Load Balance ethernet and wireless connection

[semo]

Can a computer be connected to a network wirelessly and wired at the same time. I know that the obvious answer is NO because the least problem you will get is a duplicate name on the network.

My scenario is that we have a wireless network in my workplace. Some of us have laptops that are docked and constantly connected via cable but we sometimes undock them to visit other offices. The theory is that the wireless connection automatically and flawlessly kicks in but it doesn?t. It takes a few seconds or more and since we have roaming profiles, we loose sync with the file servers for too long sometimes and sorts of weirdness happens. Of course we also get this problem when we hit a wireless blackspot but I?m wondering if we can prevent it happening when the wired connection is disconnected.
Can you perform a routine for a smooth switchover for example? Maybe prime the wireless connection and disable the Ethernet one or something like that.

XP
Intel 3945ABG driver ver. 10, 11 or 12
Centrino laptops

 

[Jeff7181]

Normally a wired connection is preferred to wireless, so when both a wired and wireless connection are present, the wired connection is used. When unplugged, the wireless connection will "kick in" as you say... but it takes a few seconds. I don't think there's any way around this... it's the nature of wireless, takes a few seconds to bring up the connection again. If the total loss of network connectivity for a few seconds causes a problem with applications and network connection, my advice would be to shut down the laptop before disconnecting the wired connection to avoid data loss/corruption.

Someone else may have a better suggestion for you, but that would be mine.

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.ezlan.net/metrics.html

 

[Jeff7181]

As jack's article suggests... the alternative that gives you the closest to what you want is using wireless as the preferred network connection which would mean the computer will use the wireless connection and only fail over to the wired connection if the wireless is unavailable.

 

[bobdole369]

Possible to send certain services via destination IP over wireless.

 

[Jeff7181]

I just had a thought... it might be too complex to set up on client PC's... but what if you set up teaming between the two. Is it possible to team a wired and wireless NIC?

 

[imagoon]

You may want to read that again. Just because his example shows how to force wireless even with a cable plugged in, it does not mean that you cannot simple reverse the metrics and do the opposite.

Typically in an office, the IT admins would use the wireless policy in the Group Policies to configure the way wireless works including network keys, active when docked etc. You cannot have a loop from the wired to the wireless network or you could end up with some very strange network issues.

Look up spidey07's post about knocking all of his AP's in range off the network due to spanning tree tokens causing the port to close (loop prevention.)

 

[fire400]

Hard code the routers to let the servers assign all addresses.
Input into the servers, both MAC addresses of the wired cards and wireless cards, yet still able to distinguish that at the top of the tree, which computer it is coming from.

SERVER: Set all connections to automatically become blocked unless it receives either, firstly, of your choice, a fully established wired or wireless network connection.

Make sure you pre-assign each computer an IP address, and register it with the server with specific hardware/software-laptop identifications. The server will take both connections if you want, but must only allow one connection the option of fully accessing the network. When one connection drops, the second connection should already be authenticated and the server should allow it full access right away using the same "reserved" IP address/ID to that single computer that is switching over.

This will prevent anyone unauthorized from accessing the network unless the admin. or IT's are contacted to add specified comps to the network, permission-wise, and applicable by choice to auto-assign newly reserved addresses to computers that have more than one way to connect to the network at any given time, and to auto-kill reservations after track-logging what computers are completely unavailable for X amout of time.