using pc as ethernet bridge

[onesmartidiot]

my old asus machine had 2 ethernet ports on it. one was a 3com incoming and the other was a nforce bridge out. So heres the question

can i take my new core 2 duo machine, drop my netgear wireless pci card in it, and make a bridge or whatever so then i could run out of its ethernet port into my a64 machines ethernet in port? is this possible?

i dont mind if the internet is slightly slower to the a64 box, i just want it to stay on my network as a media server/ storage.

thanks!

 

[Nodsu]

Yes, you can bridge network interfaces no problem.
It would make more sense to get a $10 switch (or an old used hub for free).

PS
I hope you know the differences between routers/switches/hubs and the difference between routing and bridging.

 

[gazzaoz]

As Nodsu said - you need to understand the difference between bridges/routers/switches/hubs. Generally it is very hard to set up a PC as a bridge as they normally have to act as routers to take the packets from one NIC and send them out another NIC. You really need to understand what it is you are hoping to achieve in your network setup.

cheers
gazzaoz

 

[onesmartidiot]

what would i use the switch for? if it sat inbetween the two pcs would it act like a dhcp or something?

i have switches laying around, but dont get why i cant just link the 2 machines together via ethernet and let one feed off the machine with the wireless connection. keep in mind the cable modem is 2 stories down so i cant plug in there lol.

 

[Nodsu]

First. If all you have is a cable modem downstairs (not a router), then bridging will not work!

Now, assuming that you do know what you are doing and you so have a router downstairs, then the switch would sit between the router and the two computers in question.
Why a switch? It Just Works. Bridging interfaces in Windows necessarily does not. Also, the network connectivity of one machine would not depend on the health of the other one. Would you like to have your connection drop every time you reboot the other computer or whenever the firewall software on the other machine decides to have a hiccup or whatever?

Assuming that you do not see the difference between routing a bridging.. You need a router device to share an internet connection. So if all you have is a cable modem, then you have to make the a64 machine act as a router. In Windows lingo this is called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) that is Completely Different from simply bridging network interfaces.

 

[gazzaoz]

I agree completely with Nodsu. I would go for the router - if wireless networking is the go then a wireless router connected to you modem will do the job. Put wireless cars in both PC so you don't have to worry about cables - of course to get maximum speed between PC nothing beats cable yet.
Incidentally how do you connect the a64 machine to the modem 2 stories down?

 

[onesmartidiot]

common sense guys, if i have a wireless card... i'd like to hope someone would realize i have a wireless router downstairs....


i know somewhat of what im doing, i have internet to all my pc's. I wish you guys would just tell me what i have to do instead of giving me the 4th grade downlow on how to connect to the net lol.

so i need a switch between the two bridged pc's... or a router?

a router seems like it would conflict with the one downstairs but whatever gets it done.

 

[Nodsu]

You have an USB port on your ocmputer. Should we assume that you have a USB-powered vibrator too?

Unless you provide very detailed information, we have to assume that you have absolutely no clue.

You don't put anything between the PCs in the sense that the PCs would communicate with each other or even know about each other.. The two machines are totally independent. The network would look like this:

[PC1]---[switch]---PC2
            |                     upstairs
-----------|----------------------
            |                     downstairs
        [router]

The switch basically acts as an extender of the switch built into your router.

 

[gazzaoz]

If one PC upstairs has a wireless card in it connecting to a wireless router downstairs then commonsense says put wireless card in other PC and connect to wireless router downstairs. Is there a flaw in this logic or something you are hiding from us that stops you from using this simple set up?
I really would like to know why you can't do this - you would have Internet access to both PCs and both PCs can communicate with each other via the wireless link.

 

[onesmartidiot]

Incidentally how do you connect the a64 machine to the modem 2 stories down?

guys, pay attention to the question. I did not ask how to connect to the router downstairs. I simply asked how i would bridge my A64 pc to my core 2 duo pc (which has internet).

I could have dropped 40 bucks and bought a wireless card for the A64 pc, but instead i was going to try (and learn ) this method.

here is my setup, just so that you dont have to assume everything i didnt ask you about

internet
I
cable modem
I
wireless negear router
I I
dell 8200 (wired) wireless
I I
Core 2 Duo Athlon XP
(what i mean by bridging) I
A64

[PC1]---[switch]---PC2
| upstairs
-----------|----------------------
| downstairs
[router]

youre saying if i link the 2 together via switch they should work?


i want to know what i have to do to make the a64 run off of the core 2 duo. if it isnt possible the just say it. quit making me out to be an ***** and save your lame jokes for someone else.

You have an USB port on your ocmputer. Should we assume that you have a USB-powered vibrator too?

your lame jokes make you sound ignorant, should I assume you work for microsoft?

 

[onesmartidiot]

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4/gizthegizzygizmo/picfor*******.jpg

my diagram didnt come up right with my post, so i made a pic

 

[Nodsu]

You can make it work no problem. Actually, it is the sheer simplicity of the thing that made me think that maybe you want to something else.

On the a64 machine, open your network connections. Select both of the Local Area Connections, right click, Bridge Connections. Done.

(You know, like, Google for "bridge connections")

 

[gazzaoz]

I agree with Nodsu. Reading original post does not make it as clear as the diagram does as to what was actually needed. It is a very simple solution just to connect the two PCs together but if he expects the a64 machine (as stated in original post) to connect to Internet (he doesn't mind it being slower) then the dual core will have to act as a router.