Network challenge

My wired and wireless Windows XP SP2 clients are on different subnets of my
Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. When I'm on my wireless subnet
I am unable to access the files on a wired machine by entering the either
\\<machine name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address field, and
vice versa. However, if I try to connect to a machine on the same subnet
(that is wireless-wireless or wired-wired) I am able to connect using the
aforementioned method.

How do I allow cross-subnet access to machines by supplying \\<machine name>
or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer?

Thanks in advance,

Mervin Williams

Two subnets = 1 router. I multihome the SBS server and
enable rip.
"Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:
> My wired and wireless Windows XP SP2 clients are on different subnets of
> my Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. When I'm on my wireless
> subnet I am unable to access the files on a wired machine by entering the
> either \\<machine name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address
> field, and vice versa. However, if I try to connect to a machine on the
> same subnet (that is wireless-wireless or wired-wired) I am able to
> connect using the aforementioned method.
>
> How do I allow cross-subnet access to machines by supplying \\<machine
> name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer?

Actually, the wireless subnet is created by my Sonicwall firewall - its a
firewall and wireless access point.

Mervin Williams


"Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> My wired and wireless Windows XP SP2 clients are on different subnets of
> my Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. When I'm on my wireless
> subnet I am unable to access the files on a wired machine by entering the
> either \\<machine name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address
> field, and vice versa. However, if I try to connect to a machine on the
> same subnet (that is wireless-wireless or wired-wired) I am able to
> connect using the aforementioned method.
>
> How do I allow cross-subnet access to machines by supplying \\<machine
> name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Mervin Williams
>

Hi Merv,

No one has pointed this out, but XP and Windows Server 2003, both behave
differently when both wireless and wired connections are both enabled at the
same time. You have to ensure either that only one network adapter is active
at any one time, or that the majority of the network traffic flows over the
desired network adapter.

Connecting to only a Single Network
Although simultaneous connectivity can have its benefits as a fault-tolerant
way to maintain a connection to an intranet, it can also be viewed as a
disadvantage for the following reasons:

• Having two network connections uses up two Internet Protocol version 4
(IPv4) addresses. In some networks, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP)-allocated IPv4 addresses are scarce and a client computer should only
be using one at a time.

• With two connections, it becomes more difficult to determine the
connection over which network traffic is flowing.

• For some wireless infrastructures, wireless bandwidth is relatively scarce
due to a small number of deployed wireless access points (APs). Therefore,
wireless connections should only be used when a laptop is roaming and away
from its docking station.


At this time, computers running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 do not
have the capability to automatically disable the wireless network adapter
when the Ethernet adapter is plugged into a network and to automatically
enable the wireless network adapter when the Ethernet adapter is unplugged.
If you do not want simultaneous connections to both wired and wireless
networks, you must manually enable and disable the connection to the wireless
network, the procedure for which varies with different releases of Windows XP
and Windows Server 2003.


For computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Server
2003 with Service Pack 1, you can manually enable or disable the wireless
network adapter from the notification area of the desktop or from the Network
Connections folder. To enable, right-click the wireless adapter icon and then
click Enable. To disable, right-click the wireless adapter icon and then
click Disable.

You can also use a new feature in Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003
Service Pack 1 to connect to your wireless network manually, rather than
automatically.

To manually disconnect from your wireless network, right-click your wireless
adapter icon in the notification area, and then click View Available Wireless
Networks. From the Choose a wireless network dialog box, double-click your
currently connected network. You will be prompted with a message asking
whether you want to disconnect from the wireless network. When you select
Yes, you will be disconnected. The status of the wireless network in the
Choose a wireless network dialog box changes from Connected to Manual,
indicating that you must manually specify when you want to connect. To
manually reconnect to the wireless network, double-click the name in the
Choose a wireless network dialog box. You can also configure the wireless
network for an on-demand connection by clearing the Connect when this network
is within range check box on the Connection tab for the properties of the
wireless network.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Traffic Behavior when Simultaneously Connected to Both Wired and Wireless
Networks
Below is a summary of the network traffic behavior when a computer running
Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 is connected to both a wired and wireless
network (hereafter referred to as a multihomed computer):

• For traffic initiated by other computers that are neighbors of the
multihomed computer, the traffic flows over the network adapter attached to
the common subnet. For example, if a neighboring computer on the
Ethernet-based subnet of the multihomed computer initiates traffic, the
traffic flows over the Ethernet network adapter.

• For traffic initiated by other remote computers (located beyond the
locally attached subnets), the traffic flows over the network adapter
corresponding to the destination IP address chosen by the initiating
computer. For example, a multihomed Windows XP-based computer will register
the IP addresses for both wired and wireless network adapters in the Domain
Name System (DNS) using DNS dynamic update. When another computer queries for
the name of the multihomed computer, it will get both of the multihomed
computer's IP addresses in random order. The DNS client resolver in Windows
XP chooses the first IP address in the list returned by the DNS server.

• For traffic initiated by the multihomed computer for neighboring
destinations, the traffic flows over the network adapter attached to the
common subnet. For example, if a neighboring computer is on the
Ethernet-based subnet of the multihomed computer, the traffic flows over the
Ethernet network adapter.

• For traffic initiated by the multihomed computer for remote destinations,
the traffic flows over the network adapter associated with the currently
chosen default route in the IP routing table, unless there are additional
routes to the remote destination.


Assuming that the multihomed computer is running mostly client applications
and accessing servers on remote subnets, most of the traffic of the
multihomed computer is in the last category (traffic initiated by the
multihomed computer for remote destinations).

TCP/IP for Windows determines the current default route from the following
criteria:

• Select the default route that has the lowest metric.

• If there are multiple default routes with the lowest metric, choose the
default route corresponding to the network adapter that is highest in the
binding order. To view and modify the binding order, open the Network
Connections folder, click Advanced, and then click Advanced Settings. The
adapter binding order is displayed in the Connections area of the Adapters
and Bindings tab.


By default, TCP/IP for Windows determines the metric for the default route
by using the Automatic Metric feature, which assigns the metric to routes
associated with the configuration of an adapter based on its link speed.

Therefore if you have a computer with both wireless and wired enabled
connections, the computer will always try to connect through the wired
connection, even if is not connected. This is by default, an automatically
calucated metric number.

To override the automatically calculated metric for the default route of a
manually configured IP address configuration, specify the default route
metric from the advanced properties of the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
component.

Speed Media Route Metric
10Mbps 10BaseT Devices have a default Route Metric number of 30
11Mbps 802.11b Devices have a default Route Metric number of 30
54Mbps 802.11a/g Devices have a default Route Metric number of 25
100Mbps 100BaseT Devices have a default Route Metric number of 20

If more info is needed or clarification is needed, please post back stating
this.

Thanks,
Aust-Tech

"Mervin Williams" wrote:

> Actually, the wireless subnet is created by my Sonicwall firewall - its a
> firewall and wireless access point.
>
> Mervin Williams
>
>
> "Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > My wired and wireless Windows XP SP2 clients are on different subnets of
> > my Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. When I'm on my wireless
> > subnet I am unable to access the files on a wired machine by entering the
> > either \\<machine name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address
> > field, and vice versa. However, if I try to connect to a machine on the
> > same subnet (that is wireless-wireless or wired-wired) I am able to
> > connect using the aforementioned method.
> >
> > How do I allow cross-subnet access to machines by supplying \\<machine
> > name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer?
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> >
> > Mervin Williams
> >
>
>
>

I'm not trying to connect wired and wirelessly simultaneously, I just want
to be able to connect to a wired machine by entering either \\<machine name>
or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address
bar, and vice versa.

Thanks in advance,

Mervin Williams

"Aust-Tech" <aust-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:A7F16055-FADB-463A-9BFB-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Merv,
>
> No one has pointed this out, but XP and Windows Server 2003, both behave
> differently when both wireless and wired connections are both enabled at
> the
> same time. You have to ensure either that only one network adapter is
> active
> at any one time, or that the majority of the network traffic flows over
> the
> desired network adapter.
>
> Connecting to only a Single Network
> Although simultaneous connectivity can have its benefits as a
> fault-tolerant
> way to maintain a connection to an intranet, it can also be viewed as a
> disadvantage for the following reasons:
>
> . Having two network connections uses up two Internet Protocol version 4
> (IPv4) addresses. In some networks, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
> (DHCP)-allocated IPv4 addresses are scarce and a client computer should
> only
> be using one at a time.
>
> . With two connections, it becomes more difficult to determine the
> connection over which network traffic is flowing.
>
> . For some wireless infrastructures, wireless bandwidth is relatively
> scarce
> due to a small number of deployed wireless access points (APs). Therefore,
> wireless connections should only be used when a laptop is roaming and away
> from its docking station.
>
>
> At this time, computers running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 do not
> have the capability to automatically disable the wireless network adapter
> when the Ethernet adapter is plugged into a network and to automatically
> enable the wireless network adapter when the Ethernet adapter is
> unplugged.
> If you do not want simultaneous connections to both wired and wireless
> networks, you must manually enable and disable the connection to the
> wireless
> network, the procedure for which varies with different releases of Windows
> XP
> and Windows Server 2003.
>
>
> For computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows
> Server
> 2003 with Service Pack 1, you can manually enable or disable the wireless
> network adapter from the notification area of the desktop or from the
> Network
> Connections folder. To enable, right-click the wireless adapter icon and
> then
> click Enable. To disable, right-click the wireless adapter icon and then
> click Disable.
>
> You can also use a new feature in Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003
> Service Pack 1 to connect to your wireless network manually, rather than
> automatically.
>
> To manually disconnect from your wireless network, right-click your
> wireless
> adapter icon in the notification area, and then click View Available
> Wireless
> Networks. From the Choose a wireless network dialog box, double-click your
> currently connected network. You will be prompted with a message asking
> whether you want to disconnect from the wireless network. When you select
> Yes, you will be disconnected. The status of the wireless network in the
> Choose a wireless network dialog box changes from Connected to Manual,
> indicating that you must manually specify when you want to connect. To
> manually reconnect to the wireless network, double-click the name in the
> Choose a wireless network dialog box. You can also configure the wireless
> network for an on-demand connection by clearing the Connect when this
> network
> is within range check box on the Connection tab for the properties of the
> wireless network.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Traffic Behavior when Simultaneously Connected to Both Wired and Wireless
> Networks
> Below is a summary of the network traffic behavior when a computer running
> Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 is connected to both a wired and
> wireless
> network (hereafter referred to as a multihomed computer):
>
> . For traffic initiated by other computers that are neighbors of the
> multihomed computer, the traffic flows over the network adapter attached
> to
> the common subnet. For example, if a neighboring computer on the
> Ethernet-based subnet of the multihomed computer initiates traffic, the
> traffic flows over the Ethernet network adapter.
>
> . For traffic initiated by other remote computers (located beyond the
> locally attached subnets), the traffic flows over the network adapter
> corresponding to the destination IP address chosen by the initiating
> computer. For example, a multihomed Windows XP-based computer will
> register
> the IP addresses for both wired and wireless network adapters in the
> Domain
> Name System (DNS) using DNS dynamic update. When another computer queries
> for
> the name of the multihomed computer, it will get both of the multihomed
> computer's IP addresses in random order. The DNS client resolver in
> Windows
> XP chooses the first IP address in the list returned by the DNS server.
>
> . For traffic initiated by the multihomed computer for neighboring
> destinations, the traffic flows over the network adapter attached to the
> common subnet. For example, if a neighboring computer is on the
> Ethernet-based subnet of the multihomed computer, the traffic flows over
> the
> Ethernet network adapter.
>
> . For traffic initiated by the multihomed computer for remote
> destinations,
> the traffic flows over the network adapter associated with the currently
> chosen default route in the IP routing table, unless there are additional
> routes to the remote destination.
>
>
> Assuming that the multihomed computer is running mostly client
> applications
> and accessing servers on remote subnets, most of the traffic of the
> multihomed computer is in the last category (traffic initiated by the
> multihomed computer for remote destinations).
>
> TCP/IP for Windows determines the current default route from the following
> criteria:
>
> . Select the default route that has the lowest metric.
>
> . If there are multiple default routes with the lowest metric, choose the
> default route corresponding to the network adapter that is highest in the
> binding order. To view and modify the binding order, open the Network
> Connections folder, click Advanced, and then click Advanced Settings. The
> adapter binding order is displayed in the Connections area of the Adapters
> and Bindings tab.
>
>
> By default, TCP/IP for Windows determines the metric for the default route
> by using the Automatic Metric feature, which assigns the metric to routes
> associated with the configuration of an adapter based on its link speed.
>
> Therefore if you have a computer with both wireless and wired enabled
> connections, the computer will always try to connect through the wired
> connection, even if is not connected. This is by default, an automatically
> calucated metric number.
>
> To override the automatically calculated metric for the default route of a
> manually configured IP address configuration, specify the default route
> metric from the advanced properties of the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
> component.
>
> Speed Media Route Metric
> 10Mbps 10BaseT Devices have a default Route Metric number of 30
> 11Mbps 802.11b Devices have a default Route Metric number of 30
> 54Mbps 802.11a/g Devices have a default Route Metric number of 25
> 100Mbps 100BaseT Devices have a default Route Metric number of 20
>
> If more info is needed or clarification is needed, please post back
> stating
> this.
>
> Thanks,
> Aust-Tech
>
> "Mervin Williams" wrote:
>
>> Actually, the wireless subnet is created by my Sonicwall firewall - its a
>> firewall and wireless access point.
>>
>> Mervin Williams
>>
>>
>> "Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > My wired and wireless Windows XP SP2 clients are on different subnets
>> > of
>> > my Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. When I'm on my wireless
>> > subnet I am unable to access the files on a wired machine by entering
>> > the
>> > either \\<machine name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address
>> > field, and vice versa. However, if I try to connect to a machine on
>> > the
>> > same subnet (that is wireless-wireless or wired-wired) I am able to
>> > connect using the aforementioned method.
>> >
>> > How do I allow cross-subnet access to machines by supplying \\<machine
>> > name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer?
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance,
>> >
>> > Mervin Williams
>> >
>>
>>
>>

Put two NICs on a server in your network and use a wired connection to your
wireless network and a wired connection to your wired network then enable
RIP. Now you have a router between the two subnets. Not sure if you can
do the same thing with a wired and wireless connection but you may.


"Mervin Williams" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:
> I'm not trying to connect wired and wirelessly simultaneously, I just want
> to be able to connect to a wired machine by entering either \\<machine
> name> or \\<ip address> in Windows Explorer address
> bar, and vice versa.
>