Network Q

[Ashura]

Hey guys, I have a quick networking question. Here's the background:

A company on the same floor as us has their own server and internet provider. From them we rent out a portion of their server to use as our own file server and we share their internet connection. The printers on the floor are on their network too. Hardware equipment on our end is a 24 port gigabit switch with a line coming from their server and the rest being lines going out to our PCs.

However, we've been very unsatisfied with the internet connection because their ISP quite frankly sucks and they refuse to change it because of cronyism between the heads of the two companies; so we've decided to go ahead and get our own separate internet provider.

However, I need to know if what we want to do is even possible: Can we have our own separate isp on the same physical network as the other company, so that we can still have access to the filer server/printers, without sharing or distributing any of our new bandwidth to the other company, and of course without using any of their internet bandwidth?

Also, in case it is relevant, we would be receiving a Linksys RVS4000 for implementation of the new internet connection.

[klingens]

It Is possible yes. I dunno if it's possible with that linksys since I don't know anything about it, but possible it is. Basically you need either a dedicated router for their network or your main router needs 3 NICs. What happens is that you will have a different route for the filer which tells your router to send packets to a different interface for the subnet the print/file servers use.

[bchur83]

Just set the PCs on "your" Network to have the Gateway address of "your" Router. Simple as that.

[klingens]

Have fun troubleshooting DHCP and IP assignment issues then :)

[Ashura]

It Is possible yes. I dunno if it's possible with that linksys since I don't know anything about it, but possible it is. Basically you need either a dedicated router for their network or your main router needs 3 NICs. What happens is that you will have a different route for the filer which tells your router to send packets to a different interface for the subnet the print/file servers use.
Klingens, thanks for the answer. That's great to hear. We will be having two routers actually, one provided by the ISP and the Linksys. I'm not going to be the one setting up anything, we'll be having the other company's tech guy do it since it's there network.

So should I basically tell him to have one router on the network (the linksys) and the other router the ISP provides on the dsl and that he should set up a "different route for the filer which tells your router to send packets to a different interface for the subnet the print/file servers use"?

Sorry if I'm quoting you verbatim but I'll be the first to admit I'm not too savvy when it comes to networking and I'd rather not make any mistakes. :beer:

[klingens]

The trouble with using two routers is, you need to set this route on every single client. If you have a single router that connects to your new ISP and the other company, the router itself is the only one who needs a special route.
If you stay in the same subnet for both companies, then it can work without a special router with 3 NICs, but then people from the other company can use your internet. Which they might when their network is currently down. Also you have the problem of DHCP: their machines need a different default gateway route than you.
All in all, you need your own subnet in practice imho which means ideally a router that has two different uplinks.

[Ashura]

The trouble with using two routers is, you need to set this route on every single client. If you have a single router that connects to your new ISP and the other company, the router itself is the only one who needs a special route.
If you stay in the same subnet for both companies, then it can work without a special router with 3 NICs, but then people from the other company can use your internet. Which they might when their network is currently down. Also you have the problem of DHCP: their machines need a different default gateway route than you.
All in all, you need your own subnet in practice imho which means ideally a router that has two different uplinks.
Klingens, again thanks for the fast response. I'd have no problem setting the config on every client because we're a small company, I would only have to set it up for 15 PCs; so two routers seems like the best way to go right now. Ideally, we'd want our internet to be totally off limits to the other company.

EDIT: Confirmed the secound router provided by the ISP, it's the Netopia 3347w-t .