The Westell 2100/2200/6100s supplied by BellSouth are also routers. This eliminates the need for another external router or the BellSouth Home Networking service in order to network your computer(s) and Microsoft XBox. Using a hub or switch with the Westell enables an inexpensive way to share the connection that is easy to set up and very reliable.

Section 1 - General Information
• Most people recommend a switch instead of a hub because they are about the same price and switches are more efficient than hubs because they eliminate packet collisions. Please reference this FAQ for guidelines on which is right for your needs.
• Many new hubs and switches are auto-sensing and do not use a dedicated Uplink port. Simply plug the cable into any port and the equipment will sense that it as an uplink.
• Some Hubs and switches require a crossover cable between the Westell and the Uplink port.
• All PC NICs should all be set to "Obtain IP Address Automatically" and no proxy server should be set. Please reference this FAQ. Any changes to the NIC properties may require you to reboot the computer.
• It is highly recommended that you press the reset button while powered on to put the modem back to factory default before proceeding.

Section 2 - Physical Connections & Configuration
Step 1
Power off all equipment. Physically connect the Westell, the hub or switch, XBox, and any computer(s) as shown.


Westell 2100 shown. Pictures by Andy Houtz

Step 2
Power up the Westell, the hub or switch, XBox, and all PCs. Open a browser session on a PC and access the Westell Interface by entering "192.168.1.254" or "launchmodem" in the address field. If you are unable to access the interface check the NIC properties as mentioned earlier.



Step 3
Enter your BellSouth Username using the username@bellsouth.net format and then enter your password. Confirm your password. Click the Connect button to connect to the Internet. You're done!



Additional Recommendations
By default the Westell modem is set to "Connect on demand" and will disconnect after a certain period of inactivity. Many people change their modem connection to "Always On" to insure that the connection will be immediately reinitiated if it goes down for any reason.

Andy Houtz