I am completely puzzled

[srvblues00]

Ok, here's my current network config/setup: 2 computers in the basement (1 win95, 1 win98). 2 computers upstairs (1 win2k, 1 win95). There is an 8 port hub in the basement for those 2 computers, and there is a 4 port hub upstairs for the two computers there. the two hubs are connected by a crossover cable (cable from 8 port is connected to the crossover port in the 4 port). IP addresses are as follows:

upstairs:
win2k sys: 10.10.10.3
win95 sys: 10.10.10.4

downstairs:
win98 sys: 10.10.10.10
win95 sys: 10.10.10.11

The computers on their respective hubs have no problems interacting with each other (upstairs group of computers can communicate, downstairs group of computers can communicate).

We won't even address the ZoneAlarm Pro firewill right now, it's currently not running. I'll deal with that later. Here's the problem:

all computers can ping all other computers by IP and by hostname. i am trying to use pcAnywhere 9.2 to control the upstairs systems from the basement. the two basement computers can connect fine, and the basement computers can connect to the win95 system upstairs. the problems starts with the win2k system upstairs. the win95 system can connect to the win2k system on it's hub (upstairs win95 system), but it can't see the two computers downstairs, nor can it see the win95 system on the same hub. however, the win2k system can ping all the other systems by IP and it recieves responses. I am trying to connect pcAnywhere by IP using TCP/IP.

Any ideas?

 

[Russ]

Do the 95 and 98 systems have NetBEUI installed? If so, install it on the Win2K system and see if that helps. In consumer Windows, it is installed by default, in Win2K it isn't.

Russ, NCNE

 

[srvblues00]

I have tried it with and without NETBUI, and it neither configuration worked. :-\

 

[Russ]

HMM...what is the subnet mask on the systems? Is it the same for all? The default would be 255.0.0.0. Workgroup the same?

Also, I'm wondering about this:



<< two hubs are connected by a crossover cable (cable from 8 port is connected to the crossover port in the 4 port). >>



I don't think you need a crossover if connecting to an uplink port, unless you're also coming from an uplink port.

Russ, NCNE

 

[srvblues00]

My subnet mask is 255.255.252.0 and the gateway is 10.10.10.1.

Sorry for the confusion. It's a straight thru cable, but connected to the uplink port on the 4port hub.

 

[Russ]

That subnet mask tells the network that the first two octets are the network identifier when, in fact, only the first octet is on a Class A network. Frankly, though, I'm not sure if that's the cause of the problem. I'm still trying to grep subnetting myself.

Russ, NCNE

 

[ScottMac]

The subnet mask is OK....but....do you really expect a THOUSAND nodes in your house? Is the dot-1 machine really the gateway (router or hub/switch)?

Did you use that subnet mask because that's what the ISP uses on the outside?

Borrowing from others: shut all of it down, power up the Win2K machine, wait ten minutes, then power up the other machines, waiting ten minutes between each.

Good Luck

Scott

 

[srvblues00]

The .1 is just a number.. the two hubs are plain ol hubs. the 4 port is a no name, and the 8 port is a linksys i think. is it possible to assign an IP to a hub? I don't see how.. I don't believe that subnet mask is related to anything. we are using dialup for the time being.

would a switch perfore better than a hub in this situation (in replacement of either hub?). thanks

 

[L3Guy]

If you have the subnet mask of 255.255.255.252 on one of your machines by mistake,
it would think it was not on the same network and arp for the default gateway instead.
So the mask can be critical in these cases for issues where computers that should talk can't.

Hubs and switches do not need IP addresses to forward traffic.
The hub sends it bit by bit, as it is received, A switch looks at the destination mac address,
and if that address in the bridge/switch table, the packet is sent to the port indicated in the table. Otherwise, the packet is flooded out all ports. Broadcast packets are also flooded out all ports. I am aware of some exotic exceptions, but lets not go there.

generally, a switch performs better than a hub only if several simultaneous conversations are happening. An example would be two games each with their own server would benefit from a switch, while the same games running from the same server would not benefit as much or could actually be slower in certain cases. For a 4 node LAN, it really isn't going to make enough difference to notice.

HTH