Need Help With Network Problems

[Fyson]

Hi all,

I am new to networking and I know some basic stuff but not nearly enough to get me out of the mess I am in at the moment.

I have two PC's, two network printers a switch and wireless router.

For the last four years everything worked perfectly, until I added the wireless router.

If I leave the wireless router unplugged and out of the equation then my network is like this:
My main PC has this
IP address: 192.168.100.1
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: 192.168.100.254
DNS Server: 10.2.175.1

It has to be like that or else I don't have internet.

My network printers are using the following IP addresses: 192.168.100.2 / 192.168.100.3

So far everything is working perfectly. I have internet and I can print.

Now, the reason I wanted to add the wireless router is so I can use my my uncapped internet on my nokia N8 and my other PC.
I have never been able to connect to my Nokia N8 and at first I thought the problem might be with the phone. But after trying it on my other pc, that wouldn't work either.
After a lot of windows 7 diagnosing itself it finally got itself onto the internet, but I cannot join a homegroup or access any of the files on my other pc. And the internet isn't stable. If I do a restart then it has no internet again and half and hour and two beers later its got it again.

So obviously, I messed up somewhere. What I can't figure out is where.
I changed IP addresses on my router, but without knowing what or where I can't help but feel that i'm digging a bigger grave for myself.

It might be better to do the whole thing with DHCP, but then I won't have internet.
Can some network guru help me sort this out?

I even changed my second pc from windows 7 to XP again to see if it could work like that, but getting it to work on XP is like trying to get a dead horse to jump fences.

PLEASE HELP.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

What make and model is the network router, and what is its IP?

It might be that the network router also have DHCP enabled, you will need to disable it. You cannot have more than one DHCP servers on the same network segment.

Usually some routers do come with an option which says "DHCP passthrough" - you might need to enable this should your wifi devices not get any DHCP addresses.

Don't use WEP - it can be cracked quite easily. Rather use WPA for encryption. Yes, you do need to protect yourself from ne'er-do-wells looking for open wifi hotspots to abuse.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

The Smoothwall community have a thread regarding wifi security. You can read it here

enjoy!

 

[graviti]

Sounds like IP conflicts. I assume all original devices have statically assigned IP. Then you are plugging in the wireless router, which is probably dishing out IP addresses. Would be best if you could give us more info on the setup of the router. What ports are you plugged into, what is the IP, etc.

 

[Fyson]

I probably should have included the IP of the router.
I have no idea what i should set it to. At the moment its lan is: 192.168.100.10 . Its WAN is 192.168.101.1
It is a TP-LINK Router. Model No.TL-WR743ND.

Its using WPA/WPA 2 Security with AES Encryption. Hope that helps.
(I might just remove security and let everyone go nuts trying to connect to the internet, like me)

Another thing, I've seen there is a couple "Operation modes" but i've left it on "Wireless Router: Wireless AP / Router" by default.
The other modes are:

Wireless Client Router: WISP Client Router
Wireless Repeater: Wireless AP / Wireless Repeater
Wireless Bridge: Wireless AP / Wireless Bridge
Wireless Client: Only Wireless Client

From the help file and installation guide I thought the best would be to leave it there, is that correct?

I can't find DHCP passthrough anywhere.

Under Network - WAN. It shows the following:


WAN Connection Type: Static IP
IP Address: 192.168.101.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.100.254
MTU Size (in bytes): (The default is 1500, do not change unless necessary.)
Primary DNS: 10.2.175.1
Secondary DNS: (Optional)

Under LAN it shows the following:

MAC Address: 90-F6-52-C2-F6-9C
IP Address: 192.168.100.10
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

DHCP Settings:


DHCP Server: Enabled
Start IP Address: 192.168.100.100
End IP Address: 192.168.100.199
Address Lease Time: 120 minutes (1~2880 minutes, the default value is 120)
Default Gateway: 192.168.100.10
Default Domain: (optional)
Primary DNS: (optional)
Secondary DNS: (optional)

Heres my router status page, in case that could help:

Status
Firmware Version:
3.12.18 Build 111212 Rel.37043n
Hardware Version:
WR743ND v1 00000000
LAN
MAC Address:
90-F6-52-C2-F6-9C
IP Address:
192.168.100.10
Subnet Mask:
255.255.255.0
Wireless
Wireless Radio: Enable
Operation Mode: Wireless Router
Local SSID: CLV001
Channel: Auto (Current channel 1)
Mode: 11bgn mixed
Channel Width: Automatic
Max Tx Rate: 150Mbps
MAC Address: 90-F6-52-C2-F6-9C
WDS Status: Disable
WAN
MAC Address: 90-F6-52-C2-F6-9D
IP Address: 192.168.101.1 Static IP
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.100.254
DNS Server: 10.2.175.1 , 0.0.0.0
Traffic Statistics
Received Sent
Bytes: 0 0
Packets: 0 0
System Up Time:
0 days 00:16:30

Hope that helps

 

[Fyson]

Also, my computers and printers all use static IP addresses, so I have no idea about DHCP and all that.
Even less about another that might interfere with the router.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Also, my computers and printers all use static IP addresses, so I have no idea about DHCP and all that.
Even less about another that might interfere with the router.

If you are concerned about IP address clashes and want to keep your wired devices on static IP's, just change the DHCP ip range on the router. E.g. If your static ip's are from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.50, then change the DHCP range to only assign addresses from 192.168.1.51 to 192.168.1.100 for instance. I'm pretty sure you can set this on most routers, just find the DHCP menu option and it should be somewhere under there.

 

[CataclysmZA]

So, firstly to your router:

1) Change the DHCP address pool to a lower range, say from 192.168.100.100 to 192.168.100.110
2) Change the address lease time to one hour (60mins)
3) Change the router's IP address to 192.168.100.1 (same as your PC), and change the PC's address to something else within the 192.168.100.4-10 range
4) Change the WAN address to 192.168.0.254, for DNS use 10.2.175.1 and 192.168.100.1 address for local DNS lookups to the printers and any other computers/devices you may put on the wireless router.

You should now be able to hook up your PC to the router and have both internet and printing capability. As for the wireless setup I'd recommend using WPA security on the 2.4Ghz band on channel 6. If you've got a lot of 802.11b/g devices and not enough 802.11n ones to justify using the higher speed (like say one or two), stick to b/g protocols for better compatibility.

Let me know if there's anything you don't understand or need help with. Get this all working first and then we can address your issues accessing stuff on the second PC.

 

[Fyson]

Thanks, I'll try that now and report back asap.

 

[Fyson]

My Main PC still has internet and I can still print, but wireless internet isn't working.

I changed DHCP address pool to 192.168.100.100 - 192.168.100.110

Under DHCP: should I leave default gateway at 192.168.100.1
Should I leave Default Domain; Primary DNS; Secondary DNS Blank?

Changed address lease time to 60 min
changed router LAN IP address to 192.168.100.1, subnet mask the same 255.255.255.0

Changed PC IP address to 192.168.100.5
Should I leave my PC subnet mask, default gateway and DNS Server the same?
IP address: 192.168.100.5
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.100.254
Primary DNS: 10.2.175.1

Also, should I leave my wireless IP address to obtain IP address automatically?

I only have one 802.11n Dongle and whatever my phone uses.

My internet and everything is still working perfectly, I can print to both printers, but wireless isn't working.
Maybe I stuffed up somehow.

 

[Fyson]

I've left the channel at auto because the help file stated you should only change it if you experience interference from other devices.

I'll change it anyway and see if it helps.

 

[graviti]

OK, lets start at beginning

Your Internet Router (the modem, or gateway has IP address 192.168.100.254)
Your Wireless router has a WAN port and 4 LAN ports I assume? From the above messages I assume it now has IP address 192.168.100.1.

Your PC is now 192.168.100.5, and the two printers are 192.168.100.2 and 192.168.100.3.

Your Internet does not dish out DHCP addresses I assume. If it does it will make like a whole bunch easier, but lets assume it doesn't.

Set up the DHCP on your Wireless router to the following

DHCP address pool : 192.168.100.100 - 192.168.100.110
DHCP Primary DNS : 10.2.175.1
Leave secondary blank, and leave domain blank.
Set default gateway as 192.168.100.254.

Then ensure that there is NO cable plugged into the WAN port of your Wireless router, but rather on the LAN ports.

If this setup does not work, it means that your ADSL router (I assume that is how you establish connection) is dishing out DHCP. If this is the case, merely turn off DHCP on the Wireless router, log into your ADSL Router and set it's DHCP to the same as above.

 

[Fyson]

Thanks, I'll try that now.

I don't have a normal adsl router that this is connected to as there isn't adsl available here in the middle of nowhere.
It is a wireless adsl connection that I have from Igen (Internet Generation) It works with a dish on the roof to a tower on a mountain that goes toward the general direction of PE, if I understand it all more or less correctly.

I was told that for my existing network to work (printers) I have to set my PC's LAN IP address to 192.168.100.1
Whether or not they are "dishing out dhcp" I have no idea. But if i just connect the internet cable and set my lan to obtain address automatically, it doesn't work at all, so my guess is that it only works with that static addresses.

Thanks for your advice, i'll try it and report back.
Hopefully it works this time.

 

[Fyson]

Thank you,

You are a network genius. Its working perfectly now.
Going online.

Next I'll try with my Nokia N8.

In the meantime i'll format my second pc and reinstall Windows 7.
Hopefully now the homegroup issue will be solved as well.

Thank you all so very much.

 

[Fyson]

Its working on the phone as well.
AWESOME!!!

 

[Fyson]

The Smoothwall community have a thread regarding wifi security. You can read it here

enjoy!

Thanks for that, I'll definitely read it. I have uncapped so a little snooping won't bother me too much, but if its a free for all they will drag the whole ship under and I will be left without internet.

 

[CataclysmZA]

Then ensure that there is NO cable plugged into the WAN port of your Wireless router, but rather on the LAN ports.

Bah, forgot about the damn WAN port. Plugging the cable in there would make my suggestion not work.

 

[Fyson]

Its all still working perfectly, so far.
Homegroup is set up and file sharing and printing from other pc is working.

I think I'll back up the router settings just in case it gets reset by accident or something.

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Fyson]

Bah, forgot about the damn WAN port. Plugging the cable in there would make my suggestion not work.

Wat is that port for? I suppose i have no need for it as everything is working, but i'm just curious.

 

[graviti]

Lets say for example you have an ADSL router setup as follows

Internet Facing IP <== MODEM ==> 192.168.1.0

The Modem will have an IP address which is seen by the Internet, and anyone on the Internet can see that IP address. The LAN port is then connected to your private network, the 192.168.1.0 network. The internet peoplez cant see this network, as it exists only in your premises. The Modem then acts as a gateway device using NAT etc to give everyone on your local network access to the Internet. Theoretically, if not configured correctly, then outside people can access your internal network, but this would require you to set up very dodgy port forwarding. (Not that port-forwarding is dodgy, just misconfigured port forwarding). But Basically your router acts as a gateway between two logically separated networks. The WAN port connects to the one (Internet side) and the 4 LAN ports to your local one.

The WAN port on your WIFI router would normally plug into the LAN port of your ADSL router, allowing you to create a logically separated network from the ADSL network. This might be useful in some circumstances, but in your case it was not. You wanted your WIFI and ADSL LAN to all be in the 192.168.100.0 network, so we plugged into the LAN Ports.

If for example you want a network whereby all your Wireless devices have access to all devices on the network, but devices not on the wireless network cannot see the wireless devices, then you would plug the ADSL LAN port to the WIFI Router WAN port, and create a logically separated network for the Wireless guys

Internet IP <== MODEM ==> 192.168.100.0 <== WIFI router ==> 192.168.101.0

Like the modem allows people on the 192.168.100.0 network to see the Internet, but stops the people on the Internet being able to see your 192.168.100.0 network, the WIFI router allows the people on the 192.168.101.0 network to see the 192.168.100.0 (and thus the Internet), but the 192.168.100.0 network cannot see the 192.168.101.0 network.

This only occurs when you use the WAN port.

By using the LAN ports, you are all part of the same logical network, therefore no routing required. Hence the fact that your setup now works the way you want it.

Hope this explains it well enough.