Multiple Network Connections - Need Setup Help.

Emphacy · 4 Sep 2011 at 22:21

Well, for pretty much the last several years I've always required two network connections, one to the internet via virgin hub and one to my LAN network for gaming and file transfer.

I usually had to unplug one network though to use the other, but since I got a P5Q-E I have multiple ethernet ports on the motherboard.
One of the ethernet ports goes to my TP-Link router then to the internet [LAN1], the other goes to my switch and to my server - no Internet [LAN2]

Whenever I have them both active at the same time however, everything tries to connect to the internet through LAN2 and not LAN1 where the internet connection is...

How do I fix this? Has it anything to do with the default gateway, I tried Googling but it seems gibberish to me, I'm no network guru.
Anybody have any knowledge/ experience? Thanks in advance.

bremen1874 · 4 Sep 2011 at 22:28

Is there a good reason why you can't just connect everything back to the Virgin router?

Emphacy · 4 Sep 2011 at 22:36

bremen1874 said:
Is there a good reason why you can't just connect everything back to the Virgin router?

I have my Server and PC in the same room but the PC uses a single port powerline plug to reach the virgin router (internet). I'm trying to use an old modem router as the switch but it only has two LAN ports sadly which means I cant use it for both the server and PC to access the internet.

bremen1874 · 4 Sep 2011 at 22:50

So on the Virgin side you've got something like this?

Virgin Modem -> TP-Link Router -> Home Plug -> Home Plug -> PC.

Couldn't you rearrange it like this?

Virgin Modem -> Home Plug -> Home Plug -> TP-Link Router -> PC.

Emphacy · 5 Sep 2011 at 00:26

Well unfortunately our Network Bluray player and my fathers computer (downstairs) is plugged into the TP-Link router so I can't move it.
There's a way to do it, it's the reason these boards have more than 1 LAN port, it will also come in handy when me and my flat mates do LAN sessions at university...

Hmmm, I guess I'll just have to do the disconnecting and reconnecting...

bremen1874 · 5 Sep 2011 at 00:34

Okay, I'm still not sure why you're trying to do this (unless it's just for academic interest) when a 5 port switch is under a tenner and is much simpler.

ICS would probably do what you want. There’s a starting point here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Using-ICS-Internet-Connection-Sharing.

shine · 5 Sep 2011 at 07:40

Just get this for your bedroom:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-040-TP&groupid=46&catid=1626&subcat=

All problems solved.

PistolPete · 5 Sep 2011 at 09:01

What IP address / subnet mask and default gateway settings do you have for each NIC?
Sounds like this is a little messed up.

And I'm assuming you don't need internet connectivity to the server??

Donkeyfumbler · 5 Sep 2011 at 12:56

Easy peasy - you just have to set the Metric on your two network connections to something other than Automatic. Set the one you want internet traffic to go to to 1 and the other to 2 and you are good to go. It's in the adapter settings in network connections.