[JNC]

Hello,

I'm helping a friend set up his home network of 4 desktops, 1 laptop, and a network printer using a Cisco 2900 series switch. My knowledge of networking is very limited, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

We've hard wired everything, and all the computers connect to the internet, but we can't get the PC's to see each other. They're all running XP, and we've run the Network Setup Wizard over a dozen times, but we still can't figure it out.

He's using Shaw Cable, and is on their Small Office/Home Office plan, which allows upto 5 IP addresses, and all the PC's have been assigned their own IP's.

The modem is plugged directly into the switch. The PC's are all connected to the switch, and the printer is connected to the switch - am I missing something? Would we be better off using a 6-port LAN router or hub?

I thank anyone in advance.

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Are all the computers in the same workgroup? Are they all in the same IP subnet? And is file sharing enabled on them?

All necessary to connect in a non-domain LAN.

[thenotch]

Are all the computers in the same workgroup? Are they all in the same IP subnet? And is file sharing enabled on them?

All necessary to connect in a non-domain LAN.

[JNC]

Are all the computers in the same workgroup? Are they all in the same IP subnet? And is file sharing enabled on them?

All necessary to connect in a non-domain LAN.

Yes, they're all in the same workgroup. They are all using the default subnet, and file sharing has been enabled.

[silverbeard]

Hi JNC,

By five static IPs I take it they have assigned a block of 8. see if this makes any sense.

For Multi Static IP addresses customers will need to configure their equipment with the information that coresponds with their Static IP block. In order to configure Multi Static IP addresses you must understand how they are used. The first address in the IP address assignment is the Subnet address. It is used for routing tables ONLY. It is NOT ASSIGNABLE to a device on your network. The second address in the IP address assignment must be assigned to your router interface. This address is your default gateway. The last address in the IP address assignment is the Broadcast address for the Subnet. It is NOT ASSIGNABLE to a device on your network. For example:

* 65.37.125.10 - (Reserved for Subnet Routing)
* 65.37.125.11 - (Reserved for Default Gateway)
* 65.37.125.12 - Available
* 65.37.125.13 - Available
* 65.37.125.14 - Available
* 65.37.125.15 - Available
* 65.37.125.16 - Available
* 65.37.125.17 - (Reserved for Subnet Broadcast)

The remaining addresses that are not reserved are available to be assigned to a device on the network. The available addresses reflect the quantity of static IP addresses specified in your order. Remember: Static IP options are sold in multiple(s) of 1, 8, 16, 32, 64, but they appear as 1, 5, 13, 29, and 61.

Each block of IP addresses uses a standard Subnet Mask Address based on their block size:

* 8 Block, refered to as /29 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.248
* 16 Block, refered to as /28 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.240
* 32 Block, refered to as /27 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.224
* 64 Block, refered to as /26 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.192

Using the examples from above if we wanted to assign a static IP to a customers machine you might use:

IP Address: 65.37.125.12 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.248 Default Gateway: 65.37.125.11

[JNC]

Hi JNC,

By five static IPs I take it they have assigned a block of 8. see if this makes any sense.

For Multi Static IP addresses customers will need to configure their equipment with the information that coresponds with their Static IP block. In order to configure Multi Static IP addresses you must understand how they are used. The first address in the IP address assignment is the Subnet address. It is used for routing tables ONLY. It is NOT ASSIGNABLE to a device on your network. The second address in the IP address assignment must be assigned to your router interface. This address is your default gateway. The last address in the IP address assignment is the Broadcast address for the Subnet. It is NOT ASSIGNABLE to a device on your network. For example:

* 65.37.125.10 - (Reserved for Subnet Routing)
* 65.37.125.11 - (Reserved for Default Gateway)
* 65.37.125.12 - Available
* 65.37.125.13 - Available
* 65.37.125.14 - Available
* 65.37.125.15 - Available
* 65.37.125.16 - Available
* 65.37.125.17 - (Reserved for Subnet Broadcast)

The remaining addresses that are not reserved are available to be assigned to a device on the network. The available addresses reflect the quantity of static IP addresses specified in your order. Remember: Static IP options are sold in multiple(s) of 1, 8, 16, 32, 64, but they appear as 1, 5, 13, 29, and 61.

Each block of IP addresses uses a standard Subnet Mask Address based on their block size:

* 8 Block, refered to as /29 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.248
* 16 Block, refered to as /28 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.240
* 32 Block, refered to as /27 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.224
* 64 Block, refered to as /26 uses a subnet mask of 255.255.255.192

Using the examples from above if we wanted to assign a static IP to a customers machine you might use:

IP Address: 65.37.125.12 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.248 Default Gateway: 65.37.125.11

Wow, you lost me at static IPs

So I should manually configure each PC using the above example? Different IP's, same Subnet Masks, and same Default Gateway?

[silverbeard]

Correct. Check with the ISP to see if that's the right set up. The assigned IPs (from the ISP) should be sequential making the one above the five you have the default gateway and the example shows the subnet mask.

[Kurenai]

Well...if it is not necesary for people outside the network (internet side) to have access to any of the computers on the network, the best way to do things would be to assign a static IP from the ISP to a normal router's WAN port (forgoing the switch, which may be counter productive in this case), and then just letting the computers pull a private from the router. Then, you just make sure that any firewall software on the computers has that private IP range set to trusted, and you should have internal sharing.

Connecting a switch directly to a cable modem and then connecting computers that way is a massive security risk, since each computer with a static IP is essentially directly accessible from the internet.