use multiple network adaptors?

i have a network of macs and pc's, and i want to set it up so i have my macs able to access the net, but not the windows machines. the pc's are just fileservers which don't need access to anything other than eachother and the macs. all machines are connected to eachother by a switch, the macs also connect with their airport adaptors to an adsl router.

if i put airport at the top of the network adaptors list to prioritise it, i can't access anything over built in ethernet. if i put built in ethernet to the top, i can't access the net. i assume its because both 'work' so it doesn't move down the list to the next adaptor. i really need to get it working so the macs will try to route over both network adaptors, so whether i'm using the internet or browsing the local network, either one or the other will make it work.

i'd appreciate any advice. i am running 10.4 client and 10.4 server on the 2 macs. thanks.




EDIT: sorry i just realised this should go in networking. if any mods spot this could you move it for me?

Try using static IP's on en0

MacsWork said:

Try using static IP's on en0

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both have static ip. its not a matter of not getting an ip, its about forcing osx to try to send over both network adapters and not just the first in the list.

I have a wired Mac that has internet access and an airport express with no ethernet connection which provides dhcp that i use my airport card to connect to.

Your saying that if Airport is listed as first priority and you use cmd+k then smb\\ip.of.pc.comp you get nothing? Can you ping the IP's?

If the request for the PC can't be made (hopefully) using 10.x, 172.x or 192.x addresssing over airport then it will use en0. If your internal network uses internet routable addresses, more than likely airport will find it and realize AFP and or SMB are not there.

no i can't ping or 'go' (cmd+k) to anything that is not connected to the prioritized adapter. my setup is like this (~ means wireless, - means wired):

mac ~ router - internet
mac - switch - local network

whichever is proritized works. the other doesn't. makes no difference which is which i either get internet but no local or vice versa.


so if you have a wired connection to the internet and airport to a local network, can you browse shares on the local network over airport?

airport is used for airtunes only, but yes i can browse shares on my macbook when needed with wireless.

thanks for posting back. i decided in the end to simply not give my windows boxes gateway or dns settings. that should work just as well if i want to keep them off the internet and my macs can still see both internet and localnet.

That works..

I believe the only way to do such is to have a XSan network, which I think is a mac only technology, and I think its mainly for video storage, but I am sure you could store other information on there as well.