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Internet sharing issues

879 Views 12 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  TheWiz, 
C
Just a small issue I want before I actually go about doing the job.
My work wish me to set up their current network with ICS (internet connection sharing). This is no big deal doing this but I have one issue. An old novell server is being used as the file and print server and all the ip addresses of the computers start with 10.x.x.x. Now I know that if I use ICS in Windows I have to use the ip address range of 192.169.0.x. If I alter the ip address, I just want to make sure that this will not affect the communication with the novell server in any way. I dont know wether the ip addresses have been set manually in that way for a reason. Any help would be appreciated.

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T
I would suggest that using ICS for a workplace solution is not a good idea. I would push for them to fork out for a cheap router to do the job. This will give you the flexibility you require to keep network connectivity between all your devices. If you go down the ICS path, you cannot use any other subnet but the 192.168.0.x network. If all your clients are using this network address range then you will lose IP connectivty with your Novell server (IPX connectivity - if used - would remain though if all devices are connected via a switch) unless you put in a router anyway.
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yes I b believe that because they have the ip addresses of 10.x.x.x they are using ipx connectivity and yes they have it on a switch. Does this mean that if I use ICS, as is it TCP/IP it would not conflict or lose the connectivity of the novell server.

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T
Correct. However you will need to enable the IPX protocol on the interface connected to you LAN for the ICS box. As long as all the IPX devices are on that switch and the Novel server does not need to get outside of that segment you should be OK.

A quick test would be to manually change one of your PC's to the new IP address range and check that it still has it's IPX connectivity to the Novell server. (it will lose connectivity to everything else untill you change it back though)
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The thing is I know very little about novell servers and I do not want to cause any mishaps with what works already. I have spoke to my boss and he is happy to buy new equipment for the Internet.
Now I am thinking I could buy a wireless router and set that up for the internet alone (and ofc buy wireless adapters for each comp). This would then use separate ip addresses from the LAN and they should both work fine. Am I correct in thinking this or are they going to conflict and start sending traffic down the wrong network or something?

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T
If you are buying a router then just configure the existing subnet on the router. I assume the Internet access is new to the business since you were looking at setting up ICS for them. A router will make it easy. If you have a diagram of how things currently are and how they need to be set up, I can offer further suggestions.
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yes basically I am their onsite web developer and I also do the tech support and networking for them where I can. At the moment I have watched them and they que up to use the Internet on this one computer. So I said that the Internet could be shared accross their network to every computer.

I will try to explain their layout. They have 6 computers all connected via a switch. 5 of them computers are the client computers with Windows XP installed and 1 computer is an old novell server that acts solely as their file and print server (this i the computer I want to leave as it is because of lack of knowledge about novell and its os). Finally one of the client computers with windows on has an internet connection via broadband modem.

Now you can see where I thought ICS would be good as they already have everything there to do so. But if it will save complications with the novell server I would use wireless aslong as I new that wireless could be used for internet and lan could be used for data transfer at the same time without any mishaps.

Thanks for all the help btw
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Alright. I would buy a reasonable but simple router. Connect that to your Internet connection rather than the Windows machine. Then configure the LAN subnet for the internal users. Set up DHCP for them - or statically assign them a default gateway of the router if they have static addresses already. I know it sounds easy - and it is reasonably easy - but there are a few steps involved which I can help you through.

First though is to buy a router. It doesn't necessarily need to be wireless enabled but if you want to it won't hurt. To help determine the router and it's abilities, can you let me know what the Internet connection is (ADSL, Cable, Ethernet?) and the provider. I am a Cisco person and would recommend one of their routers - either an 800 series or one of the newer 1800 series if your boss will stretch to that. Perhaps some others out there can offer better suggestions.

Once you have this we can work on a topology diagram and configuration for the router.
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I assume you are saying that I should connect a cable router to the switch and share the internet that way. When you say configure the subnet for the internal users. Should I not just leave the subnet as what they are using now. Going back to my question earlier, could I not just use this router to add a wireless connection solely for the internet. Then the cable LAN will be left untouched.
I'm sorry if I'm not making sense here, I'm no networking specialist and although this could be a simple job, I want to make sure it is done properly without any failure.

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T
You are more apt to have problems with the wireless than the wired set up. i will put together a simple diagram of before and after for you so you get a better idea of what things should look like.
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See drawing for ideas on design. if you give more detail about IP addresses used I can be more definitive. One drawing shows the existing setup with a PC connected to an assumed ADSL modem for internet access and also connecting (without ICS configured) to the 10.x.x.x network and the Novell server. The second drawing shows moving that PC over to the general LAN with only its 10.x.x.x network connected. it is replaced by a new router that is configured to route the existing 10.x.x.x network and provide internet access (NAT will need to be configured on it). Notice it still uses the same 10.x.x.x network so nothing changes with your Novell set up.

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Right I see now, I think I have it (please correct me if I am wrong at any point). Because of the location, I would have to plug modem in router, then unplug lan cable from computer, plug it in the router, then plug computer into router using a new lan cable. Then set the ip address of the router to 10.x.x.x so it is the same range as the comps then set the correct default gateway on TCP/IP on all the other computers. Just a few questions remain

If there is already a default gateway, should I be concerned or should I just replace it with the routers address.
Also I am a bit lost when you said about configuring the NAT. What would I have to do for that?

Btw thankyou very much for putting the effort into those diagrams The Wiz. That really helped clear things up in my head.

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T
Sorry for the delay getting back to you. Long weekend here in Aus. I think you have it. There should be no default gateway set on the other computers if they don't have a Internet connection. The only reason they would have a gateway is if they already connect to a router that links them to other networks (not internet) for the business. Therefore it should be fine to set the default gateway as the new router 10.x.x.x address. The router should support NAT by default and it should be straight forward to set up using the router installation guide that comes with it. i cannot give you too much info until you actually buy the router. NAT (Network Address translation) is the protocol that allows multiple users to "share" the one Internet routable IP address at the same time. As traffic enters the router from the users computers, the router swaps the computers IP address (it's 10.x.x.x address) for its own address from the Internet. The router can keep track of many seperate conversations at the same time from multiple PC's.

When buying your router, be sure to get the right one for your situation. It helps to explain to the place you buy it from how you need it to work. As I am unsure of your current Internet connection and how it connects to both your current Internet computer, or the ISP, I cannot guide you on this. Perhaps even discuss it with your ISP who can guide you into the right router for their connections and will therefore offer you some set up support.
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