connecting / bridging two small peer-to-peer networks ...

[-RS-]

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-

 

[Kurt]

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

 

[hmmmmmm]

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]

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

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