Dual Connections (i seem to like the word dual atm)

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Wed Sep 04, 2002 3:54 am

We are having a bit of a dilemma in work, we have an ISDN connection and another connection which resembles a LAN of sorts.

Since we are stumped as to how to get these two connections to interact I was wondering if the fair folk at GB could help me.

Basically at the moment we have a router for the main ISDN that connects to the phone line and connects to our computers through that router (it acts as a hub as well)

We also have another connection which works through a seperate hub that connects to a router which works through a LAN (well as I understand it).

The basic premis is to get it so we can have both connections on one PC, i figure i need another two hubs in the connection, would that be right?

Mr Flibble · Post by **Mr Flibble** » Wed Sep 04, 2002 5:03 am

What exactly is the second connection? It sounds similar to a DSL service.

One option might be to use a gateway or proxy server. Anything running Linux, Windows NT or 2000 should do. There's also quite a few specialist applications that would do that job too.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Wed Sep 04, 2002 5:51 am

Originally posted by Mr Flibble
What exactly is the second connection? It sounds similar to a DSL service.

One option might be to use a gateway or proxy server. Anything running Linux, Windows NT or 2000 should do. There's also quite a few specialist applications that would do that job too.

It is kind of difficult to explain, it basically uses IP's and acts as a LAN, I am not entierly sure how it works since i didn't configure it, if i recall correctly it is a satellite connection.

The trouble is our ISDN is set up on the computers without any IP's rather it uses DHCP to figure out it's settings and obtains IP automatically, so one can not set up a connection like a dial up, I can't just easily swap between connections.

I realise i haven't explained this very well i will recap if all this doesn't make sense.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Thu Sep 05, 2002 11:10 am

For me personally, things need to be better explained for me to lend any assistance.

It sounds like you have two routers, however, I am not certain why two are needed. Your ISDN line is going to operate over a phone line (no mystery there). What makes up the ISDN modem? Is it its' own box? You mentioned an ISDN satellite connection. From my guess it seems the ISDN modem is acting as a DHCP server and all client workstations are obtaining IP address from it. However, how is a default gateway configured on the workstations. Is it statically entered on each machines or does it obtain this information from the acting DHCP server. If the latter, is default gateway information properly configured on the DHCP server. Does the LAN use any DNS or WINS services?

For an ISDN line, using a Suse Linux box as a gateway and a firewall would be a good idea. Suse has a lot of flexibility offering both simplicity and reliable security.

I'll just stop here and see if you can provide any more detailed info. You situation is not uncommon and a solution is readily available.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Fri Sep 06, 2002 5:43 am

They are two different types of connection, the main one we use in ISDN, the other is a sattelite connection that is about 2mb/s (apparently) it is connected through a couple of schools in the area.

Anyway, the one router connects to two schools and we connect into that with a hub that then goes off to another machine, we have no direct control over the set up of that link.

The ISDN router is a Vigor 2000 which doesn't need a linux box to run and is set up with a GUI in explorer from a PC through a parellel port.

I presume we need another hub to connect the ISDN router and the 2mb/s line into one hub which we will then connect to the computers.

The issue i have otherwise is setting the different connections on the computers. The computers do not use static IPs (as i stated previously) rather they use IPs that are set by the router (i think) hence the DHCP WINS resolution. Now the problem comes from the fact that the other connection requires IPs set, i can't recall the exact IPs.

So do we need an alternate configuration on the PCs or a server to act as a link to the other PCs?

Did that explanation make any more sense?