Multiple network connections?

[loneBoat]

I'm not sure what to title this thread - I can't sum it up very briefly.

I currently have a working internet connection through my dad's computer. He lives across a pasture from me, and has a broadband connection. I bought a wireless PCI card for my desktop, and I connect to a router he has on his end. Great, everything's fine there.

Here's my problem: I just bought a wireless router of my OWN to set up my own little wireless network here in my house. I want to do this because I have a laptop which I would like to connect to my desktop (for file sharing, printer sharing, etc...), and I also have a wireless media center to which I would like to stream media from my desktop. When I plug my router in and try and do that, my internet connection breaks, I think because my computer is now trying to use the new router on my end as an internet gateway, rather than my wireless PCI card installed inside my desktop. Any thoughts? Is there some way I can set it up so that internet-bound traffic is handeled by my PCI wireless card, and 'other-stuff' traffic by my local router? :confused:

Thank you...

[Greenstead]

Routers contain a DHCP service which is how it gives you your IP address and gateway to the internet. Your router will be giving your PCs these settings, and as you say they will be going to your router for an internet service it can not provide.

There are two approaches to solve this. The one I suggest is to access your routers configuration and disable its DHCP service. This should allow all your PCs to receive IP and gateway addresses as before from your dad's PC.

[loneBoat]

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought about the two DHCP servers 'fighting' to assign IP addreses. I disabled DHCP on the new router, but to no avail. The new router is still 'stealing' internet traffic from the second computer (mine). I've done up a diagram detailing my current configuration and my desired one. I hope this clarifys what I was talking about, I don't think I described it very well the first time.

[loneBoat]

Oh, you said you knew of two approaches. What is the other?

[Greenstead]

I misunderstood where you are heading, I must have been half asleep. What you want is a bit problematic.

The simpest solution for internet access is that all your PCs make wireless connection with Router 1 and you don't use your new router for wireless, but I guess you have tried that and the thruput is not good enough for PC to PC communication.

Another ideal solution is you make your own network standalone and then create the internet link back to Dad's network - but this needs a wireless-wireless bridge which the routers cannot do.

Note that streaming video media from your Media Centre needs a strong stable thruput or you will get jitter and breakup. I don't think you will achieve that with the Media Centre on wireless. e.g wireless PC -> wireless router -> wireless PC .... is a repeater type process which will never give smooth video at good quality and halves the thruput also.
(I'm assuming all your wireless devices are at least basic 11g, 11b is a non starter).
I would be inclined to hard wire the Media Centre to the new router and the desktop same, since presumably they do not move around. At least the Media Centre should be hard wired.


You could try your diag 2 and enable ICS on the computer 2 wireless card. In principle you should not do this because ICS is another DHCP service but it might be workable. This requires that router 1 is not using subnet 192.168.0.0 (e.g. a netgear or dlink router) or it will not work at all. DHCP should be off in router 2. All ethernet connections to router 2 by LAN ports only - do not use the WAN port. All connections, wired or wireless, must be on automatic. You should find that computer 2 wireless card gets an IP address from router 1 and that computer 2 ethernet card gets address 192.168.0.1.
Try it.