Advanced Networking with the BT HomeHub 5

There are a few tricks you can use to make your BT Hub more productive and work nicer, without replacing the Hub with a third-party alternative.

1. Dynamic DNS
   • Give your home a web address using DDNS, which updates the web records automatically if your IP address changes (after a reboot for example)
     • Go to Advanced Settings > Broadband > Dynamic DNS
     • Sign up with a provider, like DtDNS who will give you a free or paid-for web address
     • Your home devices can then be accessed remotely (after port forwarding is configured) using mysite.theirddns.name
2. Port Forwarding
   • Connect to your PC from home without using third party tools
     • Go to Advanced Settings > Firewall > Port Forwarding
       • You can configure individual ports to different devices
       • A DMZ will redirect all ports to a device
       • Devices may only be listed if set using BT’s DHCP server
3. Alternative DHCP Server
   • Using a different device to serve DHCP offers more flexibility such as custom DNS servers and a better interface for managing reservations
   • However from experience, to use the other features of the Hub (Port Forwarding, Firewall), it requires the DHCP to detect devices
     • To get around this, configure the BT’s DHCP range to only cover the required devices – e.g. 192.168.1.2 – .3
     • Set the lease to the maximum period of 21 days
     • Other devices will be able to negotiate with your DHCP server without issue