Network issue without a router
Network issue without a router
Hi, thanks for reaching out. I understand you're trying to configure your first Ethernet network with a mix of Windows and Linux devices. You currently have one Windows PC and 17 Linux machines connected via an unmanaged switch, using static IPs in the 192.168.1.99–117 range and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Before installing updates, you connected a router with a gateway at 192.168.1.1, which worked fine. Now you're removing the router for security and need to adjust settings. You mentioned VNC issues on your Windows PC, which is frustrating. After trying to bypass the router by entering your workstation's IP in the gateway box on a Linux machine, you were able to control it via VNC. This suggests the router might still be acting as a gateway, even if you think you've removed it. Double-check your network settings and ensure no gateway is still active or misconfigured. If you're unsure, consider consulting a network specialist to confirm the setup.
You only need a gateway to exit a network. Yet operating systems prefer having one, even if it doesn't exist. Simply input an unused IP address.
Consider setting up DNSMasq on a Linux machine, using it as a DHCP server and as the gateway. This approach would mean keeping that machine running continuously. Why remove the router?
I just reset the gateways back to the router's IP and everything is functioning properly. The reason for removing the router was that no internet access was needed on any of the devices except my Windows PC, which is handled via shared Wi-Fi. There will be a future update, but setting the gateway to 192.168.1.1 allows me to connect when required. The Linux machines are essentially server blades, so they remain online regardless of security settings—I've turned them off for safety. Thanks for your assistance.