Pls help: Setting up two internet connections in XP

[arf9999]

Wasn't sure if I should post here or in the hardware/software forum, but here goes... mods please move if you wish.

Here is my situation:

I have two internet connections (ADSL and MWeb WiMax). I'd like to route different applications through different connections, but am a bit stumped as to how to do it in XP. (Please don't post Linux or Smoothwall solutions - I don't want to set up a new box to handle this.)

My setup is as follows:

I have ADSL connected via a wireless router to my Study (desktop) PC, My office notebook, my wife's notebook, a PS3 and my son's notebook PC (all running wifi). The router is situated in the middle of the house in order to provide coverage to the whole house.

I also have the Mweb WIMAX CPE connected via a (wired) router to my Study PC. If I manually enable/disable my WLAN and LAN connections on the desktop, I can switch between the two connections, but if they are both active, all my traffic goes through the LAN (WIMAX) connection.

I'd like to be able to utilize both connections simultaneously, not necessarily load balancing, but by application. e.g. I'd like my web browser to use Wlan and my torrent client to use lan. I understand that theoretically by using raspoee and routesentry I should be able to do this or something similar, but that would require bridging my routers which makes it more difficult to manage all the other PCs on my network. Is there another solution?

 

[arf9999]

*shameless bump*

 

[ic]

Open a Command Prompt window, and enter the following:

route/help

I don't know how you're going to manage to add routes for your torrent client considering it is P2P and the destination host IP addresses will not be known upfront, but you essentially need to play around with route -p ADD ...

 

[arf9999]

Open a Command Prompt window, and enter the following:

route/help

I don't know how you're going to manage to add routes for your torrent client considering it is P2P and the destination host IP addresses will not be known upfront, but you essentially need to play around with route -p ADD ...

Thanks. I've had a look, but it seems that I can define a gateway only if I know the destination IP. That's going to be an interesting project with a P2P app . With my limited networking knowledge it isn't really going to do what I need.

Is there any way to define a specific gateway for an application in XP?

 

[ic]

Thanks. I've had a look, but it seems that I can define a gateway only if I know the destination IP. That's going to be an interesting project with a P2P app . With my limited networking knowledge it isn't really going to do what I need.

Is there any way to define a specific gateway for an application in XP?

Does your torrents app allow you to specify a default gateway to use?

Also, if your WiMax router has a builtin proxy server, you could enable the proxy and change your browser settings to use the router's proxy server...

 

[arf9999]

Does your torrents app allow you to specify a default gateway to use?

Also, if your WiMax router has a builtin proxy server, you could enable the proxy and change your browser settings to use the router's proxy server...

Nope... nowhere to set gateway in torrent app. Actually the torrent app isn't the issue, that automatically routes to the right connection. I need to stop my browser and other apps from using it. I'll see if there is a proxy setting in my router

 

[arf9999]

Router doesn't have built-in proxy.

 

[ic]

Not sure what else to suggest.

 

[ambo]

I'm sorry to say but I don't think that there is any way you are going to achieve what you want... additionally - what you are trying to achieve is fairly advanced networking and there are no short cuts for that kind of thing (except for a Linux based solution making things a little easier )

As far as I know XP has extremely limited routing capabilities - restricted to routing of IP's. What you want is probably going to require a mixture of PAT, NAT, proxy servers, port redirects and other things that you are only going to find in a Linux system or true router (or perhaps one of the Windows Server Editions)

If you can con a learned mate into helping you out then thats a winner. Otherwise - start reading nothing like a bit of hands on learning to drop you in the deep end.

 

[ic]

I'm sorry to say but I don't think that there is any way you are going to achieve what you want... additionally - what you are trying to achieve is fairly advanced networking and there are no short cuts for that kind of thing (except for a Linux based solution making things a little easier )

As far as I know XP has extremely limited routing capabilities - restricted to routing of IP's. What you want is probably going to require a mixture of PAT, NAT, proxy servers, port redirects and other things that you are only going to find in a Linux system or true router (or perhaps one of the Windows Server Editions)

If you can con a learned mate into helping you out then thats a winner. Otherwise - start reading nothing like a bit of hands on learning to drop you in the deep end.

A simpler solution would perhaps be to use 2 separate PCs: the one running torrents & connected to the LAN, and the other running Firefox [hopefully] and connected to the WiMax router, this will definitely solve the routing conundrum .

Of course, Linux is a much more elegant & compact solution - but we've been banned from mentioning Linux Linux Linux Linux Linux Linux in this thread .

 

[Highflyer_GP]

I haven't tried this, but the easiest way I can think of to route specific ports is to use the windows firewall. Go to the properties of the wired LAN connection, go to advanced, windows firewall settings and under exceptions add port 80. That should block http on your wired LAN, but allow it on your wireless LAN. Do the same with everything else - whatever you wish to use on your wireless LAN, block it's port on the wired LAN.

 

[arf9999]

I'm sorry to say but I don't think that there is any way you are going to achieve what you want... additionally - what you are trying to achieve is fairly advanced networking and there are no short cuts for that kind of thing (except for a Linux based solution making things a little easier )

As far as I know XP has extremely limited routing capabilities - restricted to routing of IP's. What you want is probably going to require a mixture of PAT, NAT, proxy servers, port redirects and other things that you are only going to find in a Linux system or true router (or perhaps one of the Windows Server Editions)

If you can con a learned mate into helping you out then thats a winner. Otherwise - start reading nothing like a bit of hands on learning to drop you in the deep end.

I've been reading for the last 5 hours . Looking at various web sites, I have come to the same conclusion... basically "you can't get there from here".

It looks like I'll need another box to act as a proxy. Would the simplest solution (meaning cheap and needing minimal configuration) be a WAN router with built in proxy or would you suggest a linux box?

 

[arf9999]

I haven't tried this, but the easiest way I can think of to route specific ports is to use the windows firewall. Go to the properties of the wired LAN connection, go to advanced, windows firewall settings and under exceptions add port 80. That should block http on your wired LAN, but allow it on your wireless LAN. Do the same with everything else - whatever you wish to use on your wireless LAN, block it's port on the wired LAN.

**** that just might work! I'll have to enable Windows firewall first tho'

<edit> have to do it the opposite way round, exceptions opens ports, not closes them.
<edit 2> nope... doesn't work.

 

[ambo]

a WAN router with built in proxy or would you suggest a linux box?

My current favourite is psSense which is based on FreeBSD (which is about as near as dammit to Linux). Its extremely powerful and designed to be hacked into whatever you need it to be. I don't think you'll find an effective proxy in any of the consumer ADSL-router type devices.

 

[ic]

**** that just might work! I'll have to enable Windows firewall first tho'

I don't think it will work - reason being the default gateway for port 80 http traffic would still be your LAN router, and the firewall would just block port 80 traffic without routing it through the WiMax router.

 

[arf9999]

A simpler solution would perhaps be to use 2 separate PCs: the one running torrents & connected to the LAN, and the other running Firefox [hopefully] and connected to the WiMax router, this will definitely solve the routing conundrum .

but where is the fun in that

Of course, Linux is a much more elegant & compact solution - but we've been banned from mentioning Linux Linux Linux Linux Linux Linux in this thread .

lol

 

[arf9999]

I don't think it will work - reason being the default gateway for port 80 http traffic would still be your LAN router, and the firewall would just block port 80 traffic without routing it through the WiMax router.

You are right (as usual). I'm either going to have to carry on switching manually, or set up another box.

hmm.