I'm having a small prob with my LAN 1

[ScottCybak]

I'm having a small prob with my LAN. I have 6 comps, a SOHOware broadband router and an 8port 3com hub, with a Albatel(?) dsl modem (PPPoE)

Current schema: dsl -> router -> hub -> 6 comps

i've had the most success with this setup. All comps are running 2k pro, have dhcp @ auto-dns enabled.

See, the thing is, 2 of the comps only see each other, can't use the internet. the other 4, work fine, communicate as they should, have internet and all drives mapped properly.

The workgroup name is exact, not setup as domain.

Everything worked fine when i only had the 4 comps on the router.. as soon as i uplinked to the hub, certain comps would see each other.. very sparatic network.

I also concluded that i Can't disable DHCP on my router GRRR, and if i assign my ip's and dns myself, the internet doesn't work. POS sohoware.. lmao

ANYWAY, getting along... i did a complete cold boot on the entire lan, resetting my router/hub/dsl/comps... and turnign them on one at a time. No matter how many times i'd move the wires around, my results are the same. 2 comps are not showing up (the 2 can see each other).

So, i messed with the wires, plugging the mystery 2 into the router along with 2 that were working, and who would have guessed. They work.. BUT, 2 of the other comps don't work, and they change from time to time.

Can someone please tell me WHAT the HECK is going on. Thanks in advance

BTW (i'm a networking newbie, feel free to tek talk, but go easy on me) Scott Cybak
scott@athree.com

 

[LCD]

Sounds like the uplink is not properly connected. Depending on the equipment your using you might need to use a crossover cable instead of a standard Cat5 cable. You Might also have the uplink backwards? You want to plug into a regular port on your router/hub and then plug the other end into the uplink port on the new hub. If it's a netgear hub, then there is also a uplink button on the hub so it knows it's being uplinked. (not sure but I think it just makes it so you don't need a crossover cable)
Check to see if you can ping another machine on the other hub.
Hope this helps
LCD

 

[rblue]

Let's start here - Check your connections.

If you are having the problem on the same two computers, it might be a good idea to:

1. Check the cables like LCD said. You may have the wrong type of cable plugged in, or there is an uplink switch on your hub/router that is in the wrong position.

2. Make sure the NetBIOS protocol is enabled on the adapters. This should be enabled by default.

3. If this doesn't work, try playing with the link speed on the adapters. If the adapters support auto negotiation for their connection speed, they'll be set to auto by default in Win2k. Certain hub/router/NIC combinations have trouble with this. There are several options depending on what type of NIC you have in each box. If they are 10/100 cards, your options are:
100 full duplex
100 half duplex
10 full duplex
10 half duplex
Keep in mind that if they are older nics, they may not support full duplex

A little more specific info about your config would help. Hopefull this will help you out.

 

[PeterKV]

If you have a HUB, your LAN can only run as fast as and in the same mode as its weakest NIC - all your NIC's MUST run at the speed AND in the duplex mode of the weakest (least featured/configurable) NIC.

But, if you have a SWITCH, then you probably only have to worry about the duplex mode of all the cards.

I suggest that the simplest experimental solution is to force/set all six systems to use 10 mbit/sec half-duplex and see if that improves the situation.

Then, once you get proper n-way communications between the 6 systems, it should be relatively straigt forward to get them net access if fixing the first problem hasn't already resolved this issue.

Hope this helps,
Peter Vince VA3PKV
va3pkv@rac.ca

http://www.qsl.net/va3pkv/index.html

 

[netguyzllc]

Scott,I had this problem about a week ago. The solution is actually really simple it just took me a while to get there and figure it out. On your router, the DHCP server is set to assign only a certain number of IP address from the factory, by default. You have to go into the router options and increase the number of IP's the DHCP server can assign to your LAN. Hope this helps, it solved my problem.
Harry

http://www.net-guyz.com

 

[FredWagner]

Netguyzzllc has the correct approach, but it might be your ISP rather than the router - the ISP has to set its account management software to allow a specific number of IP addresses to be assigned in DHCP to the MAC address of your router. I run into this at home with my cable modem and roadrunner - whenever they replace the cable modem, it takes a couple of days for the admin software to catch up to the new modem MAC address and allow the second home PC to get an IP address and log in. Make sure your ISP knows how many DHCP addresses you need simultaneously.

Fred Wagner
frwagne@ci.long-beach.ca.us

 

[ScottCybak]

Alright, managed to get the 2 rogue comps working, but not completely.

The router only assigns 4 ip's, so i had to go and assign the 2 comps manually.

They can see other comps on network, but can't see each other, and other 4 comps can't see them.

Nor can they use the internet.

I can use files on the server now, but not the internet.

NE suggestions?

Thanks for all the help folks Scott Cybak
scott@athree.com

 

[netguyzllc]

Ok,
1. What OS's do you have on all the systems? B/C w/ Windows 2000 you have to create user accounts for each computer on your network if you want those machines to access the 2000 machine.
2. What kind of router do you have? (A firmware update might solve your problem)

Harry
<A HREF=&quot;

http://www.net-guyz.com&quot;>

 

[ScottCybak]

Finally.

The Router they sent, was the wrong model. They sent me the 4 ip max one, and it doesn't allow any other ip's online unless it assigns IP.

Just phoned em, the right one is on it's way, and they agreed to let me return mine when i recieve the new one.

Thanks for the help everyone, Netguylz, u get a purple star, cuz i wouldn't have noticed it was the wrong one without searching through the help files to find out why i can't assign more then 4!

Thanks again Scott Cybak
scott@athree.com

 

[netguyzllc]

Thanks Scott, I'm glad I was able to help. I know it can be frustrating when you can not get something to work, like my Java code for my Computer Science class tomorrow, hehe, well anyway, have a great night and oby the way, in case you need any hardware or anyhitng in the future check out my web site

http://www.net-guyz.com

for some great items and prices. I like to give Tek-Tips members a 3-5% discount on things.
Harry Folloder
Executive Operations
Net Guyz, LLC

http://www.net-guyz.com