network/router issues

[davefinch]

I have 2 PCs connected to my netgear router and a 16 port switch with a printserver and 4 NDAS disks connected to that. I can connect to the internet and my PCs can see each other on tyhe network but cant see the NDAS disks. If I plug a PC into the hub then I can see the disks but cant see the other PC on the network and cant connect to the internet.
The router (DG834GT) is firewalled and I have added the addresses of the PCs to it but to no avail.
Any ideas please - it is drivin me crazy

[chrishunt]

So the switch is also connected to the router but on a separate physical port?

How are the router ports configured?

• Are they separate IP networks, ie you've configured the router ports with an IP addresses and subnet masks such that they are separate IP networks?
  
• Are they bridged (I have a Billion modem/router and my 3 network ports are bridged rather than routed and can see PCs on any of the connected switches from any other)?

If separate (routed) networks are you allowing the right traffic between them for the windows discovery (WINS?) to work?

Found a Microsoft article which may be of help

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119493

My guess is your NETBIOS broadcasts are being blocked by your router and not being transmitted on the port connected to your switch and thus onto you printserver and NDAS disks. Or the responses are not being transmitted back?

[chrishunt]

Sorry, also just spotted that you said that if you move a PC to the hub; however you said earlier you had a switch? Do you have both or just a switch? (they are different pieces of network equipment). How is the PC configured to obtain its IP address? DHCP from the router? What is its IP address/subnet mask when working and when not working? (run IPCONFIG /all from a command prompt).

Does the router have any logs of blocked traffic that indicate anything?

Could you also explain what you mean by the router being firewalled? Does the router connect to a hardware firewall? If that's the case does this have any useful logs?

[davefinch]

Hi Chris
You are talking to a complete network amateir here.

Dont know the difference between a switch and a hub. I havent done any port configuring
The router has its own firewall and I have had a go at trying to make sure that the IP addresses of the 2 PCs are allow traffic in and out
The PCs get IP addresses dynamically

Somehas has suggested I might need a crossover cable between hub and router?

Thanks
Dave

[johnwill]

First off, NDAS disks don't use TCP/IP, so many of the rules for TCP/IP don't apply here.

NDAS traffic should be transparent to most switches or hubs, what are the exact make/model of all the network equipment? I assume the NDAS disks are the Ximeta disks? You're running the Ximeta NDAS drivers, right?

[davefinch]

The NDAS disks are Klegg disks and are seen as shares on the system

The router is a netgear dg834gt and I am not sure what make the hub is - unfortunaetly not at home until the weekend.

Trying to get as many ideas as possible to try when I get home

[chrishunt]

Hi Dave,

looks like we're all learning here. I assumed NDAS was a typo for NAS, that'll teach me for assuming rather than a quick google search! The main difference betwen a switch and a hub is that on the cable connected to the switch port only traffic for the machines connected is transmitted whereas with a hub all traffic to/from all machines on all ports is transmitted. Obviously switches are more "efficient" limiting traffic on each port thus reducing unwanted traffic.

[johnwill]

OK, the Klegg disks are just another Ximeta licensee, they're the same as the Ximeta drives.

The only thing that comes to mind is perhaps for some reason the NDAS packets aren't being passed by one of your devices. I've never seen that happen here, my NDAS goes through two gigabit switches and a 100mbit one.

I'd try connecting one directly to the router and seeing if you see it, maybe the switch is not passing the traffic.