Connecting 2 diff networks with a wireless adapter... ???

[HardD99]

Hey guys, i did a search for this but couldnt come back with much..

So i have a wired network in one room that also connects to another pc in my office via wireless, but im adding a couple more computers in the office and i would like to extend the network without having to buy more wireless adapters. that might be a little confusing so this is basically what im trying to do...

-Current Setup-
4 computers and in one room all connected to my wireless router with cat6

1 computer in office with a wireless adapter connected to that router in my room.

-The way i want the new Setup-
4 computers in my room all connected to my wireless router with cat 6

3 computers in office connected to a little 4 port hub, one of those pc's connected to my router in my room via wireless adapter.

I need to be able to access resources on any computer from any computer. All pcs will be on 24/7. obviously this isnt the best way to do things because of the bottleneck, but until i get the time to run my cat6 for gigabit lan, i need to be able to do this


So how would i go about linking these 2 networks together with a single wireless adapter?

[w1retap]

Wireless Ethernet Bridge..
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1134692497433&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

[HardD99]

i think you missed the question.....

[w1retap]

Well.. draw a diagram in paint how you have it setup with the computers and lines.. and where the access point is connected. I don't quite get it. You said you don't want to run any more lines or buy another piece of wireless equipment? It seems the only way would be to run ICS somehow. (internet connection sharing utility in xp/2000)

[w1retap]

Ok.. nm, I think I might have figured it out.

In that one room with just the 3 computers and wireless adapter, set it up like this. Plug the wireless adapter into one computer. (usb wireless adapter?) Then connect that computer to the hub that the other 2 computers are attached to. Setup that computer with the wireless adapter as the host to recieve the wireless signal from the wireless router. Setup the other 2 computers attached to the hub with ICS wizard so they connect to that computer with the wireless adapter for internet sharing.

In the other room, I guess you won't have to make a change since the other room will just be recieving internet from the wifi router.

Setup all the computers on the same workgroup to make it easy, then setup a shared file folder on each machine, or just make (1) shared network drive on a file server dedicated computer. The max amount of connections you can have to a shared network drive in XP is 10.

[HardD99]

ok i just made a quick diagram

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7636/networkff7.gif

[w1retap]

Ok yup... follow post #5 what I said there. It should work fine.

[HardD99]

ok kewl thx for the help, ill try that out man

[ktwebb]

ICS is not the correct solution. XP has built in bridging functionality. ICS might actually work but it's dirty. No need to add another layer of routing. You want to bridge. Highlight both network interfaces, right click and click bridge from that menu.

[w1retap]

ICS is not the correct solution. XP has built in bridging functionality. ICS might actually work but it's dirty. No need to add another layer of routing. You want to bridge. Highlight both network interfaces, right click and click bridge from that menu.
That might work, but the other computers still might not get internet. I've ran into the same situation as him before with connecting two networks wirelessly at work, and I still had to use ICS. I guess it all depends how picky the other computers are going to be with the bridge.

[0ldman]

ICS is a more stable answer to what he wants to do than bridging. Bridging loses certain trafic (try any game over IPX over the bridge).

I agree with the first reply, get an extender or WAP54G or something, but in the spirit of cheap... bridging works, but ICS is more stable.

[Digital-Vortex]

Why is this being over complicated?!?

Why not just connect the router and switch/hub together then attach the PCs to them?
That way its one network with no questions of access and problems routing.

The suggested method assumes these are 2 networks and will cause alot of problems all round.

[0ldman]

The original poster asked for advice, doesn't want to do it the normal way.

He's been answered, its his problem when it doesn't work right, but it sounds like it is just a patchwork until he's finished.