Connecting one computer to two networks

Kevo

Hi
I have a broadband modem connected to my computer via ethernet. I recently set up a server for all my media and connected them and a ps3 using a router with a four port switch.

So my computer uses one ethernet port to connect to the modem and another to connect to the router.

The problem is that when both connections are enabled the internet becomes extremely slow to respond. I think that there is a timeout or something. It takes bout 30 seconds to load google. It doesn't seem to be doing anything at all for about 28 of those seconds.

Data transfer between the server and the computer seems to be working. If I disable the connection to the server the internet works as normal again.

Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
Kevin

BoB_BoT

why not connect the modem directly to the router?
There's a possibility that you're confusing the computer and it doesn't know where to look for the internet connection, although 30 seconds is a long time. What kind of server are you running, is it windows or linux? Is it running a dns or dhcp server? Bit more info would be nice

The way I'd do it, is :
Modem -> Router-> Clients (ps3, pc, server).

Also you could try forcing Internet Explorer or Firefox to route directly to the modem/router by configuring the manual proxy config (found under tools -> internet options -> connections -> lan settings) to something like 192.168.x.xxx (where x is your modems/routers IP).

FruitLover

Yeah, your current setup doesn't make much sense (you should use your router as a router, obviously).

I'm guessing your computer has two gateways, and it's confused as to where to send internet traffic. Your internal NIC shouldn't have a default gateway set.

Kevo

I have tried to use the router for all of them but in order to do that I need to enable bridgeing on the modem. Unfortunately I have been unable to do this successfully.

FruitLover

Kevo wrote: »

I have tried to use the router for all of them but in order to do that I need to enable bridgeing on the modem. Unfortunately I have been unable to do this successfully.

I'm not sure I get it. What kind of WAN port does your router have? If it's ethernet, you should be able to just replace your computer's current role with the router. Your broadband modem would normally act as a bridge in the first place (unless it's a router/modem combo).

Kevo

Oh. I thought bridgeing had to be enabled on the modem.

I have tried connecting them directly before with no success. I connected all my computers to the router and then connected the router to the modem. I was unable to access the internet from any of the computers.

Webmonkey

You could set up a persistent route to your server on your pc and leave default route out to internet, modem.

Why can't you just place your server on the same subnet as your modem's private side. You can place it in a static IP range. I don't see why you need another subnet??

RangeR

You could turn the routing, NAT, DHCP Server etc options off on the router and use the existing modem as your only router. The other "router" would then be only used as a switch. It's the way I have mine setup [sort of, but mine is a bit more complicated]

FruitLover

Right, people are using inaccurate terms here. OP, can you first clarify whether your 'broadband modem' is a modem only, or a router with a modem built in? (Most modern broadband termination devices are routers) If you're not sure, post the model name/number.

Might as well post up the model name/number of the second router as well.

allybhoy

It sounds like the op is complicating matters. On your pc you have 2 NIC's, one public (internet), one private correct? Well if all you are doing on your private side is sharing files between your ps3, file server etc, then simply remove your default gateway and DNS entries from this interface and everything should work. You dont need a DG on your private side if all devices are on the same subnet. EG:- if your ps3 uses 192.168.1.100 and your pc is on the 192.168.1.101 then there is no need for a DG on either devices to transfer data between each other.


If however in the future what you want to do give internet access to your pc,ps3,and any other devices simultaneously then you need to connect the broadband modem to the WAN port of your router and the rest of the devices should be plugged into the LAN side of the router. You will then need to do some small configuration on the broadband modem and the router before it will work, if you post the make and model of your modem and router I should be able to help you out.

Kevo

Thanks for the replies.

My modem is the Netopia Cayman 3300. This is my router.

I would like to connect everything to the router and give internet access to all of the devices.

FruitLover

OK, the Cayman is both a router and a modem. You're presumably using as a router at the moment, with the computer in between the Cayman and the Linksys acting as a second router (Windows network sharing?)

There's no reason why you can't just bypass the computer altogether, using the Cayman as your default gateway, and use the Linksys purely as a switch. I'm not really sure why you have your computer between the Cayman and the Linksys.

So:

{internet}--[Cayman]--[Switch(Linksys)]---computer,PS3,etc

RangeR

FruitLover wrote: »

{internet}--[Cayman]--[Switch(Linksys)]---computer,PS3,etc

Yeah, wot he said [and I did a few posts back ]