Solved Connecting to Two Networks Simultaneously

[EternalRZ]

So I need help being able to connect to a wireless network with internet access and a wired network with no internet access. Of course, being connected to both simultaneously results in no internet access. How do I go about doing this properly so I get internet connection and file sharing on the other network. Please use Layman's Terms, networking isn't my strong point.

Thanks!

PS: I also tried changing the interface metric but that didn't quite do the job because when I disconnected my computer from my router and reconnected, it didn't go back to normal and I lost internet access completely again.

 

[seavixen32]

Check out this Microsoft article: Create a network bridge

 

[EternalRZ]

Yeah, I've tried that method too. It was actually the first one I tried, and it really doesn't do anything. Thanks for trying though. Any other suggestions?

 

[EternalRZ]

Actually never mind. It seems that I've gotten it to work. Thanks for your help.

 

[seavixen32]

You're welcome.

It would be interesting to find out how you got it to work though.

 

[EternalRZ]

Well for some odd reason, bridging the connections doesn't really do anything to begin with. However if you go into Network and Sharing Center>Change adapter settings then right click on either your wireless or wired adapter and hit Properties, then click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), then click the button "Properties", in the General tab, click "Advanced", uncheck Automatic metric and change the wireless adaptor to say... 10, then do the same procedure with the wired adapter but change the metric number to something higher (25 or more) and it gets it to work. Just make sure you don't unplug the router or it may screw it all up. To fix it, just disconnect from the wireless network and wait till the wired network has established and such and then reconnect to the wireless network. I can't believe I just explained that while mildly intoxicated...

 

[seavixen32]

Well, all I can say is well done.

If I'd carried out that fix I'd be more than mildly intoxicated!

 

[robaston]

eternal, does this prevent eavesdropping from net?

rob

 

[EternalRZ]

I doubt it. From what I remember this post was basically to just allow connection to two networks simultaneously in the case that one network has internet connection and the other is used for just file transfers and such. The risk of someone sniffing or eavesdropping would be pretty much the same with or without this method, I would imagine.

 

[robaston]

good, bridges are out and dual adapters in

good, bridges are out and dual adapters in...
seems to block spying, one needs a second network adapter with it's own SSID and password

 

[EternalRZ]

Well, I'm not sure. The network I had going at the time when this thread was started was file networking via Ethernet and internet access via wireless. I changed it since then and got a router with DD-WRT and made the router a wireless bridge allowing me access to my file network and internet simultaneously. No need to alter adapter settings anymore unless I wanted a static IP.

 

[EternalRZ]

I dunno about that. The file sharing network was an ethernet connection cause lets face it, wireless transfers are slow. The network that had internet access was via a wireless adapter. That being said, I'd imagine that just getting past the wireless connection would make getting into the file sharing network easy since you don't need an SSID or password when accessing a network via ethernet. I wouldn't worry about spying anyways since unless you have a high profile job, what reason does anyone have to watch you?

 

[robaston]

thank you

well thought and intelligent answer bro! i have enemies but you educated me....could you try to hack in, it will be a good test

 

[EternalRZ]

No problem, but I'm not a hacker and you probably won't find anyone else here willing to do that, even if they have the capabilities to do so since it's considered a crime. Best of luck.

 

[too]

I'm looking for the same, I found this two sites so far, haven't tested yet:
node.js
Connectify Switchboard - Frequently Asked Questions

 

[andymbody]

Needed exact same thing as OP. Here is how I accomplished it...

1. Router 1 - Wireless router for internet access using private 10.0.0.1 LAN. Router set as DHCP server. Win7 computer wireless adapter IP4 set to dynamic IP and dynamic Gateway (will use 10.0.0.1).
2. Router 2 - Wired router (actually wireless router, but has antenna turned off making it basically just a switch) for secondary private file sharing network using 192.168.1.1 LAN (or any other private IP4 as desired). Router set as DHCP server (for most nodes on this network). Within router setup - set Win7 computer mac address to have dedicated static 192.168.1.2 (may not be required). Win7 computer wired adapter IP4 set to static 192.168.1.2, gateway set to static but did not provide a gateway address (that way, the wireless router gateway will be used for internet. Alternatively you can also set this gateway to point to wireless router 10.0.0.1 if you wish).

This setup establishes 2 separate LANs that can be accessed by the same computer simultaneously. Both networks can share files with their respective network nodes (but not between networks), and only the wireless network will be used for internet access.

Hopefully this makes sense...

Here is a visual diagram... hopefully this is more clear than the explanation...

Of course the IP addresses that I setup for each network were just based on the default for the particular routers that I had at the time... your private networks can be any IP addresses within the accepted private ranges. For example... could be 10.0.0.x for wireless, and 10.0.1.x (rather than 192.168.1.x) for the other. Or many other choices/combinations that you prefer...