec VPN:
  If the VPN server is on the WAN side, it is not necessary to configure anything. The router handles it automatically. If the VPN server is on the LAN side, you have to configure port 500 as virtual server to the PC that runs VPN server. Note 1: they are two types of IPSec: tunnel mode and transport mode. Only tunnel mode can work with NAT routers. Note 2: HiP-400 can support up to 16 IPsec sessions at the same time. However, some configuration of VPN server or clients cannot allow multiple sessions. Sometimes only one IPsec session can work. Note 3: If the VPN server is on the WAN side and you have problems to connect or keep connection to the VPN server, please try to configure port 500 as virtual server to the PC that runs VPN software.
  2. PPTP:
  If the VPN server is on the WAN side, it is not necessary to configure anything. The router handles it automatically. If the VPN server is on the LAN side, you have to configure port 1723 as virtual server to the PC that runs VPN server. Note 1: HiP-400 can support up to 8 PPTP sessions at the same time.



• Q: Can HiP-400 work with Cisco Systems VPN client software ?
  A: Clearly that depends on the version and revision of their software. And the particular features they offer. So it is best to ask Cisco for help with their software. However from our experience the HiP-400 ipsec passthrough feature will work with the Cisco ipsec client. HiP-400 should work with any ipsec client which supports ipsec NAT traversal feature.
  For the IPsec server side please discuss with your local network support expert and your software provider.



• Q: I have some special software configurations which i need to tailor HiP-400 for so that the traffic will pass through it. Can I get help with firewall and other configuration requirements ?
  A: That's really the responsibility of the individual. But we can help you with special individual user requirments and software configurations if you don't have your own technical support consultant. For our standard service and advice rates to meet individual special needs by email or phone see micronica.com.au/service.



• Q: What are some typical standard HiP-400 service charges ?
  A: The actual failure rate of HiP-400 is actually extremely low. Main source of problems are site dependant or user induced and circumstances beyond our control. Firmware upgrades for evolving communication protocols etc. are obvioulsy not covered by hardware warranty. Typical service charges are $120/hour+gst or as follows:
  - Firmware upgrade of currently working unit $50+gst
  - Reflashing of user induced corrupted firmware where possible $90+gst
  - Clearing of user modified parameters or parameter corruption $120+gst
  - Replacement of complete PCB, Parts and Labour with 3 months warranty $265+gst
  - Return delivery $10+gst Melbourne metro or $17+gst Australia wide.
  Please see micronica.com.au/order for payment options.
  

Where can you buy one ? It's quick and easy !

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