Win7 ofice AD Domain machine on home WLAN

IPv4 Config:

"General" tab = DHCP

"Alternative Config" =
IP = something in the subnet but outside of the DHCP range
NetMask = 255.255.255.0
Gate = the firewall IP in the subnet

DNS1 = IP1 from my ISP
DNS2 = IP2 from my ISP

...then everything works just like it should.

But I would still prefer simple DHCP to work without the "Alt Config" maintenance hassle (auto-getting DNS from ISP rather than the manual entries which may change).

Ideas?

Chris

First you should reset the router using the little internal push button on the side of the router. If you havn't updated the firmware on your router you should do so.

In the routers settings create your SSID and go with DHCP, use WPA2 with AES encryption "not mixed" and also designate the connection type 802.11 G or N "not mixed" use which ever one your network adaptor uses preferibly N.

When you set up the wireless connection on the machine itself use the manual wireless set up and use the same settings as you used on the router, don't use the mixed settings.

It's also wise to designate a wireless channel in the routers settings rather than letting the router find one for you.
The Xirrus wifi inspector is good for finding unused channels in your area.
Xirrus: The Leader in High Performance Wi-Fi - Advanced IT Wi-Fi Networking Tools

Thanks chev65,

It is not possible to follow your recommendations!

WLAN is using ADSL >> Firewall >> Switch >> Access Point >> Range Expander to overcome some serious reinforced concrete between where the WLAN users sit and where the ADSL line enters.

The WRE54G range expander I'm using is a strange beast:
- in principle RE divides the 802.11G 54Mb/sec by around two and in reality by around 4 ...but 10Mb/sec is faster than my internet connection.
- RE gives some erratic ping times: not unusual to see a ping batch to the firewall like 9, 2, 1, 60 msec. I can live with it.
- RE is old (ie 3 years old!!!) and with latest available firmware (as of 2 days ago but dating back to end-2007) for that model can only handle WPA (not-2) ...perversely and undocumented, the RE will not work with WPA-mixed, only with WPA-G

RE is currently set to 802.11G but stuck at WPA-PSK/TKIP (it's a couple of days since I played with the WLAN config so I don't remember if AES is an option, but WPA2 is **definitely not**)

Do you reckon WPA2 + AES is the magic cure? (especially given that Dell-A and Dell-B can now connect easily with the "Alt Config" fixed-IP + fixed DNS setup).

Do you have any links to show WPA-TKIP won't work with Win7?

Tomorrow night I will be on another "home" WLAN that uses WPA2-PSK/AES (has always been mixed, but I can easily reconfig to G if it fails) - it will be interesting to see if Dell-A and Dell-B can connect happily to that WLAN (they have done so in the past 12 months up to 10 days ago when I was last there).

Thanks for your "food for thought". Chris

I can tell you that WPA should be fine and AES encryption "not mixed" consistantly works better with Windows 7. You would also need to designate those settings in Windows 7 using the manual wireless setup.

Your connection speed will be limited using wireless G. If you really want to see some improvments then going to wireless N is much better but you would need to update both your router the AP and your wireless adaptors to wireless N capible.

I neglected to respond to a couple of your suggestions:

RESET NO
I will not reset FW, AP, RE: they are delivering WLAN to two Vista boxes and the Squeezebox via DHCP **AND** to the two Win7 boxes when using fixed IP "Alt Config".

DHCP YES
But not on the router or AP. The hardware FW is responsble for DHCP in the house (...and delivers IP/DNS to Vista boxes, Squeezebox, and a couple of wired clients)

CHANNEL YES
I'm squatting Channel 11 and the only other two WLANs in range are both on 7 (their problem not mine - maybe I'm halfway between them and they can't see each other).

Chris

...typing at the same time.

OK - subject to the results of my weekend experiment with the other "home" WLAN, I will see if the antique WRE54G will handle AES and try that.

G speed is not an issue for me - WLAN is **ONLY** for internet access, nothing is shared.

...yet...

...I'm tempted to add the iTunes CD collection on one of the wired PC's to the Squeezebox but it is not a priority so far, and if it doesn't work I've always got the CDs.

Thanks for your suggestions & info. Chris

Do you have iTunes installed on either of the Windows 7 machines?

no sir.

iTunes is on a wired Vista power-tower in the basement.

(Did you ever try loading 500+ CDs into iTunes - it's not something you volunteer to do three times, so this time - the second attempt - it is on a big box with RAID 1 disks and an external backup. We lost the first attempt when my son's need-for-speed RAID-0 threw a few sectors in the bin).

Chris