Cable modem activity.

[hellonfish]

hello all,
I was wondering is it normal to have activity on your cable modem if your not on the internet? Is the modem always talking to the isp, is that were always on comes from?
Thanks,
later.

[Bizkitkid2001]

yes:)

[muchmark]

The way cable networks are set up whenever some make a request its send to everyone in your subnet, you don’t have to worry your computer wont answer.

[michaeln]

Yes. When you install a cable modem you are essentially connecting to your ISP when you turn on the PC. Most ISP's employ a "leased" IP address system. That is to say you have the use of an IP address for a set period of time. This is usually managed by the ISP's DHCP server. If your system is still on when the lease is up, the same IP address is usually re-assigned to you. If however your PC is turned off at the time the lease is up then the IP address you were using is now free for someone to use.

From time to time your ISP's DHCP server will communicate with your Modem and you may see the lights flashing even though you are not on the net at that time. It is very important that you use some sort of firewall protection when using cable modems. Because you are connected to your ISP for the length of time that your PC is turned on, you may forget that you are in fact part of a network.

I learned this the hard way.