Sharing Internet with Wireless + LAN (WinXP)

[cKGunslinger]

I've yet to re-discover my working solution to this network issue. I decided that maybe if I drew a pic, it might make a bit more sense to anyone reading.

Basically, I have an internet connection with my neighbor, via 802.11g wireless. He runs a wireless router with DHCP, I connect one of my PCs to it via an 802.11g USB Adaptor and use his router's address (192.168.0.1) as my DNS server, and BAM! - Instant internet access for my PC1.

Now, what used to work, and I can no longer find the "magical" combination of settings for - is getting the other PCs on my LAN to also connect to the internet. There's some combination of IPs, DHCP, Gateways, Bridges, etc that will allow this to work (I've had it working before,) but it's been 3 weeks since I rebuilt PC2, and I've yet to get it re-connected.

So, here's visual representation of the setup, as is. I would love to hear some procedures/settings to get everyone up and talking once again.

Network Configuration

 

[futuristicmonkey]

You have two options (really three, actually).

1: Assign addresses from the same subnet to your internal nics, and bridge the wireless interface with your wired interface, on pc1. This has the benefit of simplicity, though his computer will see yours, and vice-versa.

2: Add static routes in your route table of pc1, and add it's wired interface as the default gateway for the rest of your network. This has the benefit of using a different subnet (broadcast domain) from your neighbour's - so he won't see your other pc's and they won't see his. These computers are where you'd server your porn/other private files, as Windows XP filesharing would not stray from its usual activity of sharing anything on your computer, somehow. The disadvantage of this is the whole routing table thing. I'd suggest googling "Windows XP route" - or somehting like that

3: See if you can get that Linksys wireless bridge deal to work (the one from the thread with nearly 150k views). If used in conjunction with an option #2 type of approach, by which I mean a router between your two subnets, your neighbour would not be able to see any of your computers (and their normal LAN-only traffic), and vice-versa

Have fun

Edit: Just ignore the above - I didn't take into account all of the information

 

[JackMDS]

Assuming the arrangement with the neighbor is ?Kosher?.

Technology wise, get yourself a Game box Type of adapter, stick it to the WAN port of your Router, and configure your own network behind your Wireless Router.

1. It would yield normal, much more flexible Wired, and wireless Network.

2. It would Separate you Network from the neighbor, and would provide addtional security.

:sun:

 

[cKGunslinger]

Yeah, the shared network is perfectly kosher - both from the ISP's perspective, and his. We have our PCs networked and have datashares for music, pics, video, etc. I know he can stream vids from my shared HD to his networked Xbox.

I'd like to get by without any additional hardware,a s this has worked once before with what I have.

My last attempt did have all my LAN IPs on the same subnet, and I bridged my wireless + LAN conenction on PC1, but that ended up killing both the LAN and the Internet. I'm not sure what settings I shoud be using for the connections. I know at one time (whent he setup was working), PC2 would automatically see an "Internet Gateway" coming from PC1 and the internet worked just fine, as well as the LAN (although PC2 could not see his PCs, nor could they see PC2 - basically nothing past the PC that was directly connected via wireless.)


DHCP for wireless.
Static for LAN.
??? for the Bridge.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: futuristicmonkey
You have two options (really three, actually).

1: Assign addresses from the same subnet to your internal nics, and bridge the wireless interface with your wired interface, on pc1. This has the benefit of simplicity, though his computer will see yours, and vice-versa.

See, that's what I've been trying for the last week.

I made all my LAN IPs 192.168.0.10X and created a bridge in XP, but I have no idea what settings to use for the bridge - DHCP? Static IP? Default Gateway? Alternate Configuration?

Nothing I tried worked, and have the connections bridged usually killed all connectivity.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: futuristicmonkey
You have two options (really three, actually).

1: Assign addresses from the same subnet to your internal nics, and bridge the wireless interface with your wired interface, on pc1. This has the benefit of simplicity, though his computer will see yours, and vice-versa.

See, that's what I've been trying for the last week.

I made all my LAN IPs 192.168.0.10X and created a bridge in XP, but I have no idea what settings to use for the bridge - DHCP? Static IP? Default Gateway? Alternate Configuration?

Nothing I tried worked, and have the connections bridged usually killed all connectivity.

Well, with these settings:

PC1 Wireless IP = 192.168.0.4 (DHCP'd)
PC1 LAN IP = 192.168.0.101 (static)
PC1 Bridge IP = 192.168.0.199 (static)
PC1 Bridge Gateway = 192.168.0.1
PC1 Bridge DNS = 192.168.0.1

PC2 IP = 192.168.0.102 (static)
PC2 Gateway = 192.168.0.199
PC2 DNS = 192.168.0.1

I can ping the boxes on my LAN, but not the router at 192.16.8.0.1. And I get no internet connectivity from any of my PCs.

Are these correct settings? Should I make my bridge the gateway for the other PCs on my LAN? What about DNS server?

 

[cKGunslinger]

Afternoon bump.

I don't know if I'm getting any closer. I have all my PCs on the same subnet as the wireless connecton, and they can all see each other. It seems like the remaining step is to bridge the connections and all should be well, but alas, no luck.

 

[futuristicmonkey]

Make the default gateway on all of your computers 192.168.0.1 The dg is a layer 3 (ip) thing - it does not care that your pc1 is acting as a layer 2 (ethernet) bridge.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: futuristicmonkey
Make the default gateway on all of your computers 192.168.0.1 The dg is a layer 3 (ip) thing - it does not care that your pc1 is acting as a layer 2 (ethernet) bridge.

OK, when I do that, I lose internet connectivity. I can still ping all machines on my network, but I lose the internet and the PC's on the other side of the wireless connection. (it's still connected, however.)

 

[futuristicmonkey]

Crap. For some reason I didn't notice your wireless router in the middle of it all. You have turned off DHCP on it which is a good thing, but you will need to turn off its routing functions as well. I have no experience with that model but see if you can figure out how to turn it into a plain wireless access point. This should hopefully, finally let you achieve your goal

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: futuristicmonkey
Crap. For some reason I didn't notice your wireless router in the middle of it all. You have turned off DHCP on it which is a good thing, but you will need to turn off its routing functions as well. I have no experience with that model but see if you can figure out how to turn it into a plain wireless access point. This should hopefully, finally let you achieve your goal

Well, I also have a 10M 8-port hub that I can use instead. I'd lose the connectin to PC3, but that would be a small price for now. But trying it yields no better results. My LAN remians working fine, but enabling the bridge kills all internet access, with both the router and the hub.

Could it be I don't have some Window service running?


If it helps, here are my network settings both before and after the bridge is enabled:

Before the Bridge:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\cKGunslinger>ipconfig -all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : exile
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Lite-On Communications Compatable PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-C0-F0-XX-XX-XX
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.101
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
XX.XXX.32.21

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR WG121 802.11g Wireless USB2.0 Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-09-5B-XX-XX-XX
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
XX.XXX.32.21
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, September 03, 2006 09:34:53 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, September 06, 2006 09:34:53 AM

After the Bridge:

C:\Documents and Settings\cKGunslinger>ipconfig -all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : exile
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Network Bridge:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : MAC Bridge Miniport
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-09-5B-XX-XX-XX
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.199
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
XX.XXX.32.21
Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

 

[futuristicmonkey]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: futuristicmonkey
Make the default gateway on all of your computers 192.168.0.1 The dg is a layer 3 (ip) thing - it does not care that your pc1 is acting as a layer 2 (ethernet) bridge.

OK, when I do that, I lose internet connectivity. I can still ping all machines on my network, but I lose the internet and the PC's on the other side of the wireless connection. (it's still connected, however.)

The fact that you can ping all of your computers indicates that there are no problems on the OSI layers 1-3. Have you tried using XP's network wizard? I know, I know...wizards are good for ******...but it has worked for me before...before I switched to OpenBSD for my routing/server needs

 

[cKGunslinger]

LOL - this is getting pathetic. Not only can I not bridge the networks to share internet access, but the new Wireless Adaptor I bought to hook up PC2 directly won't connect and shows 100% CRC errors.

If it weren't for bad luck..

 

[cKGunslinger]

On the PC that has the bridged connection, should I plug that into the WAN port of the router, or just a regular port?