Configuring Wireless & LAN NIC Gateways on Laptop

W

woody101

New Member
With XP where laptops have both a Wireless NIC and a LAN (Wired) NIC I configure the IP settings identically except for the laptop's IP address - eg.

Wireless Adapter
=============
IP Address: 192.168.0.21
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Preferred DNS Server: ...
Secondary DNS Server: ...

LAN Adapter
=========
IP Address: 192.168.0.22
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Preferred DNS Server: ...
Secondary DNS Server: ...

It is then a simple matter to switch off the Wireless Adapter & plug in an ethernet cable or unplug the cable and turn on the Wireless Adapter to switch the connection type. This has worked fine for years.

This does not seem to work for Vista. I can only have a Default Gateway on the active NIC and must make it so before I activate it otherwise I get the following error messages when trying to configure the NIC's IP settings.

"Warning - Multiple default gateways are intended to provide redundancy to a single network (such as an intranet or the internet). They will not function properly when the gateways are on two separate, disjoint networks (such as one on your intranet and one on the Internet) Do you want to save this configuration?"

If I ignore the warnings, then there is no Internet Connection. Is there any way I can achieve the simplicity that was available under Windows XP?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:

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Hi Woody,

If you want simplicity use DHCP and only one connection at a time.....If you specify identical Default gateways and DNS address`s on active connections Vista will try use both and in your case they are both identical so it gets confused.

Just use one connection at a time or change the IP range for one adapter and use DHCP or Vista will just keep confusing itself with what default connection it should use.

Steven
 

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Steven

Thanks for your reply but - Please note from my initial post that there are 2 network adapters but only one active at a time. if the wireless adapter is switched on then no ethernet cable is plugged in. If an ethernet cable is plugged in then the wireless adapter is physically switched off. Using DHCP is NOT an option because of the configuration of the network and the presence of other PC's. Static IP's are required.

Any further suggestions?

Regards Vic
 

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Steven,

Preferred DNS Server is 192.168.0.1 on both in XP and this is what I am trying to do in Vista. Secondary DNS Server is not set.

Vic
 

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woody101 said:
Steven,

Preferred DNS Server is 192.168.0.1 on both in XP and this is what I am trying to do in Vista. Secondary DNS Server is not set.

Vic
Click to expand...

Hey Woody,

Try setting your LAN with the 192.168.*.*/255.255.255.0 range, then use 10.0.*.*/255.0.0.0 for your wireless network, I think its just getting confused using the same IPs and subnet/default gateway on two adapters so if you change one network adapter IP range it might work...

Let me know
Cheers
Steven
 

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Steven,

Sounds good in theory - but I don't think it is the answer.

There are several PC's, a broadband router and the wireless access point all on the one LAN. PC's are all connected via ethernet cable and have access to each other and to the internet. Laptops can connect either via ethernet cable or alternatively via the access point depending upon the use or location from time to time. They also have access to other computers on the network and to the internet.

If We use a different IP range for the Access Point connection, I would expect problems with nework shares and other issues.

Why does something that works so easily under XP have to be so difficult under Vista? I guess - if we find a solution - it too may seem simple.

Thanks for your interest so far

Regards
Vic
 

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woody101 said:
This does not seem to work for Vista. I can only have a Default Gateway on the active NIC and must make it so before I activate it otherwise I get the following error messages when trying to configure the NIC's IP settings.
Click to expand...

Did you try to obtain an address ip automatically?
On the laptop i use for the moment, i change sometimes from ethernet to wireless and back to ethernet with no problem with that configuration.
 

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Sid,

Things work fine if I use DHCP and get an IP automatically. However, for a number of reasons, that is not an option. I need to assign a static IP and that is when the problem arises. Funnily enough the gateway established when using DHCP is the same as the one I try to allocate when assignig the IP, Gateway etc manually.

The wireless access point is a Netcomm NP5400 and I now believe there may be 2 factors contributing to my Vista problem when connecting through it (none of which showed up as a causing any problems under XP):

(a) it insists on having a default gateway which has always been 192.168.0.1
(b) the Vista laptop appears on a different network segment (not what I want)

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Regards

Vic
 

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woody101 said:
Sid,

Things work fine if I use DHCP and get an IP automatically. However, for a number of reasons, that is not an option. I need to assign a static IP and that is when the problem arises. Funnily enough the gateway established when using DHCP is the same as the one I try to allocate when assignig the IP, Gateway etc manually.

The wireless access point is a Netcomm NP5400 and I now believe there may be 2 factors contributing to my Vista problem when connecting through it (none of which showed up as a causing any problems under XP):

(a) it insists on having a default gateway which has always been 192.168.0.1
(b) the Vista laptop appears on a different network segment (not what I want)

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Regards

Vic
Click to expand...

Hi Vic,

I think thats a problem with your routers DHCP pool options sending a NAK message or incorrect configuration...Dubble check it for me :cool:
 

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Steven,

To me the Router seems to be fine. I am not sure what I need to check. The IP I am trying to set manually is outside the router's DHCP range. The Access point has DHCP turned off.

Regards
Vic
 

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woody101 said:
Steven,

To me the Router seems to be fine. I am not sure what I need to check. The IP I am trying to set manually is outside the router's DHCP range. The Access point has DHCP turned off.

Regards
Vic
Click to expand...

Thats properly why its sending a NAK (Deny) message back to your computer, Try setting an IP inside the DHCP range of your router.
 

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Steven,

Perhaps I am missing something but I do not understand why I would need/want to specify a static IP address within the router's DHCP range. Surely this would be asking for problems.

In summary form, the situation and the network setup is as follows:

ROUTER
======
A Router with an IP address 192.168.0.1, a DHCP range of IP addresses and remaining addresses outside the DHCP range.

IP addresses within the router's DHCP range are for transient connections which are not setup as trusts in our internal firewall but which need access to the internet. This has worked fine for years.

IP addresses outside the router's DHCP Range are for internal connections which are setup as trusts within our internal firewall, have access to each other, internal shares and to the internet. this has also worked fine for years.

All internal XP PC's/Laptops whether they be connected by wired ethernet or wirelessly have always been configured in a like manner, i.e. IP address selectedfrom outside the router's DHCP range and with the Default Gateway & Preferred DNS Server both set to 192.168.0.1. The approriate trusts were then defined within our firewal.

ACCESS POINT
============
The Access Point's DHCP is disabled. As a consequence, any wireless connection requiring DHCP resolution is passed through to the router and passed back. This has worked fine for years under XP. Similarly, under XP static IP addresses as described above, worked fine.

The Access Point insists on having a Default Gateway and this has always been set as the IP address of the router. This has not caused an issue and has always worked fine under XP for years.

VISTA Wired Ethernet Connection
===============================
Configuring the wired ethernet connection IP Address, Default Gateway & Preferred DNS Server identically to that for an XP connection works fine.

It is only when Configuring the wireless connection IP Address, Default Gateway & Preferred DNS Server that I get the following error message:

"Warning - Multiple default gateways are intended to provide redundancy to a single network (such as an intranet or the internet). They will not function properly when the gateways are on two separate, disjoint networks (such as one on your intranet and one on the Internet) Do you want to save this configuration?"

I trust that this summary clarifies the situation.

Regards

Vic
 

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woody101 said:
Steven,

Perhaps I am missing something but I do not understand why I would need/want to specify a static IP address within the router's DHCP range. Surely this would be asking for problems.

In summary form, the situation and the network setup is as follows:

ROUTER
======
A Router with an IP address 192.168.0.1, a DHCP range of IP addresses and remaining addresses outside the DHCP range.

IP addresses within the router's DHCP range are for transient connections which are not setup as trusts in our internal firewall but which need access to the internet. This has worked fine for years.

IP addresses outside the router's DHCP Range are for internal connections which are setup as trusts within our internal firewall, have access to each other, internal shares and to the internet. this has also worked fine for years.

All internal XP PC's/Laptops whether they be connected by wired ethernet or wirelessly have always been configured in a like manner, i.e. IP address selectedfrom outside the router's DHCP range and with the Default Gateway & Preferred DNS Server both set to 192.168.0.1. The approriate trusts were then defined within our firewal.

ACCESS POINT
============
The Access Point's DHCP is disabled. As a consequence, any wireless connection requiring DHCP resolution is passed through to the router and passed back. This has worked fine for years under XP. Similarly, under XP static IP addresses as described above, worked fine.

The Access Point insists on having a Default Gateway and this has always been set as the IP address of the router. This has not caused an issue and has always worked fine under XP for years.

VISTA Wired Ethernet Connection
===============================
Configuring the wired ethernet connection IP Address, Default Gateway & Preferred DNS Server identically to that for an XP connection works fine.

It is only when Configuring the wireless connection IP Address, Default Gateway & Preferred DNS Server that I get the following error message:

"Warning - Multiple default gateways are intended to provide redundancy to a single network (such as an intranet or the internet). They will not function properly when the gateways are on two separate, disjoint networks (such as one on your intranet and one on the Internet) Do you want to save this configuration?"

I trust that this summary clarifies the situation.

Regards

Vic
Click to expand...

Hey Vic,

Setting the IP within the DHCP range will not cause any problems, Im not asking for a huge change in configuration here I just want you to try it out and see igf theres any difference and if there is then we have somethign to work with...

Network topology states an IP range of 192.168.x.x must usually have a subnet 255.255.x.x while a 10.0.0.1 range must use a 255.x.x.x subnet range and if they are different it uses causes a few problems.

anyway try changing the settings and let me know if theres any change.

Cheers
Steven
 

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woody101 said:
Steven,

I tried using an IP address within the router's DHCP range as suggested but this made no difference to my problem.

Vic
Click to expand...

Hmm, Have you tried resetting everything to its default config and checking if they work fine?...From there you can make each configuration change one by one untill you find the culprit setting or service?
 

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Steven,

Sorry for the delay in replying but this one had me completely "wacked". I have finally come up with a solution - although not altogether perfect.

Under XP I could have both the Wireless Adapter & the LAN Adapter IP configurations pre-done on a laptop. Then it was simply a matter of (a) switching off the WLAN and connecting an ethernet cable or (b) disconnecting the ethernet cable and turning on the WLAN to switch connections.

Under Vista this is almost true but only one of the adapters can have a default gateway defined. Thus in addition to the above there is a couple of extra steps. For example -

1. switch off the WLAN, clear default gateway from WLAN Adapter, add default gateway to LAN Adapter and connect an ethernet cable; or

2. disconnect the ethernet cable, clear default gateway from LAN Adapter, add default gateway to WLAN Adapter and connect an ethernet cable.

As I said - NOT PERFECT but workable for the moment.

What I need to do now is find a more elegant solution for frequent connection swaps. Any ideas will be greatfully considered.

I do appreciate considerably your persistence in attempting to resolve this difficult problem.

Thanks
Vic
 

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Might be possible to use different profiles using the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security within the Administrator Tools control panel?
 

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