RV LAN

kevinpvb · EVDO Newbie Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Posts: 2

If I'm posting this in the wrong place. Please let me know. I'm new to this forum and looking for technical help.

I am working to build a LAN on my RV.

The reason is that my wife and I am still working.

We both work for the same company. We both have laptops. Occasionally, we work at home.

When we work at home, we connect to our home LAN, which consists of a Linksys Router connected via Bellsouth DSL. There is no issue with this sort of connection. The work laptops recognize the WAN connection and connect without issue.

On the RV, my personal laptop utilizes a wireless card using SPRINTpcs service and a Sierra 580 card. That connectivity is adequate for my needs. The work laptops are locked down and will not permit any changes to their profiles. I can not connect the work laptops via the card because I can not install the drivers and files necessary to use the wireless cards. We both need to be connected simultaneously like we do at home.

My idea is to use my personal laptop as the internet connection and share it with the two work laptops.

I've tried setting up a LAN on the RV by using a switch and connecting all three laptops to a switch. Each of the laptops can "see" each other. I am able to ping each of them. While connected, I am able to activate my Internet connection and surf normally on my personal laptop. I've tried setting up Internet Connection Sharing. All three laptops are running XP Pro. But, the two work laptops can not see the Internet Connection.

Since all I do is "plug and play" at home, I believe I should be able to set up the RV LAN the same way. But, I just don't possess the technological savvy to understand the roadblocks.

Everyone I've talked to is pointing me to the Kyocera air card router. But, this forum suggests that there is a problem using the router with VPN. My company utilizes the Cisco VPN software. A second post in the forum says the person making that post is having no issue.

So, here I am looking for help.

I welcome all comments, thoughts, ideas and advice I can get.

sjmondl

Using Kyocera KPC-650 /KPC680 & Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection Sharing with
Verizon VZ Access Manager for BroadbandAccess – NationalAccess.

WiFi Setup for Windows XP for sharing Verizon NationalAccess - BroadbandAccess connection.

Disconnect any WiFi connections you may currently have.

1. Install Verizon VZ Access software.

-Open VZAccess Manager and start NationalAccess – BroadbandAccess (make sure it can authenticate and connect).

2. In the Host computer, you must choose to share the Verizon NationalAccess – BroadbandAccess connection.
-Go to Start->Connect To->Show all connections.
-Right click on NationalAccess-BroadbandAccess and select Properties.
-Click Advanced Tab.

-Under Internet Connection Sharing, click Allow other network users to connect through this computer's internet connection
-In the Home networking connection drop-down select: Wireless Network Connection. (Note this will change the Wireless Network Connection IP settings to a static address. Not sure why, but don't change it back to DHCP).
-Click on Windows Firewall Settings button. On the General tab, turn OFF Windows Firewall. On the Exceptions tab, put a check mark at File & Printer Sharing, Remote Assistance and UPnP Framework. On the Advanced tab for Windows Firewall, add checkmarks to NationalAccess – BroadbandAccess and Wireless Network Connection. For both of these connections, Select the services running on your network that Internet users can access as follows:
All the services shown should have a check mark. On the ICMP tab, place a checkmark by Allow incoming echo request.
-Click ok for all settings and go back to the VZAccess Manger. Close connection and re-connect.

3. Setup a peer-to-peer (Ad-Hoc) wireless WiFi network using Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG.

-Right click on the Intel Pro/Wireless icon in the application tray on your desktop. Choose: Open Intel PROSet/Wireless.
-Click Profiles. Click Add to add new profile. Create a Profile name and a Wireless Network (SSID) Name - they can be the same name.
-In the Operating Mode box, choose Devise to Devise (ad-hoc) – connect directly to other computers. Click Next.
-In the Security Settings box, choose Personal Security.
-For Security Settings, choose from the drop-down box WEP – 128 bit.
-In the Wireless Security Password (Encryption Key) choose a 13 character password.
-In the Key Box, choose 1. Click OK. Click Close to close Profiles.
Go to client (remote) computer and follow all directions in #3 above using same 13 character password. When finished, restart client computer and host computer and wait for both computers to connect. This may take some time. When the system comes up give it a while and you will see the wireless network trying to connect to the peer-to-peer (ad-hoc) network you created. The first time it will take a while, so be patient.

4. Setup client (remote) laptop to connect to your peer-to-peer WiFi network.
Again, make sure you do are not connected to any WiFi networks. If so, disconnect them before continuing.
- Start the client (remote) laptop. XP should see the new peer-to-peer WiFi network and should try to connect to it.
It will take a while to connect and acquire the network address. Don't try to help XP, this seems to take awhile.
Wait till XP says the wireless network is connected.

- Go to My Computer->My Network Places->View Network connections.
- At the top of the list you should see Internet Gateway: NationalAccess-BroadbandAccess...
(This is the share connection from the host laptop.)
- If the Internet Gateway shared connection is not shown, you may need to setup up a home or small office network.
To setup the network:
- Click the: Setup a home or small office network option. Click the next button.
- XP may show disconnected hardware, if so, click the Ignore disconnected network hardware box.
- XP should see the shared connection to the host system. Don't change XP recommendation - use the NationalAccess-BroadbandAccess connection.
- Click next till finished.
- Now you should see the Internet Gateway icon for NationalAccess-BroadbandAccess...

IF the Internet Gateway icon for NationalAccess-BroadbandAccess is NOT SHOWING on host computer, do the following:
Click on Start, Control Panel and open Network Connections. On Wireless Network Connections right click and select Properties. On the General Tab under the section: This connection uses the following items:
Select File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, QoS Packet Scheduler, Network Monitor Driver, Microsoft TCP/IP version 6 (note, THIS item may not show on some computers. If it does not show, do not worry about this connection), AEGIS Protocol (IEEE 802.1x v), WLAN Transport, NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatable Transport Prot…), and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Place your cursor and highlight the words: Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) – NOTE: make sure you have highlighted those words as I just described and NOT Microsoft TCP/IP version 6! Now that you have highlighted the words Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), double click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). A box should open that has the words at the top: Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). On the General Tab, click the radio button: Use the following IP address: IP address: Enter 192.168.0.2, Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 and for Default gateway 192.168.0.1 At the bottom of the General tab, choose the radio tab Use the following DNS server addresses: Preferred DNS server: __.___.__.__ Stop here for a moment and return to the Host computer. At the Host computer, click on Start, Run Open: type in the box: nslookup and press OK. You will get a black box that returns an IP Address ex: 66.174.6.7 Write down this IP Address and return to your Client computer. Now resume where we left off above and in the box for Preferred DNS server, enter the IP Address (minus the periods) in the box. Leave blank Alternate DNS server. Click on the Advanced Tab and on the IP Settings Tab, place a checkmark at Automatic metric, click the DNS tab and make sure the radio box for Append primary and connection specific NDS suffexes is choosen, place a checkmark at Append parent suffixes of the primary DNS suffix. At the bottom, place a checkmark at Register this connection’s address in DNS and leave unchecked Use this connection’s DNS suffix in DNS registration. Click on WINS tab. Place a checkmark at Enable LMHOSTS lookup and at NetBIOS setting, make sure the radio button for Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP is chosen. Click the Options tab. You will get a box named TCP/IP filtering. Make sure the box Enable TCP/IP Filtering (All adapters) is not checked and just below that line make sure the 3 Permit All boxes have a radio button showing in Permit All. Press OK, OK, OK. Now you should be at the Wireless Network Connection Box. On the General Tab at the bottom, place a checkmark at Show icon in notification area when connection. Leave empty the Notife me when this connection has limited or no connectivity box. Press OK.

Restart both the Host and the Client computers.

Start on the Host computer and establish VZW BroadbandAccess/NationalAccess. Open your Internet Explorer and make sure you have internet access working. On your taskbar, click Start, Run and recheck your IP Address by typing in the Run window: nslookup It is very important that the Network Address shown in the nslookup box is entered EACH AND EVERY TIME in your Client Computer. Yes, that means each and every time you move from city to city across the USA, you will have to check the IP Address for that connection and enter it in the client computer. Yes, it’s a pain in the rear, but it works! To enter it in your client computer, all you have to do is follow the steps above that I have in blue print. Just that part in blue print needs to be changed when you move to a new location.

- Start Internet Explorer and you should be able to browse the network via your shared connection.

Happy internet sharing!