I am working on implementing a media server in my car. The server will be a laptop running Win7 with Plex Media Server that can serve up content to clients on mobile devices like tablets or phones. It can also connect into the video screens installed on the headrests and the car's audio system.
I want to create a LAN within my car (a CAN - Car Area Network) which will interconnect the devices in the car. I also want this CAN to occasionally be able to bridge into an external (to the car) network that comes from either: (1) my house LAN (while in the garage to do maintenance on the server, transfer files, etc) or (2) a mobile device acting as a wifi hotspot to provide internet access while travelling away from home.
What is the best way to do this? I have tried adding a second Wifi adapter to my laptop and setting it up as an ad-hoc network that then uses ICS to connect to the built-in wifi on the laptop. I followed these instructions but I couldn't get it to work. Googling seems to bring up lots of people with issues so perhaps a recent Windows update has broken this functionality? Can anyone confirm that they can get this working? When I try to connect into my ad-hoc network with an iPhone or iPad it is never able to complete the connection it says something like "Unable to Join Network". Therefore I can't even create the CAN, never mind bridge into another connection.
Alternatively I could use a small travel router, like the TP-Link Nano router, to provide the CAN and then bridge that to the otyher networks. If I do this what mode should I use for my pocket router? Router mode? AP mode? Repeater mode? Bridge mode? Do I need a mode that is running a DHCP server that can give out IP addresses to the mobile devices connecting? Do I still need a second wifi adapter or can I use the ethernet port to connect to the router in such a configuration.
And how do I configure it so that I can connect to multiple external networks (house LAN, mobile wifi hotspot)? Do I need to have a fixed number as the gateway?
I guess in some ways this is similar to bridging together two wifi networks - let's say you wanted to share internet with your neighbour and you each had LANs in your house. The slight wrinkle here is that the other network may change between home LAN and Wifi hotspot and I want to make it as seemless as possible to switch between the two.
I want to create a LAN within my car (a CAN - Car Area Network) which will interconnect the devices in the car. I also want this CAN to occasionally be able to bridge into an external (to the car) network that comes from either: (1) my house LAN (while in the garage to do maintenance on the server, transfer files, etc) or (2) a mobile device acting as a wifi hotspot to provide internet access while travelling away from home.
What is the best way to do this? I have tried adding a second Wifi adapter to my laptop and setting it up as an ad-hoc network that then uses ICS to connect to the built-in wifi on the laptop. I followed these instructions but I couldn't get it to work. Googling seems to bring up lots of people with issues so perhaps a recent Windows update has broken this functionality? Can anyone confirm that they can get this working? When I try to connect into my ad-hoc network with an iPhone or iPad it is never able to complete the connection it says something like "Unable to Join Network". Therefore I can't even create the CAN, never mind bridge into another connection.
Alternatively I could use a small travel router, like the TP-Link Nano router, to provide the CAN and then bridge that to the otyher networks. If I do this what mode should I use for my pocket router? Router mode? AP mode? Repeater mode? Bridge mode? Do I need a mode that is running a DHCP server that can give out IP addresses to the mobile devices connecting? Do I still need a second wifi adapter or can I use the ethernet port to connect to the router in such a configuration.
And how do I configure it so that I can connect to multiple external networks (house LAN, mobile wifi hotspot)? Do I need to have a fixed number as the gateway?
I guess in some ways this is similar to bridging together two wifi networks - let's say you wanted to share internet with your neighbour and you each had LANs in your house. The slight wrinkle here is that the other network may change between home LAN and Wifi hotspot and I want to make it as seemless as possible to switch between the two.