IP Subnet issued for wireless clients

[jjscott]

I just installed a Sonicwall TZ-210W and found that it uses a different IP range (172.16.31.x) for wireless clients than it does for the LAN clients (192.168.1.x). I could not connect to anything on the LAN from the WLAN until I enabled the WLAN > LAN rule on the router. However, I am still having issues.

If I try and hit my NAS from Explorer just using its name \\NAS\MyDocs, when connected using WiFi from my Windows 7 laptop, it fails. If I use its LAN IP (\\192.168.1.233\MyDocs) it works fine.

Windows Firewall is turned off. I am using Norton Internet Security 2012, but I temporarily disabled its firewall and experienced the same results. I looked at the Advanced Sharing options on my laptop and found that everything is enabled except Public Folder Sharing.

If I'm hardwired to the router, everything is fine and this makes sense since I'm on the 192.168.1.x subnet. The same subnet as the NAS.

I suppose I could go Old School and add an entry to the Lmhosts file, but it just seems like a hack to me. Not to mention that I would have an issue if the NAS ever received a new ip address.

I guess I could change the IP range for the wireless network in the SW administration page, but I kind of like the idae of separating the LAN & WLAN.

This just reaks of a name resolution issue. Some that I haven't dealt with in a long time.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[stevech]

something along the lines of...
\\NAS\MyDocs is in the 192. subnet
so the laptop via wireless is in a different subnet.
What gateway address is given to the laptop via WiFi (assuming DHCP). I'd guess its 172.1.1.1 or some such.

So the router needs a static route between the subnets via the two gateway IP addresses?

Maybe the Sonicwall's user manual explains this?

 

[jjscott]

something along the lines of...
\\NAS\MyDocs is in the 192. subnet
so the laptop via wireless is in a different subnet.
What gateway address is given to the laptop via WiFi (assuming DHCP). I'd guess its 172.1.1.1 or some such.

So the router needs a static route between the subnets via the two gateway IP addresses?

Maybe the Sonicwall's user manual explains this?

Correct. The wireless client is given a 172.16.31.x gateway address, which is different than the subnet that the NAS is on. The NAS is on the 192.168.1.x subnet. This is the problem.

Remember, I can ping the NAS from my wireless laptop and I can I can even connect to it and open files provided that I use its ip address (\\192.168.1.103\MyDocs). However, I cannot use its name (\\MyNAS\MyDocs). This is where I need help. Again, it seems like a naming resolution issue to me.

 

[GregN]

Correct. The wireless client is given a 172.16.31.x gateway address, which is different than the subnet that the NAS is on. The NAS is on the 192.168.1.x subnet. This is the problem.

Remember, I can ping the NAS from my wireless laptop and I can I can even connect to it and open files provided that I use its ip address (\\192.168.1.103\MyDocs). However, I cannot use its name (\\MyNAS\MyDocs). This is where I need help. Again, it seems like a naming resolution issue to me.

Routers often have a setting for DNS local name resolution for DHCP associated names, briefly looking through the Sonicwall's Getting Started manual I didn't see such a setting, but on page 40 it details setting up an 'Address Object' for name referencing, have you tried that?

 

[stevech]

Correct. The wireless client is given a 172.16.31.x gateway address, which is different than the subnet that the NAS is on. The NAS is on the 192.168.1.x subnet. This is the problem.

Remember, I can ping the NAS from my wireless laptop and I can I can even connect to it and open files provided that I use its ip address (\\192.168.1.103\MyDocs). However, I cannot use its name (\\MyNAS\MyDocs). This is where I need help. Again, it seems like a naming resolution issue to me.

We have a jargon problem... When we say the "gateway" address used by the client, we don't mean the client's own address. We mean the gateway address given to the client. Customarily in consumer routers, this is x.x.x.1 for the normal subnet. So the wired clients in your site probably are assigned 192.168.1.1 as the gateway. The WiFi clients might be 172.16.31.1. What do you see in the WiFi client for the wireless adapter's gateway address?

Irrespective of this, your router seemingly needs to be given by you a static "hard route" between 192.168.1.x and 172.16.31.x. I'd think the router/firewall would do that automatically since it chose to put the WiFi clients in a different subnet.

Or config. your SonicWall to assign WiFi clients in the same subnet as the wired clients, if you're OK doing this normal config.