[lug] wireless router settings (and a network question)

[Davide Del Vento]

Folks,
This morning I woke up with the cry of my 6-months daughter (as usual,
from 6 months ago), I handed the baby to the mom for the breastfeeding
and went to the kitchen for cooking the breakfast. I turned the laptop
on and it wasn't able to connect to the wireless, for some unknown
reason.
Since I'm an idiot (or maybe I was still sleeping) instead of trying
to understand what wasn't wrong, I just went in the laundry and pushed
the f****** reset button on the wireless router. Please note that the
"internet" led on the router was green, i.e. it was correctly
connected.

After the reset, of course, I'm not able to have it connect the router
to the internet (via the modem) anymore. I remember that when I first
connected it, I had to tweak something to have it working, but of
course I do not remember what :-(
And, even worst, I didn't write a note, and I didn't save a
"configuration file" which today I discovered I could have done.
Note that if I connect the laptop directly to the modem, I'm perfectly
online (but I have a short ethernet cable and the modem is in the
laundry, but this is another story :-)

Now, before you think that I'm an idiot and stop reading, the network
question: why the wireless router needs all this setting, whereas my
laptop (ubuntu 8.04) "just works" when I hook them to the ethernet
port of the cable modem? Can't the wireless router figure out itself
the DHCP, MTU and the likes? It surely has lot of software inside,
including a web server... so why?

Now, the help question, has anybody any suggestion for the router
setting for the hardware I mention below? Maybe even the setting file
I did not save? If not, is there any way to find the "autodetect
settings" for the wired network on Ubuntu and use them into the
wireless Router? I think it is DHCP and ifconfig reports MTU=1500 but
this does not work (I'm almost sure I had to lower this value when I
first install the router)

Cable Modem: ARRIS Model TM502G/CT (provided by Comcast)
Wireless Router D-link 802.11n DIR615

Last, and probably least, I found a "automatic firmware update" option
in the router (self-hosted web interface). Do you suggest to keep it
on (default) or to turn it off?

Bottom line: if you haven't already, check in the web interface of
your router if you can save the configuration, and if so, let you do
it, burn it on a disk and place it in the router box (or close to the
router itself). You might wake up one morning and reset your router
without (almost) any reason...

Thanks,
;Davide