Multihomed Windows XP Home & DHCP problem

[Perttu]

I have trouble setting up a private network at home. I have two
computers and ADSL-modem connected to the same switch. Both computers
get their ip-address from DHCP server. My other computer has additional
manual private address assigned and Samba sharing and it seems to be
working fine.

Problem is Windows XP Home. I have assigned a manual private address and
subnet mask with regedit in addition to the DHCP. I can ping the other
computer but when I try to browse the network neighbourhood I get an
error. After viewing firewall logs it seems that XP tries to browse the
public network and not the private one.

How can I get XP to browse the private network? Is this even possible in
Windows XP Home?


-Perttu

 

[Doug Sherman [MVP]]

Well, if you have a DSL modem and 2 computers all connected to the same
switch and both computers can access the Internet, then your ISP is giving
you 2 public IP addresses. Unless there is some reason why you need 2
public IP address, my recommendation would be to cancel one of them (you're
probably paying extra for it); and buy a cheap Internet router - Linksys,
Netgear, DLink, Belkin, etc.

It is true that MS defines 'multihomed' as installing more than one adapter
in a machine OR assigning more than one IP address to an adapter. However,
if you want to run two separate networks, you need the more-than-one-adapter
version.

Doug Sherman
MCSE Win2k/NT4.0, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP

 

[Perttu]

Well, if you have a DSL modem and 2 computers all connected to the same
switch and both computers can access the Internet, then your ISP is giving
you 2 public IP addresses. Unless there is some reason why you need 2
public IP address, my recommendation would be to cancel one of them (you're
probably paying extra for it); and buy a cheap Internet router - Linksys,
Netgear, DLink, Belkin, etc.

Yes, I could buy a cheap router or a second ethernet card but if I could
use my existing hardware it would just be easier. Routers may require a
bit of tinkering in some cases, playing games and such. Second ethernet
adapter might be easier to manage but I'll try first to find a solution
with my existing hardware. My internet connection comes with 5 public IP
addresses so I'm not paying extra, for some reason the two computers
just aren't in the same subnet.

It is true that MS defines 'multihomed' as installing more than one adapter
in a machine OR assigning more than one IP address to an adapter. However,
if you want to run two separate networks, you need the more-than-one-adapter
version.

Although it requires a little "more advanced" modifying with the
registry to make XP Home multihomed while using DHCP, sounds odd if
browsing can't also be modified to see this second network.


-Perttu

 

[Doug Sherman [MVP]]

You can share files between your public IP addresses - hopefully with
firewalls that block file sharing with all other addresses, but you cannot
add private IP addresses to the same segment and expect the operating system
to sort it all out. You could use lmhosts files to map local computer names
to private addresses, but file sharing is enabled on a per adapter not per
IP address basis.

Doug Sherman
MCSE Win2k/NT4.0, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP

 

[Perttu]

You can share files between your public IP addresses - hopefully with
firewalls that block file sharing with all other addresses, but you cannot
add private IP addresses to the same segment and expect the operating system
to sort it all out. You could use lmhosts files to map local computer names
to private addresses, but file sharing is enabled on a per adapter not per
IP address basis.

I bought a second network card, now the private network is working fine.
Thanks for your advice.


-Perttu