Programmable Router for home use?

[bemuzeduk]

Hi Guys,

I wonder if you could advise please?

I have a teenage son who is forever locked in his bedroom playing Xbox live, connected via CAT5 cable to my Router.

It is a battle every night to get him to stop, and I was wondering if there are any home routers that would allow me to program in times when an IP address is on, and when its off?

Am I just dreaming, or are there such devices available?

Obviously for home use it needs to be a sensible budget.

All suggestions appreciated.

[eyeb]

most routers do this...
One's I've done this on are linksys routers

You could just pull the plug out each night :S otherwise he'll go into settings and change it himself unless you password protect it. In which case he might reset router to bypass password.

[Jojoyee]

Originally Posted by eyeb

You could just pull the plug out each night :S otherwise he'll go into settings and change it himself unless you password protect it. In which case he might reset router to bypass password.

Or can he plug it back

[bemuzeduk]

thanks Eyeb, which Linksys router do you use? I shall have a look.

I need to isolate specific IP addresses rather than Ports on the router, as there are more than one PC on that cable.

[Ritho]

Like eyeb said, most routers have a way to do this. I haven't run across one that doesn't in fact. Some actually have a category called "Access Restriction" other routers may simply call it something like, "IP Address Filtering." Once you find the options there should be a way to set a time frame to allow/deny access to an IP of your choosing.

Also as was already mentioned you do need to make sure you have your admin password set to control access to the router.

If you need more help please let us know which router you have. Brand & Model.

[BezantSoft]

Originally Posted by bemuzeduk

o o o I have a teenage son who is forever locked in his bedroom playing Xbox live, connected via CAT5 cable to my Router.

I can resemble this, and can offer some real-world advice based on my own experience as the Home CSO.

It is a battle every night to get him to stop, and I was wondering if there are any home routers that would allow me to program in times when an IP address is on, and when its off?

• Most good home routers will offer access restrictions of some sort. It may include by time, by day, by mac address, by IP address. This kind of restriction can come in with the OOB installation.
• For finer grain control, one of the router aftermarket open source firmware packages can offer more options, including QOS rate limiting (e.g. Xbox gaming protocol limits.)
• The other thing that some of the OOB firmwares and definitely the after-market firmwares offer is DDNS. With OpenDNS (a high recommendation here) or DynDNS and their ilk, you can filter categories.

Am I just dreaming, or are there such devices available?

Some the brands that offer the firmware option (to give you the most flexibility) would include Linksys, Buffalo, ASUS, D-Link, Allnet, Belkin, Microsoft, Motorola, Ravo, Siemens. I'm sure there are others.

Obviously for home use it needs to be a sensible budget. All suggestions appreciated.

I got my top of the line Linksys E3000 Gigabit, Simultaneous Dual Band A,B,G,N Storage router locally about a year ago for about $150. I'm running TomatoUSB firmware on it. Well worth it for my complex SOHO net setup.
Cheaper, less capable routers are available. The one thing to do is to let your search engine and forums like this one be the guide, before you go to the store or shop online.
Lastly, a home network management package like Network Magic can offer another layer of protection for you.
/s/ Bezantsoft

[Ritho]

I got my top of the line Linksys E3000 Gigabit, Simultaneous Dual Band A,B,G,N Storage router locally about a year ago for about $150. I'm running TomatoUSB firmware on it. Well worth it for my complex SOHO net setup.
Cheaper, less capable routers are available. The one thing to do is to let your search engine and forums like this one be the guide, before you go to the store or shop online.
Lastly, a home network management package like Network Magic can offer another layer of protection for you.

I paid about $30 dollars for my TP-link and it does most of what BezantSoft mentions above. I don't know about things like QOS rate limiting, but overall it has a lot of options. So no need to break the bank. Just do a little research. I don't care much for Belkin but that is only based on having trouble with one before. I like D-Link and Linksys. Have not had any experience with the others.

[bemuzeduk]

thanks Guys, now I know its possible, I shall use the time over christmas to:

a) see if its possible with my current Router
b) buy an alternative

thanks again

[MidnightCowboy]

This week I bought a D-Link wireless DI-524 for 80 Reais which I understand is now discontinued in the real world but still widely used here in Brazil and was recommended by my tech

This I know for certain has this feature. Some software firewalls also offer this function which would enable control independently of the router settings.

[eyeb]

i dont think xbox can be installed with software firewalls though :S