Network setup using NAS without internet access.
Network setup using NAS without internet access.
Hi there. I really need help with a problem that has troubled me for days now. I have no internet access on "part" of my home network. I have two routers (actually 3), but the third is irrelevant in this scenario. First (main) is a router/cable modem supplied by the ISP and cannot be changed (a HUMAX 2.4/5GHz model). This router handles WiFi for the entire household. Everything works. I have also setup a guest network using a third router (the "irrelevant" one) on the 2.4GHz band as a repeater. This is an old Netgear WNR2000v2. Seems to work, and has done so for many months now. I have my laptop connected wirelessly to the HUMAX router on the 5GHz band. No problems. I have worked on expanding my network with a NAS connected to a router (Netgear WNR3500Lv2, also an old lay away), and my laptop connected as well. There is no wireless hardware in the NAS, and there is no option in the WNR3500Lv2 in regard to setting this up as a repeater. The only option is as an Access Point using a cable. My laptop and nas with the 3500 router is placed too far away to make a cable any viable option. Aside from the distance, having a cable that long through the entire house just isn't a good idea. I have tried many tutorials, suggestions, ideas etc. on how to set it all up, but my router - though it is a WNR3500Lv2 - does not have an option to set it up as a repeater. Thus I am stock on what to do. I have updated to the latest firmware, but still no option for a repeater function. I am not actually sure anymore, that a repeater function would even solve my problems. So I guess another approach? Summary NAS into Netgear switch, cable from switch to one of the four switch RJ45 plugs in the Netgear 3500Lv2 router, one cable from the 3500 to the laptop. In the laptop, I have a wireless setup connecting to the HUMAX router. After a lot of meddling, I finally got the Internet to work at the same time as I can access the NAS with this setup. But my NAS has no internet access, and neither does the 3500 router. I have setup the wireless in my laptop as a ICS device, and frankly tried all options I can think off. Still no success. Internet only on the laptop. I have tried bridging the LAN and Wireless in my laptop, tried setting up different networks between nas and router (using 192.168.1.1) and the LAN on the laptop with 192.168.137.1 (static) and the wireless as 192.168.11.xxx (DHCP from HUMAX). All using subnet mask 255.255.255.0. I would like my nas to have access to the internet going from the nas to the switch to the 3500 router through the LAN of my laptop (all cabled) and then from the same laptop using the wireless on to the HUMAX router provided by the ISP. A mouthful I know. Is there another way, did I miss something, should I use more gateway settings or is this simply not possible? Please, any help is most appreciated. thank you very much
It seems you're attempting to connect two consumer routers using a laptop as a central hub. You mentioned seeing both the NAS and internet on the laptop but not being able to establish communication between them. That sounds like a common issue. Most likely, the devices are being routed internally by the APs, which isn't ideal from a stability perspective. You're probably running into problems because the setup is causing unnecessary complexity and security risks. It might be better to avoid this approach unless you're confident in your network configuration. If you still want to proceed, consider connecting the NAS directly to the modem/router with a short cable and disable DHCP on the NAS so it functions more like a switch than a router. This should simplify things and reduce potential issues.
Does the NAS require access from the entire network or just the laptop? If it needs access to other devices, you may not be able to achieve that with your current setup. If you don’t need the laptop or NAS to connect to other LAN devices, and your router supports client mode WiFi as the WAN interface, you could separate them onto their own networks. Another choice is to turn on Internet connection sharing on the laptop. Regardless of the method, the NAS will only appear on the laptop since Windows doesn’t natively bridge networks via WiFi without a specific mode like WDS.
@GuruOfNothing. That is correct. Unfortunately my problems is distance. So far it is not in any way possible for me to connect the NAS and/or the second router directly via cable to the main router (cable modem). That is why I would like/need this setup to work somehow. Thank you for your time. @Alex Atkin UK. The NAS needs to be accessible both from my internal (private household) network and the Internet. I have no way to cable connect the two routers, which is the core of the problem. If I could connect them via cable, it would all just be straight forward and kind of standard setup. I already have Internet Connection Sharing enabled on the laptop, but as per my initial post, this is not working. The NAS have no internet access, but I can access it directly from the laptop. In the laptop, on the wireless settings, there is the option to enable ICS, and I have enabled that. The IP of the LAN card also in the laptop was set automatically by Windows to 192.168.137.1/255.255.255.0 and the NAS is setup as getting it's IP by DHCP. The NAS does get an IP from the laptop, and I can reach it from the laptop. Just the NAS cannot reach the Internet despite the wireless of the laptop has already been setup to allow Internet Connection Sharing. If ICS was not possible using wireless, wouldn't windows have this option grayed out?
The optimal choice is to link the NAS directly via WiFi. If it doesn’t support a built-in adapter, you’ll need a wireless bridge. These are becoming rarer since most devices now have WiFi, though you should be able to locate them for connecting non-WiFi compatible TVs, etc. I’m mainly seeing Vonets offering this solution now. There might be more established brands available on eBay, and WiFi extenders often include this feature as well.
I'll check that matter, as it looks like the likely choice. Thank you for your patience.