Steve Discher's Blog

Each week ISP Supplies posts new blog content accross a variety of categories.
Browse our latest posts below or use search to find specific topic.

Network Equipment Explained

Learn all about network equipment, including routers, switches, hubs, modems, and more. Discover their functions and how they work together[...]

The Difference Between a WiFi Router and a WiFi Modem

A WiFi modem and a WiFi router are separate devices with different purposes in a home network. While a WiFi modem connects your house to your internet service provider, a WiFi router enables several devices to connect to the internet using the same modem.[...]

How to save a Quote and purchase from a saved Quote on ISPSupplies.com

Have you ever needed a formal quote in a hurry? Maybe your boss was working on financing a project or you were trying to meet a deadline. At ISP Supplies, one thing that sets our company apart is our tireless […]

What’s the Right tower for the job?

Customers often ask what tower should I use for a project? Well, there are a few variables you should consider before making this decision. One of the most important decisions you need to make before you by a tower is […]

THE SECRET POWER OF REFUSING A SHIPMENT

Let’s recall a classic horror story. A delivery truck rolls into your business’ parking lot. You’ve been waiting to get these products out on worksites, so you and a couple of employees meet the truck at your receiving area. As […]

MikroTik Firewall Introduction Webinar

Introduction to building firewalls to protect your Mikrotik RouterOS device. One of the many key modules covered in the Mikrotik MTCNA + MTCRE Certification Training Course.

Why Your Dual Band CAPsMAN Setup Doesn't Work

BONUS: CAPsMAN HowTo With the Least Number of Steps! CAPsMAN is MikroTik’s centralized management system for WiFi AP’s. While not as sexy as some other out there, it has some unique features and a fairly robust interface that makes it […]

What is SIP ALG and should it be on or off?

SIP ALG stands for Application Layer Gateway. You will find it on many commercial and residential Firewalls, Routers, or Modems. It is a NAT tool that inspects SIP Messages and transforms the Private IP addresses and Ports to Public IP Addresses and Ports.

PCI Planning

PCI planning is one of the most important things to understand while planning an LTE Network and it is usually left untouched in most of the LTE manuals and text-books. As already explained, the PCI is decoded using the SSS and the PSS and can be given by the following equation

Baicells CBRS Quick Setup Guide

The Baicells CBRS Domain Proxy setup is a bit arcane so we have determined the best method for easily adding your ENB to your CBRS SAS account.

Samaritans Purse

My blogs have always been technical in nature. I see challenges faced by our customers and try to solve them using the products and technologies I know through my experience. This one is going to be very different! For several … Continue reading

Finding an IP address with Wireshark using ARP requests

Can’t remember a device’s IP Address? Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests can be used by Wireshark to get the IP address of an unknown host on your network. ARP is a broadcast request that’s meant to help the client machine … Continue reading

Creating Trunk and Access Ports on MikroTik CRS3xx Series Switches

The switch menu and configuration interface is significantly different on the CRS3xx versus the CRS1xx or CRS2xx series switches and if you are trying to configure VLANs, the process is totally different. Here is a quick HowTo for configuring VLANs … Continue reading

Ubiquiti Unifi Video NVR Upgrade Fails

Yesterday I got tired of the nagging “Update Available” on my Ubiquiti Video NVR so I went through the upgrade process in the web GUI. It failed with Error 400. I tried several times, several browsers, same error. I then … Continue reading

Using MikroTik LHG as a UE With a Baicells eNodeB

This has been a dream for a long time, and a DIY project for those industrious individuals willing to cobble it together, but now it is a reality in a production device. First of all why would you want to … Continue reading

New ISP Supplies App

Now available on the Playstore and the iPhone Appstore, the ISP Supplies App! With great features like a powerful search engine and a reorder list, it makes it fast and easy to place orders on the go. Favorite products for quick … Continue reading

Update: Block Countries Based on IP Addresses and Networks

If you never used my web site https://mikrotikconfig.com to build firewalls and QOS, you have been working too hard! I recently (today) updated the database of IP addresses by Country to generate MikroTik IP Address Lists by country. Check it … Continue reading

Unhacking Your MikroTik Router

Several vulnerabilities and exploits have recently plagued MikroTIk users. Specifically, these vulnerabilities affected the RouterOS webfig configuration interface, if no firewall was put in place to protect it. Granted, you can be critical of MikroTik but after all, running without a … Continue reading

HowTo Install Baicells HaloB

I added this tech article today. Check it out on our support site: How To Install Baicells HaloB

How to configure Baicells LTE for a WISP Network

With so many options of NAT, Router, Bridged, etc., it can be overwhelming to create the correct architecture for your first Baicells LTE deployment the first time. To facilitate this for you, I created a Baicells LTE HowTo Knowledge Base … Continue reading

Why is Technical Training So Important

As someone that has organized and lead technical training for more than ten years, I can say I have been asked this question many times. The commonality is that most people are self-taught, and use certain products in the daily … Continue reading

New Baicells LTE Nova 436

We are excited about the latest product from Baicells, the Nova 436. We received our first shipment late last week and this new LTE Base Station has some really cool features, never before seen from Baicells and not at this … Continue reading

MikroTik RBwAPR-2nD&R11e-LTE-US with LTE Modem With Verizon HowTo

NOTE: Although I was able to make this work, it not work on all of Verizon’s US network outside large metro areas because the LTE card will not run Band 13. They are also not certified on Verizon so use … Continue reading

MikroTik: URGENT security advisory

From MikroTik: It has come to our attention that a rogue botnet is currently scanning random public IP addresses to find open Winbox (8291) and WWW (80) ports, to exploit a vulnerability in the RouterOS www server that was patched … Continue reading

MikroTik + Slingshot Malware, Is it a Threat?

Chances are you have recently heard about Slingshot. A ZDNet article explains “Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered espionage malware that appears to have been developed by a government to spy on targets across Africa and the Middle East for … Continue reading

Why should I invest in MikroTik Training?

This year, 2018 marks my tenth year as a MikroTik trainer and I have been asked this question more times than I can count. Typically, the question is accompanied by the asker’s reasoning for asking the question. Their reasonings are … Continue reading

Baicells LTE Adds Halo B Support

HaloB is a feature that Baicells LTE introduced in February of 2018. Any Baicells eNodeB (eNB) can be purchased with or upgraded to HaloB through software feature activation. A HaloB eNB eliminates the transport layer between the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) … Continue reading

Baicells LTE Adds Halo B Support

HaloB is a feature that Baicells LTE introduced in February of 2018. Any Baicells eNodeB (eNB) can be purchased with or upgraded to HaloB through software feature activation. A HaloB eNB eliminates the transport layer between the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) … Continue reading

Connecting and Managing Remote Grandstream Phones with MikroTik, UCM and Zero Config

If you are familiar with the Grandstream UCM VOIP PBX, you know the value of the Zero Configuration service. if not, Zero Configuration service allows you to create profiles that are common to all phones, certain models of phones or … Continue reading

Mikrotik RouterOS Dynamic IP Firewall Address List Entries for CDN’s, etc.

Has anyone noticed a new behavior for address lists in RouterOS? The release notes for 6.37.3 show “firewall – fixed timeout option on address lists with domain name;” but I don’t see when that feature was actually added. Specifically, if … Continue reading

How to use Ubiquiti’s AirLink tool to plan wireless links

To properly select Ubiquiti gear for a point to point or point to multipoint link, this need to do proper planning. Fortunately, Ubiquiti has a great tool that allows you to try different products in a real-world link simulation to select … Continue reading

Grandstream security vulnerability in the UCM series firmware

Grandstream posted this today… A security vulnerability has recently been discovered in the UCM series IP PBX firmware version 1.0.14.23 or older. We highly recommend that any UCM customer upgrade their firmware version to 1.0.14.24 or 1.0.15.13 as soon as possible in … Continue reading

Using Baicells LTE L2 Mode

Baicells LTE provides an L2 mode to bridge the UE’s. To change LGW mode, navigate to the Network -> LGW page. In LGW L2 mode, the eNB will create a virtual interface for every UE that attaches. Each virtual interface will then … Continue reading

One Reason IPV6 on MikroTik Doesn’t Stink

One word, auto configuration. That’s two words, ok, but if you scrunch it together it is one, autoconfiguration. My spell check keeps complaining about making it one but oh well. In the MikroTik world, enabling the MikroTik IPv6 package is really all … Continue reading

Updating PoE Standards on the UniFi Product line

Ubiquiti posted this recently and I thought it worth repeating. UniFi Access Points have always been built to be powered by PoE – it’s convenient, easy to setup and scalable. When we first started producing UniFi nearly 7 years ago, … Continue reading

ISP Supplies Names Violeta Thompson New Director of Marketing

College Station, Texas: ISP Supplies, a leading provider of high-quality networking equipment, recently announced that Violeta Thompson has joined the company’s marketing team as Marketing Director. Violeta will be developing and implementing an overall corporate marketing strategy, directly engaging and … Continue reading

MikroTik Optimal Wireless Config for Transparent Point to Point or Backhaul

I am often asked what is the optimal configuration for a point to point with Mikrotik, typically SXT’s. I would stress that the fewer settings you make, the better the link will work so I don’t recommend tweaking, just set … Continue reading

Common Error with Simple Queues in MikroTik RouterOS

Simple Queues don’t work properly… I have heard this more than once, my MikroTik RouterOS Simple Queues don’t work properly. In a simple queue, “target” option is the only option that determines the flow direction of a simple queue. Since … Continue reading

Getting Started With Baicells LTE

Baicells has created a new “LTE How To” for new WISP operators. As you may already know, Baicells equipment is Plug & Play and by far the easiest LTE devices to set up and add to your current network. Many common startup problems evolve from the … Continue reading

Installing the TP-Link EAP225 WiFi Access Point and JetStream T1600G-28PS POE Switch

This application involves delivering internet access to a number of executive office suites. The MDF/IDF was located in one set of suites. My design criteria were as follows: 1. Simplicity, no controller on site for WiFi. Set it and … Continue reading

ISP SUPPLIES AND TP-LINK Event Coming Soon in Houston

I am excited to announce that we at ISP are partnering with Tp-Link to offer a free technical training event for networking professionals Friday, May 12, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at The Greer & Lowdermilk Conference Center at 4225 … Continue reading

MikroTik Automatic Failover Two Gateways

There’s a million ways to do this on the wiki and the web but none of them fit my particular application. Let me explain: 1. The weak point in my network was an AirFiber 24 upstream from the tower I … Continue reading