LAN to WLAN bridge slows network to 1Mbps

The setup: Win2003 networked to XpHE via the WLAN at 54Mbps. Win2003 networked to Xp Pro via LAN at 100Mbps. I want Xp Pro to share files with XpHE, so I bridge the LAN and WLAN with Win2003. Bridging the 2 network cards slows the WLAN down to 1Mbps.

Windows Networking 2246 This topic was started by ,


data/avatar/default/avatar02.webp

5 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-02-11
The setup:
Win2003 networked to XpHE via the WLAN at 54Mbps.
Win2003 networked to Xp Pro via LAN at 100Mbps.
 
I want Xp Pro to share files with XpHE, so I bridge the LAN and WLAN with Win2003.
Bridging the 2 network cards slows the WLAN down to 1Mbps.
As soon as I delete to bridge the wireless network jumps back to 54Mbps. :x
 
Anyone know a work around for this?

Participate on our website and join the conversation

You have already an account on our website? Use the link below to login.
Login
Create a new user account. Registration is free and takes only a few seconds.
Register
This topic is archived. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast.

Responses to this topic


data/avatar/default/avatar35.webp

17 Posts
Location -
Joined 2003-08-08
Why are you bridging anything? Just plug in your 2003 box and your xp box into the switch on the back of the wireless device. Or, if you are connecting into a larger 100Mb network, connect the wireless switch up to that using the uplink (or equivelant) port on the wireless device.

data/avatar/default/avatar02.webp

5 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-02-11
OP
It's Ad-hoc wireless from Win2003 and XpHE. I don't have an AP.
Both Win2003 and XpHE have wirless PCI cards.
 
Setup:
 
|--------Wirless(p2p)--------XpHE
|
|
Win2003(with Wirless card and 10/100 LAN card)<--->modem<--->net
|
|
|--------LAN(cat5)----------XpPro
 
For both XpHE and XpPro to share the internet, and for XpPro to be able to see the printer in XpHE, I need to bridge the connection between the 10/100 card and the wireless card.
 
But as soon as I bridge the connection the wireless PCI card in Win2003 drops back to 1Mbps.

data/avatar/default/avatar19.webp

3857 Posts
Location -
Joined 2000-03-29
Multi-homing a system (using more than one NIC) can cause serious issues for many admins. Are both networks on different subnets? Say, have the hardline network on 192.168.1.0/24 (255.255.255.0 for the subnet mask) and the WLAN on 192.168.2.0/24 (ditto on the subnet mask). This might remove any confusion on the part of the server as to which NIC is being used, if they were both on the same network. Once the networks are setup, you might need to setup RRAS (that's what I have done in these situations for my needs, but there used to be a way in NT where you could simply enable IP Forwarding on the NICs. Unfortunately, I can't remember how to set that up in Windows 2000/2003. Here is an article on setting up RRAS to make a 2003 box act like a router:
 
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;323355

data/avatar/default/avatar02.webp

5 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-02-11
OP
;( I'm not going to pretend I know 100% what you're telling my, but I'll have a go..
 
Orginaly I had:
 
<--->internal modem<-->Win2003(With ICS)<---LAN--->XpPro..
 
Win2003 IP - 192.168.0.1/255.255.255.0
XpPro IP - DHCP from Win2003(LAN)
Speed - 100Mbps
 
 
Then I added a wireless cards to Win2003 and XpHE and gave them simple IPs:
 
Win2003 Wireless IP - 10.0.0.1/255.0.0.0
XpHE Wireless IP - 10.0.0.2/255.0.0.0
Speed - 54Mbps to 36Mbps (Mostly held 54Mbps)
 
I then just disabled ICS on Win2003, highlighted the LAN and WLAN connection and clicked Bridge.
 
Now I have:
 
Win2003 Bridged IP - 192.168.0.1/255.255.255.0
XpPro IP - DHCP from Win2003(LAN)
XpHE IP - DHCP from Win2003(WLAN)
LAN Speed - 100Mbps
WLAN Speed - 1Mbps
 
I let Win2003 handle everything. Everything is working, all computers can access the net via Win2003, all computers can share printers and files. It's just the speed on the wireless 1/2 of the network that I want to boost.
I'll play with "Routing and Remote Access" as soon as my download finishes.
 
Cheers

data/avatar/default/avatar19.webp

3857 Posts
Location -
Joined 2000-03-29
Ahhhhh.... Very good. It looks like you had it going ok, but going with RRAS will probably be a better solution.

data/avatar/default/avatar02.webp

5 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-02-11
OP
Quote:Ahhhhh.... Very good. It looks like you had it going ok, but going with RRAS will probably be a better solution.

Yeah all I have to do now is work out how to use RRAS. :x

data/avatar/default/avatar17.webp

37 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-01-26
I know this is prolly not what you might want to do but there is an easier way of handling this situation for only like 60 bucks.
 
Buy a wireless router (linksys or whatever) that has a switch built in.
 
 
|- XPpro (directly connected)
Internet ---> wirelessrouter |- Win2k3 (directly connected)
|
|
|- XPhe (wireless)
 
This is way is more secure (only one place to add security) and it does not leave you win2k3 server as vunerable to the outside world. This also is less confusing on the network (everything on one subnet). I know that you might not want to spend money but this will allow for better future growth that will be cheaper to implement. One last thing, this will also allows your win2k3 server to better use its resources(i.e. not wasting on routing).

data/avatar/default/avatar19.webp

3857 Posts
Location -
Joined 2000-03-29
Just to clarify, but there isn't much going on resource wise for Windows 2003 server to route traffic, especially in this scenario. In addition, setting up the simple firewall in RRAS would make the system (and network) quite secure. You can later setup the server to host VPN connections as well, in addition to other technologies that consumer routers have issues with.

data/avatar/default/avatar17.webp

37 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-01-26
Ofcourse you are correct but that just seems a waste of a server. Then again i do not know how the current server is used. That just seems to over complicate a simple network and potentially have two holes in your network instead of one.

data/avatar/default/avatar19.webp

3857 Posts
Location -
Joined 2000-03-29
I was basing workload off of him having XP Home and XP Pro comprising his network. With this layout, I don't see much of a workload. Setting up the firewall should be done by most people anyway, so security wouldn't be changed (probably increased) with the use of RRAS. Plus, he gets to save money and space by not using the router. Not a bad deal overall.

data/avatar/default/avatar02.webp

5 Posts
Location -
Joined 2004-02-11
OP
I haven't had a chance to play with anything.
 
As for work load, the server main rolls are IIS(ASP Forum), RDP, ICS, Hamster(News server, NNTP) and file backup for the 2 Xp boxes.
 
I really can't be arsed playing with RRAS, one, I don't really know how to use it and 2, it's a simple 3 computer network mainly used as a dialup gateway.
 
There has to be a simple way to boost the WLAN speed.
RWIN, TTL and MTU???

data/avatar/default/avatar19.webp

3857 Posts
Location -
Joined 2000-03-29
I doubt those will address the issue, as this is a major drop in speed and not some minor drop that you are trying to tweak. If you don't want to use RRAS, that's cool. I just feel that setting the server up as a router (which is what are you trying to do with linking the networks) would be better suited with RRAS. When a server has two NICs sitting on the same segment (and not bound together to form a virtual connection) you can get odd behavior. Setting it up as a router using two different networks would be a good solution. You can find walkthroughs (like the one I posted earlier) all over the place to set it up. If you can properly administer IIS, then this will not be an issue. Otherwise, get a separate router as suggested earlier.