Unique Requirements; Pricing And Support; Endorsements; Deciding On An Isp Account - Netopia R7200 User Reference Manual

2-2 User's Reference Guide

Unique requirements

Make sure the ISP can meet any unique requirements you may have, such as:
Dynamic or static IP addressing
Class C IP address
Custom domain name
Multiple e-mail addresses
Web site hosting

Pricing and support

Compare pricing, service, and technical support service among various ISPs.

Endorsements

Consider recommendations from colleagues and reviews in publications. Netopia lists Netopia Certified ISPs on
our Web site at http://www.netopia.com.

Deciding on an ISP account

Your ISP may offer various Internet access account plans. Typically, these plans vary by usage charges and the
number of host IP addresses supplied. Evaluate your networking needs and discuss them with your ISP before
deciding on a plan for your network.

Setting up a Netopia R7200 account

Check whether your ISP has the Netopia R7200 on its list of supported products that have been tested with a
particular configuration. If the ISP does not have the Netopia R7200 on such a list, describe the Netopia R7200
in as much detail as needed, so your ISP account can be optimized. As appropriate, refer your ISP to Netopia's
Web site www.netopia.com for more information.

Obtaining an IP address

Typically, each network computer that requires Internet access requires its own unique IP address. If some or
all network computers require simultaneous Internet access, obtain a block of IP host addresses large enough
for each computer to have its own address, plus one for the Netopia R7200.
Consider expected growth in your network when deciding on the number of addresses to obtain. Alternatively,
you can use the Network Address Translation feature of SmartIP.
SmartIP
The Netopia R7200 SDSL Router supports the SmartIP™ feature, which includes Network Address Translation.
Network Address Translation provides Internet access to the network connected to the Netopia R7200 using
only a single IP address. These routers translate between the internal or local area network (LAN) addresses
and a single external IP address, and route accordingly.