hmmmmmm wrote:
> pardon my newbiness....i'm not sure this will work as i
> ain't tried it....
>
> but if both ends had their own internet access, couldn't you
> easily setup a vpn connection between them and print thru
> the internet...
>
> obviously the routers would need to support this and depending
> on bandwidth and printing requirements as well...
>
> this way you wouldn't need to cable/connect up anything and just
> fart around with your config's etc....
>
> or am i barking up the wrong tree???
>
> again, excuse my newbiness!
>
> regards
>
> Harry
>
> "Kurt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> -RS- wrote:
>>> I want to connect 2 peer-to-peer Windows networks that are at opposite
> ends
>>> of the bldg. Users want to be able to access all the printers currently
>>> connected to two separate networks.
>>>
>>> The far one is about 60 feet away and uses a Windows 2000 Pro desktop to
>>> allow 6 or 8 users to share internet access, disk storage space and a
> couple
>>> of shared printers. The Win2K machine has a router and a switch to
> handle
>>> all the lines.
>>>
>>> The near one uses a WinXP Pro desktop to allow 6 or so users to
> similarly
>>> share internet access and printers. It also has a router and a switch to
>>> handle the lines
>>>
>>> In both cases the switches are just connected to one of the router's LAN
>>> ports.
>>>
>>> A friend (friend "A") more knowledgeable than me has suggested that an
> easy
>>> way to connect the two networks is to turn off DHCP (and PnP) on one of
> the
>>> routers ... and run a single line between the two routers.
>>>
>>> Another friend (friend "B") has said that it would be necessary to put
> the
>>> non-DHCP router into "bridge" mode for this to work ... and not all
> routers
>>> have this ability, apparently?
>>>
>>> Any informed opinion / suggestion is welcome :-)
>>>
>>> -Ron-
>>>
>>>
>> Your post seems to contain some contradictions. At one point you say
>> that the Windows 2000 and Windows XP computers are providing Internet
>> access, and on the very next line, you say Internet is via a router. I
>> suspect you have 2 separate LANS, with one computer configured as a file
>> and/or print server for each, and each sharing Internet via their own
>> broadband router of some sort (cable/DSL/etc). You have two choices,
>> bridge the networks (in which case they would likely all share one
>> Internet connection instead of each having their own), or route them,
>> which would likely leave them to have with their own Internet
>> connections, it really depends on how sophisticated your routers are.
>> ----------------------------------------
>>
>> Option 1 - Easiest:
>>
>> Internet
>> |
>> Router
>> |
>> Switch--------------|
>> | |
>> LAN1 Servers/Printer/Desktops |
>> |
>> 60' patch cord
>> |
>> Switch-------------|
>> |
>> LAN2 Servers/Printer/Desktops
>>
>> Then kill the Internet connection for LAN 2, let everybody continue to
>> use DHCP. You'll have to re-IP printers and servers in LAN 2 if they
>> have static addresses on a different subnet.
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------
>> Option 2 - Routing:
>>
>> Internet
>> |
>> Router
>> |
>> Switch--------------
>> | |
>> LAN1 Servers/Printer/Desktops |
>> Router
>> |
>> |
>> Switch-------------
>> |
>> ----Optional Internet
>> |
>> LAN2 Servers/Printer/Desktops
>>
>> This is a lot more complicated. You'll need routes between networks and
>> a real router. By a "real" router, I mean one that routes traffic
>> without doing "NAT" (Network Address Translation) like most cheap
>> broadband routers. Some less expensive routers will function as either a
>> broadband NAT router or a true router. If you want to spend a bit more
>> you can get one that'll do both, but configuring them is not trivial
>> unless you speak Cisco. If you want to consolidate Internet, you'll need
>> a broadband Internet router that will NAT for multiple subnets. If you
>> want to keep separate local Internet connections, you'll need Internet
>> routers that allow you add a static route to the other local subnet via
>> the router in between the two (Or you could add the static routes to the
>> workstations and use the "in-between" router as the default gateway for
>> printers - printers shouldn't need Internet access). Also, if you route
>> between subnets, you won't see the other end in "My Network Places"
>> unless you have a WINS server, which requires a full-blown Windows
>> Server OS (sounds like you don't have any Server Operating Systems). You
>> could also use a Samba (Linux) server as your WINS server. If you don't
>> know what I'm talking about, go with option 1.
>>
>> ...kurt
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
There are a number of ways to print and share files across the Internet.
A VPN is one (and a good one). Just remember that the bandwidth across
that 60' cable is 100 megabits, and across a VPN likely about 1 megabit.
If performance is not an issue, a VPN is a quick solution. If you have
60' of CAT5 (5 cents a foot and 95 cents per end for RJ45 plugs works
out to about $5.00 total), you get a full 100Mb pipe. Plus you make
money by eliminating the cost of one of your Internet connections.
....kurt
|
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