two network cards: what am I doing wrong ?

[Kumaiti]

Hi all

Here is the problem: I have a workstation running Windows2000 (I don't know which SP). This workstation is a client for a security system responsible for controlling access to a building. It is connected to a network with other 3 computers running win2000. All these computer in this network have static IP addresses necessary for the security program

The person who works in this workstation also needs access to the internet. To do so, I connected a second network card to this computer and connected it to our office network, which grants access to internet. This network card gets IP addresses from the DHCP server.

The problem is:
The client program that is supposed to connect to the other three computers doesn't work properly unless I disable the network card connected to the office network. It seems as if the program was looking for the server in the office network (and finding NOTHING), then crashing from timeout.

Am I doing something wrong related to the setup of two network cards in one computer ?


Thanks for any help

[bassman]

Hmmmm, does this "client program" have settings where you can specify it's direction of use? As in, a default network connection? Or the workgroup it is supposed to work with?
I am assuming that all of this is set up as two different networks so each would have a different workgroup name. The NICs would then also have these different workgroup names in their settings. Is that correct?

[Kumaiti]

The client program can only be configured with the IP address of the server. I can't choose the default network connection, I tried that. The same about the workgroup.

You assumed right. The whole thing is set up as two different networks and this computer is a kind of "bridge" between those two networks. And yes, they have different workgroup names.

About the NICs having different workgroup names, I actually didn't know they could have different names. I usually change the workgroup name in the Computer Name meny from the My Computer menus. Maybe that is the big problem ?

[hannadock]

We had the same problem here and removed the gateway info from the second nic. One nic was static and the other DHCP.

[Variable]

Well of course it is. If you have two NICs and a program needs to send data out the PC it will do so through the default gateway. It is sending traffic out the wrong gateway, ie the internet or whatever the DG is.

You need to put in a static route telling it where traffic goes. Then your program will work. Source destination
Start, Run, type CMD <enter>, type route ? <enter>

[yawningdog]

I'm surely being nit-picky here Kumaiti, but a W2k non-server edition cannot "bridge" two networks. It can, in fact, share an internet connection, but not to machines with statically assigned addresses.

[Kumaiti]

Hannadok: that is exactly what we have: one NIC static and the other dynamic.

Yawningdog: this isn't a bridge in the strict send of the word (A network bridge). I just used the word because it was the best to describe the position of that computer.

Variable: very good suggestion. I will try that as soon as I get back to work (it's been a while I don't check this thread).

thanks a lot for the suggestions.