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Dual Nics in XP running Cable Modem

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rocknindy

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2000
I don't know if anyone knows this or not, if you run 2 Nics in a XP box, XP has a Network Bridge Connection. I plugged in my other Linksys USB Nic and bridged them and my D/L's jumped tremendously. Need to run some more tests but check it out guys.
 
could you explain this a little more since I am running dual NIC in my box and I am about to switch from 2k server to win XP pro.
 
go to control panel network settings if both nics are there you should see a bridge network connections highlight both nic cards and click on the bridge connections, wham, your nics are as one thats it. :)
Since I have 2 cable modems I am thinking of getting a second IP and combining both Nics, it would be like shotgunning modems
 
I could see it working with 2 separate modems, but with only 1 modem and 2 nics I'm not seeing how it would be any faster. Unless you have more than 1 ip address available to your computer from the provider then possibly. Hmmm...weird.
 
it did increase my speed due to the fact that it's shoving 2 nic connections to me at the same time, I am going to be doing to modems here in the next few days
 
I wonder if I were to buy another cable modem. Y the coaxal cable to both modems then to each separate NIC card if my ISP would know? Would it give each connection it's own IP address or would they be the same seeing as there on the same machine?
Not that they would allow it and just charge me more money on my next bill.
 
okay I did it and modded the NICs so I could see the activity adn the task manager switched to a single graph. now how can I really test my network settings so I can see if it make any difference.
 
NFO found on the f1 key ;)


The network bridge provides an inexpensive and easy way to connect local area network (LAN) segments. To understand how the network bridge works, it is important to understand what a LAN segment is. A LAN segment is a single section of network media that connects computers. For example, suppose you have three computers: computer A, computer B, and computer C. Computer A has two Ethernet network adapters, and computers B and C have one Ethernet network adapter each. An Ethernet cable connecting A to B would create one LAN segment. An additional Ethernet cable connecting A to C would create a LAN segment.

Traditionally, if you want to have a network that has more than one segment, you have two options: routing or bridging. IP routing is a common solution for connecting network segments. However, to set up for IP routing you need either to buy hardware routers or set up the computers at the junctions between segments to operate as routers. IP routing requires difficult configurations for IP addressing for each computer on each network segment, and each network segment needs to be configured as a separate subnet. IP routing is a good solution for large networks, where scalability is important, and where there is an experienced staff to configure and maintain the network. A hardware bridging solution does not necessitate difficult configurations, like IP routing, but it does require that you purchase additional hardware bridges. Neither of these options are ideal if you have a home or small office network, do not want to purchase expensive bridging hardware, and do not have experienced staff to administer an IP routing network.

The network bridge, in contrast, allows you to connect LAN segments by selecting the appropriate network connection icons and clicking Bridge Connections. Similar buttons allow you to enable the bridge and add connections to it. The network bridge manages your LAN segments and creates a single subnet for the entire network. There is no configuration required, and you do not need purchase additional hardware such as routers or bridges. IP addressing, address allocation, and name resolution is highly simplified in a single subnet IP network.

The network bridge can create connections between different types of network media. In a traditional network, if you are using mixed media types you need a separate subnet for each type of media, and packet forwarding is required between each one of the network's multiple subnets. Packet forwarding is required because different protocols are used for different types of media. Network Bridge automates the configuration that is required in order to forward information from one type of media to another.

Only one bridge may exist on a Windows XP computer, but it can be used to bridge as many different network connections as the computer can physically accommodate. For information about creating a network bridge, see Bridge Connections.

Spanning tree algorithm
Network Bridge uses the IEEE spanning tree algorithm (STA) to establish a loop-free forwarding topology. When there are multiple paths in a bridged network, loops can form and the simple forwarding rules of a bridge can cause forwarding storms, a condition in which the same frame is relayed endlessly form one bridge to another. STA provides an automated mechanism to selectively disable bridge forwarding on individual ports as is necessary in order to ensure that the forwarding topology is loop-free. There is no configuration necessary to configure the network bridge for the spanning tree algorithm.
 
Very interesting. They must allocate more than 1 IP address per modem then. I will tell my buddy to try this out with his att@home.


rocknindy said:
it did increase my speed due to the fact that it's shoving 2 nic connections to me at the same time, I am going to be doing to modems here in the next few days
 
Ok, I am a little confused by that...LOL
I tried this on a Linsys cable/router. I called @Home and found out that I would need another account if I wanted 2 modems, was thinking of bridgeing the 2, so....does it do any good to do what I have done, I have checked my speed but it appears that my upload and download speed is the same BUT it appears my web pages load alot faster. I'm interested in pusuing this if what I think it does is true.
 
I read a article about bonding cable modems and the guy tested with the same modem with just 2 ips and found out the up/dl are about the same unless the 2 ip run off different submasks

cable companies give you more thin one submask so I guess you can set one submask for one computer and set the other for the other computer

you can also bond dsl and cable together there for giving you double your speed
 
Ive heard of people using a hub to split their connection into 2 ips then connect them both with 2 nics and get some increased speed, but would it make any difference on 1 ip? Im running a router and switch, so if i put a 2nd nic in my computer and run it to the hub it would be the same thing, but with only 1 ip. I dont think this will increase my speed at all. but it might......





I still get like 450k downloads so its not that big of a deal anyways
 
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