1.Home Networking — Wired + Wireless Connections
The simplest way to set up a home network, including both computers with
wired connections and computers with wireless connections, is to set up
a wireless router immediately following your DSL modem or Cable modem.
Sometimes, a DSL modem even has the router built into it.
In this setup, all the computers are assigned their IP addresses by the
DHCP server that is built into the router. All are on the same logical
network. However, their ability to share files, printers, and otherwise
communicate between each other will depend on your settings in each
computer.
In order to share files, you have to tell Windows (or Linux, etc.) to
enable file and printer sharing, identify which directories should be
shared, and have the computers on the same Windows Workgroup (or Windows
domain, if you're a very advanced user running a Windows domain
controller). You'll also have to tell the firewall programs on each
computer to allow the sharing with the other computers — or the firewall
will block the data.
A wireless router can be used along with a wired router, if you like.
You can use it to add additional wired ports (wireless routers usually
have 4 LAN (Local Area Network) ports as well as wireless ports. You can
configure it so that you can share files and printers among the wired
and wireless machines.
In order to have a combined network so you can share files and printers,
you must only have one DHCP server running — either on the wired router
or on the wireless router, but not on both. You will need to use an
Ethernet cable to plug one of the LAN ports on the wireless router into
one of the LAN ports on the wired Cable/DSL router.
In this one-network configuration, you will need to turn off the DHCP
server that is built into the router. Although you don't have to, you
should set a static IP address in the wireless router, just so you'll be
able to find it with your web browser when you want to change its
configuration.
Tech Tip
Both of these steps will need to be done while you are directly
connected to the router. Change the IP address to a fixed one, e.g.
192.168.1.254/255.255.255.0 on the wireless router, and assuming that
the wired router's DHCP server is assigning ranges in the 192.168.1.x
range. Then, Disable the DHCP server in the wireless router.
Then, go back to the wired router and exclude the address (that you just
assigned to the wireless router) from the range that the wired router's
DHCP server manages. Otherwise, you might find that the wired router
assigned that address to another computer — which would interfere with
the connections of that other computer and all your wireless computers.
Once all the connections work, don't forget to set up the wireless
security settings on your wireless router and your computer.
2.Home Networking — Protecting Wired Computers from Wireless
In a variation on wireless networking, you can use the wireless router
to provide Internet access and file & printer sharing between wireless
computers, while isolating the wireless network from the wired network
By changing the order in which the wireless router and the wired router
are connected, a wireless router can be used to segregate wireless
computers from wired computers in your network. In this manner, you can
prevent file and printer sharing and any other type of direct contact
between the wired and wireless computers.
You might want to do this for security reasons. For example, if you
normally connect a laptop computer using an Ethernet cable, you could
set segregate the networks in case someone manages to gain unauthorized
access to your wireless network.
The first part of trick to segregating the networks is to connect the
WAN (Wide Area Network) port on the wireless router to a LAN (Local Area
Network) port on the Cable/DSL modem. That's the same connection you'd
make with a wired router, if you were only using it or were wanting to
protect the wireless computers from the wired computers.
This connection will cause the Wireless router to get its IP address
assigned by the upstream network's DHCP server (typically, a cable
Internet Sevice Provider or a DSL provider).
The DHCP server within the wireless router should be ON for this setp,
as we'll use it to assign IP addresses to the wireless computers and to
the wired Cable/DSL router.
Then, connect the WAN port on the Cable/DSL router to a LAN port on the
wireless router. This will make the Cable/DSL router get its "upstream"
(WAN) IP address from the wireless router.
The DHCP server within the wired Cable/DSL router should also be turned
ON. It should also be set to a different IP address range than that
being used by the Wireless router. Linksys normally has these set
differently by default: the wireless router uses
192.168.1.x/255.255.255.0, while the wired router uses
192.168.0.x/255.255.255.0.
The bottom line of this configuration is that the wireless computers
will be unable to route any connection attempts past the WAN port on the
wired router. The wired computers should not be able, but may be able,
to initiate connections to (and get responses from) the wireless computers.
Tech Tip
Routers should not send outbound any requests that are attempting to
contact one of the IP address ranges that are reserved for private
networks (e.g., 192.168.x.y/255.255.0.0); however, manufacturers of
consumer-grade home routers may not implement that block.
3.Home Networking — Protecting Wireless Computers from Wired Computers
A wireless router can also be used to segregate wireless computers from
wired computers in your network. In this manner, you can prevent file
and printer sharing and any other type of direct contact between the
wired and wireless computers.
You won't be able to use any of the printers on the wired network from a
computer on the wireless network or vice versa. Similarly, you won't be
able to share files either way.
You set up this network very similarly to the way you would to protect
the wireless computers from the wired computers. You just reverse the
order of the wired and wireless routers.
The first part of trick to segregating the networks is to connect the
WAN (Wide Area Network) port on the wired router to a LAN (Local Area
Network) port on the Cable/DSL modem. That's the same connection you'd
make with a wireless router, if you were only using it or were wanting
to protect the wired computers from the wireless computers.
This connection will cause the Wireless router to get its IP address
assigned by the upstream network's DHCP server (typically, a cable
Internet Sevice Provider or a DSL provider).
The DHCP server within the wireless router should be ON for this setp,
as we'll use it to assign IP addresses to the wireless computers and to
the wired Cable/DSL router.
Then, connect the WAN port on the wireless router to a LAN port on the
wired router. This will make the wireless router get its "upstream"
(WAN) IP address from the wired router.
The DHCP server within the wireless Cable/DSL router should also be
turned ON. It should also be set to a different IP address range than
that being used by the Wired router. Linksys normally has these set
differently by default: the wireless router uses
192.168.1.x/255.255.255.0, while the wired router uses
192.168.0.x/255.255.255.0.
The bottom line of this configuration is that the wired computers will
be unable to route any connection attempts past the WAN port on the
wireless router. The wireless computers should not be able, but may be
able, to initiate connections to (and get responses from) the wireless
computers.
Tech Tip
Routers should not send outbound any requests that are attempting to
contact one of the IP address ranges that are reserved for private
networks (e.g., 192.168.x.y/255.255.0.0); however, manufacturers of
consumer-grade home routers may not implement that block.
james wrote:
> When attaching a wireless router w/spi firewall to a LAN that already has a
> wired router, how do I configure the wireless router so the computers in the
> wired LAN can ping the computers on the wireless router? In other words,
> make the wireless router transparent so the wired LAN and the wireless LAN
> behave like one LAN.
>
> I believe some wireless router has a bridge mode for this purpose. What if
> mine doesn't have bridge mode, can this still be done?
>
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