DHCP forwarding

Hello all,

We have a small network at work. Most machines are running Windows XP
SP2 and on 100Mbps ethernet wired to our Windows Server 2003 machine.
This server is a DHCP server for handing out an IP address, gateway
address, DNS servers, domain names, proxy configurations, and other
settings to each machine on the network when it boots. It works great.

We also have a Netgear WGR614v2 Wireless Router (with routing and DHCP
serving turned off so it acts as a basic Access Point) connected to the
LAN to give wireless access to a bunch of other machines. All the
wireless machines have perfect wireless connectivity and work great if I
specify the IP address, gateway and DNS settings manually.

While manual config works, I want to be able to use DHCP for all the
extra settings the server dishes out. If I change the network config to
get the settings via DHCP then perform ipconfig /release /renew the
machine drops off the network. If I check the server's DHCP logs when a
wireless machine requests an IP, there is a record of the request and
the reply but the reply isn't reaching the wireless machine.

My best guess is that the DHCP reply packet is reaching the Netgear
router and going no further. I have updated the routers firmware and
checked and rechecked all the config options I thought could help.

Can anyone suggest what the problem might be, or better, what the
solution might be?

Thank you,

- Jason

"Jason" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello all,
>
> We have a small network at work. Most machines are running Windows XP SP2
> and on 100Mbps ethernet wired to our Windows Server 2003 machine. This
> server is a DHCP server for handing out an IP address, gateway address,
> DNS servers, domain names, proxy configurations, and other settings to
> each machine on the network when it boots. It works great.
>
> We also have a Netgear WGR614v2 Wireless Router (with routing and DHCP
> serving turned off so it acts as a basic Access Point) connected to the
> LAN to give wireless access to a bunch of other machines. All the wireless
> machines have perfect wireless connectivity and work great if I specify
> the IP address, gateway and DNS settings manually.
>
> While manual config works, I want to be able to use DHCP for all the extra
> settings the server dishes out. If I change the network config to get the
> settings via DHCP then perform ipconfig /release /renew the machine drops
> off the network. If I check the server's DHCP logs when a wireless machine
> requests an IP, there is a record of the request and the reply but the
> reply isn't reaching the wireless machine.
>
> My best guess is that the DHCP reply packet is reaching the Netgear router
> and going no further. I have updated the routers firmware and checked and
> rechecked all the config options I thought could help.
>
> Can anyone suggest what the problem might be, or better, what the solution
> might be?
>
> Thank you,
>
> - Jason

I would suggest that you turn on the DHCP server in the Netgear WGR614v2.
Configure it's DHCP scope to include a range of IP addresses that are
sufficient for the number of wireless computers that will be connecting.

Then edit the DHCP configuration on the Windows2003 server to exclude the
range of IP's that you have configured on the Netgear.

E.G. you will have the server DHCP using 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.149
The Netgear DHCP would use 192.168.1.150 - 192.168.1.159

I suspect that the firewall functionality and the Network Address
Translation (NAT) could be causing your problem. Assuming that you have
connected the Netgear to you local network using the WAN port.

TheDysk

"TheDysk" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:lZwve.212611$(E-Mail Removed) m...
>
> "Jason" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hello all,
>>
>> We have a small network at work. Most machines are running Windows XP SP2
>> and on 100Mbps ethernet wired to our Windows Server 2003 machine. This
>> server is a DHCP server for handing out an IP address, gateway address,
>> DNS servers, domain names, proxy configurations, and other settings to
>> each machine on the network when it boots. It works great.
>>
>> We also have a Netgear WGR614v2 Wireless Router (with routing and DHCP
>> serving turned off so it acts as a basic Access Point) connected to the
>> LAN to give wireless access to a bunch of other machines. All the
>> wireless machines have perfect wireless connectivity and work great if I
>> specify the IP address, gateway and DNS settings manually.
>>
>> While manual config works, I want to be able to use DHCP for all the
>> extra settings the server dishes out. If I change the network config to
>> get the settings via DHCP then perform ipconfig /release /renew the
>> machine drops off the network. If I check the server's DHCP logs when a
>> wireless machine requests an IP, there is a record of the request and the
>> reply but the reply isn't reaching the wireless machine.
>>
>> My best guess is that the DHCP reply packet is reaching the Netgear
>> router and going no further. I have updated the routers firmware and
>> checked and rechecked all the config options I thought could help.
>>
>> Can anyone suggest what the problem might be, or better, what the
>> solution might be?
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> - Jason
>
> I would suggest that you turn on the DHCP server in the Netgear WGR614v2.
> Configure it's DHCP scope to include a range of IP addresses that are
> sufficient for the number of wireless computers that will be connecting.
>
> Then edit the DHCP configuration on the Windows2003 server to exclude the
> range of IP's that you have configured on the Netgear.
>
> E.G. you will have the server DHCP using 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.149
> The Netgear DHCP would use 192.168.1.150 - 192.168.1.159
>
> I suspect that the firewall functionality and the Network Address
> Translation (NAT) could be causing your problem. Assuming that you have
> connected the Netgear to you local network using the WAN port.
>
> TheDysk
>

On second thoughts... If you have connected the Netgear to the local network
using the WAN port. Then move the connection from the WAN port to one of the
4 LAN ports. This should fix the problem without having to reconfigure DHCP
on either the server or the Netgear.

TheDysk

I tried to include as much information in my original post but I
obviously forgot to mention that the router is wired to the network via
the LAN ports, not the WAN port. I have also considered using the
router's built in DHCP server but that still doesn't help with the
additional DHCP settings (other than IP, gateway and DNS) that the
router won't broadcast. It also isn't really a solution to the problem,
it is more of a workaround. Considering the router is attached via the
LAN ports there should be no NAT or firewall blocking any DHCP packets.

- Jason

"Jason" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>I tried to include as much information in my original post but I
> obviously forgot to mention that the router is wired to the network via
> the LAN ports, not the WAN port. I have also considered using the
> router's built in DHCP server but that still doesn't help with the
> additional DHCP settings (other than IP, gateway and DNS) that the
> router won't broadcast. It also isn't really a solution to the problem,
> it is more of a workaround. Considering the router is attached via the
> LAN ports there should be no NAT or firewall blocking any DHCP packets.
>
> - Jason
>

Fair Point.

The only other way would be to switch off the firewall and NAT in the
Netgear. I'm not familiar with the model so do not know if this is possible.