Can class B network device talk to a Class C device through a router?

[Tripleshot]

The laptop is hardcoded as a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 and I cannot change it even with winipcfg.exe. The network dude says a router will allow the laptop with class B setting to access the internet from a router that is set hardcoded as class C (or with subnet mask 255.255.255.O ) I find that difficult to believe unless perhaps using a high dollar cisco router/switch. I am trying to use a Netgear MR314 combo wireless/ ethernet 4 port router connected to the cable modem and then putting a usb MA111 adaptor on the laptop to do the work. The customer cannot sit at a desk. She is having ahip replaced inthe morning and she is the director of a home health agency and needs the flexability of the laptop in wireless mode. The network dude thinks thel aptop should only be hooked via its ethernet cat5 to a router. Not a good solution if the customer need to be in bed, and the router is in the home office across the house.
The network dude has the dhcp set but the subnet mask is frozen at 255.255.0.0 even when I set release and renew. It never changes. That is the real problem. Otherwise it should easily get its IP from the router using that executable, or am I all wrong about this?

Your expertise here is greatly appreciated. It's the tip of the iceburg for some of the other wireless issues in this house.

 

[ScottMac]

For a device on one network number to talk to another device on another network (regardless of address class) would require a router ... that's what routers do.

If you don't have administrative access to the laptop to add a NIC or change the existing address, then your only option would be to go through a router.

Good Luck

Scott

 

[ktwebb]

Scott is correct as usual but you'll need to get ALOT more descriptive if you want specific advice on your situation. Subnet masks are easy to change if their "hardcoded" or static. If your using release and renew then your IP and subnet are not hardcoded, their dynamic. The "network dude" or whomever may be assigning a particular pool of IP's on a specific mask address. Anyway, your post is very dificult to understand. Network dudes, but then cable modems (which would infer a home network or small business), hardcoded but DHCP in the same breath. Describe in detail what it is your trying to accomplish, preferably with a diagram or something in case it gets lost in the translation.

 

[Tripleshot]

Thank you very much for your input, gentleman. Let metry and explain the circumstance.

A laptop used for business that connects t othe office netwrk is coded for a class b network and has that range. For some reason, release and renew does not work to change the subnet range. A way I tested it by following network dudes advice was hook up the laptop directly to the cable modem with cat5 tot the laptop. He then said run his winipcfg and realease and renew. I did that. No go. Still kept the subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. I think that is a problem. I want to go wireless and have a netgear MA111 USB adaptor and an accesspoint that the cablemodem hooks to as well as the main PC that serves as the "router" for DHCP. Its a Windows XP desktop I built.

Because the winipcfg on the laptop will not change subnet mask with release and renew, It is not seen on the accesspoint.

OK, Fine. I am happy to change out the accesspoint,and install a MR314 wireless netgear 4 port router IF it will allow this laptop with its stuck in class b subnet mode to hook up wirelessly to the router. The router is class c or it hasa range of 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.32. Its subnet mask obviously is255.255.255.0 by default. That makes these two devices disimiler in that they are on different network segments.

That is it in a nutshell. I do not think I can change the subnet mask of the router to class b. If I can, I think that would solve the problem. I justdon't do this enough t obesure. I am convinced a sofisticated CISCO router can do it, but I think there is a difference in firmware between netgear home small business MR314 and a cisco router. I can program some things, but there are limitations I think in the netgear router.

Does that help?

 

[blakeatwork]

You could do it with a non-sophisticated SOHO 91 router from Cisco (has all the web-based GUI's you could ever want), but I don't think your problem lies with your router..

If you want to access the other network, and the other network allows DHCP, then I don't see why you couldn't have your laptop NIC automatically detect and grab an IP address, unless there's somehting else I'm missing.

 

[Turfzilla]

Sounds to me like you have a dynamic routing protocol

 

[drkavnge99]

Hey this may be dumb to ask you but did you check and make sure the network adapter is set to dhcp under network connections.... and if it is hard coded any router worth its weight will do a different subnet even my elcheapo belkin does it.

 

[Goosemaster]

Ok, I sort of possibly think I might understand your problem.


I think you have static addressing enabled. You must go into your network properties in control panel, go to tcp/ip, go to properties, and set everything to "automatically..."


The reason the lappy is not working with the cable modem is that it is set to ignore DHCP, which assigns an IP address of the connected network along with DNS settings etc. Until you turn off the static address with the imporoper subnetmask, it will NOT work.


My advice?

-Write down the staic numbers and DNS entries for later reuse.
- Set the options to automatic.
-connect the cable dowm to the router. Connect a PC to the router via a cable. It should now pull an IP. If it does not, try the static method: ASsumign that it is indeed a Netgear device.

Set the PC's Ip address to 192.168.0.2, the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0, and the gateway to 192.168.0.1


Then try to see if you can go to http://192.168.0.1 using Internet explorer. If you can login, then turn on DHCP with a gateway address of 192.168.0.1 if it is not set already, and set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 for the internal network.

The WAN link, or the interface connected to the Cable modem, should also be setup with DHCP. You be able to see your external address if it is setup correctly..somethin along the lines of 6x.xx.....etc


What you have now done is correctly configured the router. Right now you should not have INTERNET access as your DNS servers are not configured. For this, confirm the changes on the pagem, and exit IE.


Now go into the network and TCP iP properties again, and change allthe options back to "automaticall..."


After you do winipcfg, you should now pull 4 things

-a valid 192.168.0.x internal IP address
- a valid internal subnet mask of 255.255.255.0
-a valid gateway address of 192.168.0.1
-a set od DNS server IP addresses.


If you can, then