- Mar 15, 2006
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Hi there,
I'm curious about how networks talk to each other insofar as certain devices can be considered to be on one network versus another when separated by gateways/routers/other devices. I'll use my home network as an example.
I have a desktop PC and server that have direct LAN links to a 5-port switch (provided by my ISP). It's a static IP business account (5 ports, 5 addresses).
I have a wireless router in gateway mode (Buffalo WHR-GP-W54) plugged into the third port on the switch. It handles all the other devices in the house - several laptops, a PS3, and so on. All the devices connecting to the Buffalo router get your standard 192.168.x.x NAT addresses.
The two groups of computers (wired and wireless) are effectively on different networks, even though the wireless router goes through the wired network and has one of the static IPs as its WAN address. Whatever I'm trying to do, whether it's set up a Win7 homegroup, connect via LAN for games -- they may as well be on totally different networks. They never 'see' each other. Presumably this is how it ought to be, given how I've set it up.
My question is: how else could I have set it up? If I put the Buffalo wireless transmitter in 'router' rather than 'Gateway' mode, then could it dole out the remaining 3 IP addresses from the switch to wireless clients (with other wireless clients being up a creek?)? In router mode, does the WiFi transmitter still need/get its own IP address? Put another wa, is there some other means of constituting this network such that wired & wireless will effectively be on the 'same' network, whereupon I could choose which devices get one of my 5 IPs and use NAT for the rest?
I think I'm just not very clear on how routers work versus gateways. I get the 'router is an elevator and gateway is the elevator door' analogy. I'm just not certain of when I need one versus the other.
Thanks very much!
S
I'm curious about how networks talk to each other insofar as certain devices can be considered to be on one network versus another when separated by gateways/routers/other devices. I'll use my home network as an example.
I have a desktop PC and server that have direct LAN links to a 5-port switch (provided by my ISP). It's a static IP business account (5 ports, 5 addresses).
I have a wireless router in gateway mode (Buffalo WHR-GP-W54) plugged into the third port on the switch. It handles all the other devices in the house - several laptops, a PS3, and so on. All the devices connecting to the Buffalo router get your standard 192.168.x.x NAT addresses.
The two groups of computers (wired and wireless) are effectively on different networks, even though the wireless router goes through the wired network and has one of the static IPs as its WAN address. Whatever I'm trying to do, whether it's set up a Win7 homegroup, connect via LAN for games -- they may as well be on totally different networks. They never 'see' each other. Presumably this is how it ought to be, given how I've set it up.
My question is: how else could I have set it up? If I put the Buffalo wireless transmitter in 'router' rather than 'Gateway' mode, then could it dole out the remaining 3 IP addresses from the switch to wireless clients (with other wireless clients being up a creek?)? In router mode, does the WiFi transmitter still need/get its own IP address? Put another wa, is there some other means of constituting this network such that wired & wireless will effectively be on the 'same' network, whereupon I could choose which devices get one of my 5 IPs and use NAT for the rest?
I think I'm just not very clear on how routers work versus gateways. I get the 'router is an elevator and gateway is the elevator door' analogy. I'm just not certain of when I need one versus the other.
Thanks very much!
S