If you connect a non-networking (stand-alone) computer directly to a DTR with a cross-over cable, the easiest solution is to check the computer’s network settings and conform the DTR’s settings to it.
| If the DTR is in a factory network, contact the system admin on how to connect to the DTR. The stand-alone method may not be the best one in this kind of case. |
If you are using Windows (or Mac OS X 10.3 or newer or any recent Linux distribution) and the computer has the default network settings, change the DTR IP address to 169.254.x.y, where x=1–254 and y=1–254, for example 169.254.100.100 or 169.254.123.1. This way the DTR address is suitably paired with the address that your computer automatically generates for itself.
If in doubt, you can access your Windows computer’s network settings by opening the command window (command prompt) and by typing the command ipconfig at the command prompt (press Enter to give the command), see following figure (in Mac OS X and Linux the same command is called ifconfig). The result is your computer’s IP address, so you can change the DTR to match. The connection should always work if you match the first three groups of numbers and just change the last number.
| You may have to connect the cross-over cable and power on the DTR before your computer generates an IP address for the Ethernet connection (computer reboot may also be required). The connection does not work if the computer and the DTR have exactly the same IP address. |
| Please make sure that your WLAN (Wireless network connection) is not active when you connect to the DTR. If the WLAN is active, the computer’s Ethernet connection may not function as expected. |
When you have set the DTR (and/or the computer), you can proceed to testing the connection, see Testing Ethernet connection.