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Mixing WiFi and Ethernet?

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maddbomber83

maddbomber83

Occasional Visitor
Hello; thank you for taking the time to read this thread.

How do I get two computers to prefer using the Ethernet connection between them (such as syncing files) while using the WiFi for access to the rest of the network (including internet)?

Right now they are using WiFi for all traffic (even between them) with the following configuration:
  • I have 2 computers in the same room.
  • Each have a WiFi 866 Mbps connection to my router in a different room.
  • They are connected to each other by an Ethernet 1 Gbps connection.
  • The WiFi is set to Static IP with the Router as the gateway (and DNS).
  • The Ethernet is set to a different Static IP with the other machine as gateway (no DNS).
  • Both connections are on the same subnet.
Thank you in advance for any guidance!
 
maddbomber83 said:
...
Both connections are on the same subnet.
...
Click to expand...

Would need to see your routing table to be sure, but I think your problem is the WiFi and the wired ports are on the same subnet.

If the WiFi is on 192.168.1.0 network, then put the static IP addresses on the wired connection into another network say 192.168.55.0. You don't need to set a gateway on the wired network, as the other computer is on the same wired network.

If you sync to the other computer by it's static wired address, that traffic will automatically use the wire. If you address it by it's WiFi assigned address it will use the Wifi connection.
 
What operating system are you using? In Microsoft Windows you can set the adapter order for the computer to use.
 
abailey said:
What operating system are you using? In Microsoft Windows you can set the adapter order for the computer to use.
Click to expand...

But that won't work to prefer an ethernet connection for only connecting to a single computer and wifi for connecting to the rest. You will have to add a routing rule. Besides, as of Windows 8, Windows automatically pefers a wired connection over wireless (watch on a windows 8/8.1 laptop, plug it in to an ethernet connection and all of the transfers are going to be on the wire if it is the same network, it won't use wireless at all, unless a the wireless is connected to a different network. Unplug and it'll switch right back to wireless).
 
coldwizard said:
... You don't need to set a gateway on the wired network, as the other computer is on the same wired network. ...
Click to expand...
I followed your advice and things are working well. For whatever reason, directly connecting the two computers caused a crap ton of interrupts on one computer. Instead I put a switch between them and it's fine.

For the gateway part, the networks show up as unidentified. I had originally set each other to each other so it would show up as a known network. May I ask if there is another way?

Thank you for the advice!
 
maddbomber83 said:
I followed your advice and things are working well. For whatever reason, directly connecting the two computers caused a crap ton of interrupts on one computer. Instead I put a switch between them and it's fine.

For the gateway part, the networks show up as unidentified. I had originally set each other to each other so it would show up as a known network. May I ask if there is another way?

Thank you for the advice!
Click to expand...

The high traffic was likely caused by broadcast storm. That can happen when you have a loop in your network. What should stop it a protocol called Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) which I had expected would be on your router. When you inserted the switch, it likely had STP enabled, detected the loop and stopped it.

Glad you got it all working.
 
if you had server 2012 R2 you can team two together. I do that. I have a WLAN adapter (netgear 6210 -to my aruba rap109 aps)) and ETH (to my d-link poe switch) and it works great.
 
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