running two networks at once

Hi all,

I regularly have the situation where I need to be on 2 networks at the same time.

Typically one would be the wireless broadband ISP connection - my system conects to the modem using the wireless NIC and the other network is the 'non internet conected' router that I connect to using the wired NIC.

This all means I can grab email, browse, vpn etc, but also stay conencted to the LAN to work on several devices connected to it.

Both networks are on separate subnets. The wireless network is on the 192.168.1.x/24 subnet, the wired network on the 192.168.0.x/24 subnet.

If I connect to either network at any one time, it is fine, but connect them both and both NICs stop chatting.

This connectivity used to work on the hp probook 6540b laptop running W7 pro, but for some time it hasn't. I do very few updates/sys mods and I can't for the life of me work out why it has stopped.

If someone had a tip on making this work again, I would sincerely appreciate your help!

Thanks,

Steve

 

hey bolts,

go to the Start button/Help and Support.

search using the word Bridge.

Techsent

 

NO! bridging routes one networks traffic from another, im guessing one network is secure and doesn't have internet for a reason. If i had such a situation, id be so paranoid i would never have both adapters enabled just to prevent such traffic from crossing by accident.

 

Thank you for your authoritative pronoucement colemanguy.

yes, it does appear to be potentially unsecure as communicated in the footnote within the Help and Support search results.

however, since the modem is probably a router/modem combo then it has a firewall. also, the wireless nic is protected by windows firewall. then the lan nic data traffic must travel through the lan router's firewall. and if data traffic will be going to pc's on the internal lan, they are also protected by windows firewall.

Techsent

 

Are ye set for DHCP on both nics? Or ye using Static IPs for each nic?

 

Thank you for understanding, that if he connects internet even accidentally to a network that isn't supposed to have it on it, many bad things could happen, from infected machines to comprised plc controllers. Trying to help the guy keep his job, or understand that if i ever found an employee doing similar even with no data crossing networks, id still get him fired for comprising my network. Maybe im wrong, but if you have to ask on a public forum about fixing an issue like that, then there is a chance your not knowledgeable to consider the possibly of loosing your job over security issues. Maybe it was on the rude side and i coulda been more polite, but tired of seeing people do things to comprise security and not even realize its a problem. To bolts im sorry if i came down harsh, but maybe the reason it stopped working was a corporate policy change. I would ask your Information Management department to assist you in this situation.

 

ah, crap, didn't know this was a computer used for work situations. Thought, it was a home computer. Yeah, for business, there are ways for this to happen, but ye need decent firewall appliances, et cet.

 

hey colemanguy,
,
You've made some great points on the security concerns.

I was under the same impression as the theefool was. I figured he was doing a vpn connect to a friend's or family member's setup etc.. because he wouldn't be able to Bridge a connection while being logged into a Windows standard user account and connect to a work Domain via vpn using his company's laptop.

Techsent

 

Though, what is his works network based on? windows 2008 r2? If so, and if he is using windows 7. You can use direct access which is new. Personally, I have not played with this. Since yes, we are on 2008 r2 at work, but I haven't migrated to full 2008r2 AD level. Since we are linked to a domain that is set at 2003. Can't go there, until they upgrade. Hate to lose contact with the local PD. :|

Essentially, direct access, is better than vpn. You just have access to your work connections, but at home instead. And have access to local resources in your home lan. This is something I want to get going....but it is a slow process. Same with using an external security server, for out thin clients via vmware. Allowing some users to use their home computers to directly connect to their work computers, without vpn.

 

hey theefool,

thanks for mentioning direct access. it reads like Microsoft has come up with an excellent seamless solution.

Techsent

 

Sorry for the lack of reply earlier. My MG settings appear to instant notify but I have never seen any of these replies. I apologise and thank you all. It must have looked like I got what I needed and never thanked anyone, or, that perhaps Colemanguy got me offside by his rather strong reply.

[offended] Colemanyguy - you're on the wrong bus with me here. I may not be able to get this working as described but i am not a nuf nuf. It's my own company and nw security is of paramount importance. I have not stuck my nose in here on the public forum as some kind of goose to end up unemployed by mucking around with someones security policies. What I wrote was quite succinct and the assumptions you make paint a poor picture of someone who does in fact have an idea of security. I do understand that there are people who may wish to experiment with exploits, but I am not one of them. [/end being offended]

I am a software developer and I run a number of PLC devs and graphics based devs on a network that is very secure in it's own right. This network has no/wants no internet connectivity. The other network is simply broadband via a firewalled router.

The one PC being discussed also runs a security suite that protects itself on any network at any time.

I do not want to join the networks together - I simply want one PC to operate on two networks the same time. Email in/out and www on demand using nw 1 and the PLC coding suite on nw2.

By getting two networks running simultaneously it simply means that my development time carries on whilst grabbing firmware files, browsing www, answering emails etc using the other network.

Each nw happily connected in their own right. Each protected in their own right but not connected to each other. One PC 2 discrete networks.

This can be done as I understand and I am told it is some kind of BIOS magic. Unplugging one to use the other is a big pain.

As inferred in my OP, PC hardware config is not what I specialise in. I am hoping this post has clarified a) what I am trying to do and b) that I am genuine in my pursuit of a solution.

As always, any help would be much appreciated.

 

oh, and to answer the question by theefool, W7 pro is my platform, but i have not tried direct access. I will look into it to see if ithat's where I need to go.

 

So a huge bump for this thread to perhaps help others.

This issue I originally posted was such a pain and i really needed a solution that I ended up speaking to a senior network analyst pal who 'fixed it' in 2 seconds - perhaps less.

Before barking at me, please remember there is nothing sinister in this dual network need I have. I have a development network on one subnet that never steps out to the internet, and email/www on the other network. I have firewalls on both networks, firewall and current virus protection on the pc. Perfectly secure. Now I can code and browse on the dev network and continue to download 2-300mb firmware files from www via another browser tab.

To do it, simply remove the gateway information from the non internet network and any address requests that fail will hop on out for a look on the www. So now I can work on 192.168.1.x and browse http://www. simultaneously.

Hope it helps.