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Networking two or more PCs Discussion

(Original thread started on 07-12-2012 by Alan Norris)

Can someone with more PC knowledge than me (I switched to MACs several years back) guide me through the procedure to link two PCs running WIN7 with an Ethernet crossover cable? I have the cable but have no idea how to link them so WIDE CLIENT can connect with WIDE SERVER. I tried creating a Home Group but that didn't work and only connected via my WiFi router which I don't want to do.

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 07-12-12)

It's quite easy Alan:

1. Connect the crosslink cable to both PC's and confirm connection (LED's on both network interfaces)

2. For PC1: go to Start, Control Panel, Network status and click LAN-connection

3. Click [Properties] and verify TCP/IP v4 is activated, then select it and click [Properties] again

4. Configure IP addresses as follows:

- IP address: 192.168.0.1

- Subnetmask: 255.255.255.0

- Gateway: leave empty

- DNS 1/2: leave empty

5. For PC2: repeat steps 2-4 but use IP address 192.168.0.2

6. On both PC's: Turn Windows Firewall OFF!

 

You can check if the PC's are communicating over IPv4 with the ping command:

  1. Go to Start, type "cmd" and hit [Enter]

  2. Type "ping 192.168.0.1" from PC2 or "ping 192.168.0.2" from PC1 (w/o quotes) and watch the other PC responding. With a connection like this, respond times should always be <1 ms.

 

(Posted by Will Sasse on 07-13-12)

If I may suggest, rather than use the crossover cable which will only connect one pair of PC's, go out and buy yourself a mutli-port gigabit switch for better flexibility. That way, when you end up with a LAN connected I/O card you can connect it too.

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 07-13-12)

Will, a switch will offer more flexibility for sure. But it will only replace the cross-link cable and add room for more computers to connect. Keep in mind that if there is no DHCP server (which distributes IP addresses automatically) and no DNS server (which translates host names to IP addresses) in the network, like most routers have, you still need to configure your IP settings manually like I described.

 

For our sim projects, it might be better to use fixed IP addresses as we use software that sometimes need to be configured with IP addresses instead of host names. This will prevent lost of communication when a DHCP server decides to assign a different IP address to a machine as it had before.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-13-12)

Thanks Ronald. Will my Norton Antivirus affect the communication?

 

Okay, I set up PC1 okay but on PC2 there is no option to enter the LAN. Look at this screen shot of PC1 and you can see where I entered the LAN connection to set up the IP address (next to Unidentified Network) but on PC2 there is no Unidentified Network -- only my wireless network:

Alan 32

 

Okay, I found out why I couldn't connect on PC2 -- the driver for the Ethernet adapter was not loaded.  I finally got the connection to work but am having an issue with Wide Client. Although WIDE SERVER is running on PC1 FSUIPC in FSX says it's waiting for a connection and WIDE CLIENT says the same. Cannot seem to get them to talk to each other. This is all new to me and I'm a little lost right now.

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 07-14-12)

Alan, first check if communications are up by using the PING command. If I remember it right, for FSUIPC you need to configure both computers in the same Workgroup:

 

Go to Start, right click "Computer" and click "Properties". Then search for "Advanced system settings" and click on the tab named "Computer Name". Enter a description, and click the button [Change...]. Next, enter a new computer name (i.e. FSX01) and a Workgroup name (i.e. FSXNET). Remember to use the same Workgroup name but different computer names on every machine that's in your network to serve FSX.

 

It could also help to edit the "hosts" file and define the IP addresses with the configured computer names:

 

Go to Start and enter "%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\" (w/o quotes) in the searchbar. Open the file "hosts" (there's no extension) with Notepad and add the following lines (if both computers are named like FSX01, FSX02, etc.):

 

192.168.0.1 FSX01

192.168.0.2 FSX02

 

This way you manually create local 'DNS entries' so you can use hostnames in stead of IP addresses when needed. You can test this by using the ping command again like "ping FSX01".

 

Let me know if you need any more help.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-14-12)

Each computer has its own name (PC1 is FSX and PC2 is AVIONICS) and they are both in LEAR45 workgroup. I did PING PC2 from PC1 and it was fine (didn't do the reverse but that shouldn't matter). Do I still need to edit the host file? Should WIDE CLIENT access the host automatically as soon as FSX is up and running?

 

I should add that each computer was assigned an IP address by my WiFi router as I have a Local Area Network in the house. Although these are separate adapters, would this cause any issues?

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 07-14-12)

Alan, in case you have a router with DHCP and DNS, you don't have to edit the hosts file. Your router keeps a list with DNS entries so host names can be converted to IP addresses. Editing the hosts file comes in handy when you don't have a router with those functions, like with a cross cable connection.

 

I think you should try to use fixed IP addresses. And I remember editing a FSUIPC configuration file, I'll get back on that.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-14-12)

Ronald, I did manage to use the fixed IP addresses per your instructions above after I loaded the Ethernet adapter driver and it pinged fine. Please let me know about the FSUIPC .cfg file.

 

I added the following to the CLIENT .ini file and they connected okay.

 

SERVERNAME=[PC1]

PROTOCOL=TCP

 

It's a little hit and miss at the moment though.

 

(Posted by Dave Ault on 07-14-12)

I am using fixed IP addresses and have found my wideclient connection to be more reliable if I specify the IP address of the FSX machine instead of the name. i.e. for my setup I use SERVERNAME=192.168.1.68 with 192.168.1.68 being the ip address of the PC running FSX.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-14-12)

I will go ahead and change that to the IP address of my host PC. Do I still add the Protocol=TCP?

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 07-14-12)

Yes, leave protocol as TCP

 

SERVERNAME=[PC1]

PROTOCOL=TCP

 

That's what needed to be edited, correct! Good to know you've got it working!

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 09-30-12)

I am very impressed with the way Jet45 works, or should I say, when it and the rest of the programs on the client computer are communicating properly with the server.

 

The issue I am having is that after I load up FSX, Jet45 and the rest of the stuff, sooner or later, the sim starts to go haywire once it is into the simulation. It is as if it has lost about 50% connectivity between computers because some things still work but the Jet45 values are all over the place and the the EICAS goes nuts. But it is not limited to just Jet45. The LEDs in the AML switches go nuts and Dave's gauges also loose connectivity. Everything flashes in and out as if it is trying to maintain connectivity but is having a very hard time. Here are a few other facts to point out:

 

1. Sometimes I can go for 15 or 20 minutes with perfect performance with nice scenery and other times, within just a few minutes while still sitting on the ground, (not even moving), it starts to go nuts. And once it goes nuts, it's stays that way until a cold start is conducted.

 

2. As you may know, I am only running two computers, a server and a client. The client is running the Jet45 and Dave's gauges. This problem existed with only the Jet45 software prior to installing Dave's gauges. So I don't think the fact that I am only using two computers is the issue.

 

3. Prior to yesterday, I was using AVG. But I am now not running any antivirus software programs and all of my firewalls are disabled. (Unless there are some that I am not aware of.)

 

4. I am using a 10/100 gigabyte D-Link switch with two Ethernet cables physically connecting the two computers. I am also using CAT6 Ethernet cables to insure that I am taking advantage of the 10/100 performance.

 

5. Each computer is also using a wireless D-Link USB port so that I can gain internet access on each computer. One question is how would I know that the server and the client are communicating via the D-Link switch and not through the wireless home network?

 

(Posted by Mark L. on 09-30-12)

Is it stable without the second PC, no jet45 etc?

Why do you need wireless access to the Internet?

Are the two PCs isolated and communicate with just each other?

If you disable the wireless connections does that make a difference?

 

You could be having some packets routing via the wireless connection and some on the other. Since the wireless is slower, packets could be showing up late while packets that were supposed to follow showed up sooner and causing the confusion/slowdown.

 

I use a 1gig byte switch and 1gb NICs that all the PCs involved with the sim connect to. From the switch I have a connection to the modem/router for the Internet connection. This allows all packets to stay contained within sim network. Other ports on my modem/router go to the other PCs in the house.Is it stable without the second PC, no jet45 etc?

 

Why do you need wireless access to the Internet?

Are the two PCs isolated and communicate with just each other?

If you disable the wireless connections does that make a difference?

 

You could be having some packets routing via the wireless connection and some on the other. Since the wireless is slower, packets could be showing up late while packets that were supposed to follow showed up sooner and causing the confusion/slowdown.

 

I use a 1gig byte switch and 1gb nics that all the PCs involved with the sim connect to. From the switch I have a connection to the modem/router for the Internet connection. This allows all packets to stay contained within sim network. Other ports on my modem/router go to the other PCs in the house.

 

(Posted by Will Sasse on 10-01-12)

Disable the wireless on the client PC, see if it still occurs. If it does, re-enable wireless on the client and disconnect the cat6 cables. Also try a different network switch. If this solves the problem, you can set the main PC with wireless and share its internet connection over the wire with the client.

 

Reference Dave's gauges, if you're using Windows7, ensure they are installed in the "Program files (x86)" folder.

 

I have had several failures of D-Link equipment before, but they normally fail totally rather than send mixed messages.

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 10-01-12)

Ron, try to disable IPv6. FSX and add-ons don't use IPv6 and in some cases it can mess-up communications, even on switch/router levels.

 

For more info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929852/en-us

(search for the "Unbind IPv6 from a specific network adapter")

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 10-01-12)

Thanks Guys, I will try this tonight.

Reference Mark: Is it stable without the second PC, no jet45 etc? YES

 

Why do you need wireless access to the Internet? The wireless router is down stairs and it would be difficult to run a physical line to the sim. And of course I need the internet to update files etc. Although if it is an issue, I can connect and disconnect.

 

Are the two PCs isolated and communicate with just each other? YES. I have a D-Link switch between the two of them. And I also have a wireless D-Link USB on both computers. So maybe the answer is that I am getting interference from the wireless USB D-Link. But I think Mike and Greg pulled the wireless D-Links and the problem was still there. I will check again.  If you disable the wireless connections does that make a difference? See above

 

Will, yeah, I thought about it being a bad switch too, or cables. I will check that after I go through these other exercises.

 

Ronald, I am not sure what or where this IPv6 is. Give me a clue on where to find it and I will make sure it is disabled.

 

Thanks guys for the guidance! Hopefully I will have some good news later.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 10-01-12)

Ron, something I did not think about on Saturday, you really ought to ditch the cable between the two machines and go out and buy yourself a switch. They don't cost much at all and I'm thinking that might help your situation along with if you ditch the internet for the testing. The other thought is to make sure you have your 'home share' situation fixed. I know next to nothing about networking in a Windows7 environment though, so.

 

(Posted by Ronald Pater on 10-01-12)

Ron, this should get you to where you want to be:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2. Click Network and Sharing Center.

3. In the View your active networks area, click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.

4. On the Networking tab, click to clear the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) check box, and then click OK.

 

You also might consider configuring the NIC's manually with static IP addresses, since you've isolated the two PC's and I guess in that case a DHCP server is unavailable to get leases from.

 

(Posted by 10-01-12)

Here is my new D-Link switch and two CAT6 cables to connect the two computers together:

Ron 578

 

And as far as the home network goes, it is not a very nice piece of software. I have watched a few videos on how to use it and it looks super easy. The issue is some of the things that I need to access are blocked out and I am unable to place a value in that field.

 

But as it is, the first thing I am going to do is remove the wireless USBs to see what I have. I will be sure to do one thing at a time so that I can tell you what the issue was in the end.

 

(Posted by Dave Ault on 10-01-12)

I had a similar problem and eventually found it was caused by wideclient.exe not getting enough resource .

 

Try the following:

Run "Task Manager"

Select the "Process" tab.

Find "wideclient.exe in the list and 'right click' on it.

Hover over "Set Priority" to display the options and select "Above Normal"

When prompted press "Change Priority"

 

On my client PC this makes the gauges run smooth and gets rid of gauge drop-outs.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 10-01-12)

Dave, I think you may have the answer!  I did a bunch of testing tonight and have concluded that it is a resource issue of some sort. This is a list of some of the things that I did with no luck so far:

 

1. I insured that the Anti Virus software was uninstalled from both computers.

2. I removed the wireless USB's from both computers so that I knew that the only way that the two computers were communicating with each other was with the D-Link switch and CAT6 cables.

3. I disabled IPv6 as Ronald suggested from both computers.

4. I did a test run by starting up FSX using the desktop Icon rather than the Fly Elise Warping software.

5. I disconnected the CAT6 cables from the D-Link switch and ran the sim using the wireless USBs and the router down stairs. I was surprised that it worked as well as it did and for a while I thought that it was going to work which would suggest the issue was a bad D-Link switch. But then the same issue popped up!

 

My conclusion is that the issue is not a networking problem, more of a resourcing issue. I made the adjustments that Dave suggested and so far after some preliminary testing, it appears as if the problem has resolved itself! I'll do some more testing in the morning.

 

One question: There is one other Priority setting called "High". Is there a reason that you know of that we would not want to use this setting? Or would we only use it if it is needed to correct the problem?

 

My guess is that other programs being ran by the task manager (like Fly Elise NG or FSX for that matter), would be pushed to a lower priority and therefore they would suffer lagging issues.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 03-15-13)

I seem to be having network issues with my two PCs again. I have one named FSX that runs MS Flight Simulator and another named AVIONICS that runs JET45, standby gauges, FDS InterfaceIT and the Pokeys cards for the RMUs and DUs. They are linked via a 5 port Gigabit switch. One is connected with a regular CAT5 cable and the other with the crossover cable that I used to link the computers before I got a switch.

 

Everything seems to run okay for about 20 minutes and then the gauges saying NOT CONNECTED and the fuel quantity and other numbers go crazy. FSX shows that Wideclient is connected and on the AVIONIC PC Wideclient also shows that it's connected.

 

Here's a screen shot of my Network page. Can anyone see anything out of the ordinary? I should add that this was taken from the AVIONICS machine which is why FSX shows up under Homegroups.

 

I have only a couple of ideas to throw out. [ol][li]The crossover cable maybe causing an issue[/li][li]I have a network connection (shown at the bottom left of the screen that shows FSX and AVIONICS connected) and also a HOMEGROUP (show middle left) -- not sure if that is the right way or no?[/li][li]My MacBook AIr shows up because it's on the house WiFi network. Could there be a conflict if the PCs try to connect via wired and wireless means?[/li][/ol]I have file sharing turned on under the iV4 network adapter and I have Wideclient, JET45 and standby gauges listed under the Norton trusted applications (they wouldn't connect if Norton was causing the issues would they)? I also have discovery turned on for both machines.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 03-15-13)

Firewall issues on the network I bet! Turn OFF that anti virus and firewall briefly and I bet you will have more success. Worry about the firewall/anti virus once you determine if that fixes your issue.

 

(Posted by Will Sasse on 03-15-13)

First and immediate step is to replace the crossover cable with a normal through cable.

"Homegroup" is fine , doesn't matter what its called so long as all PC's belong to the same group.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 03-16-13)

I installed two brand new CAT5E cables, set the priority for Wideclient to the second highest settings. Started the FSX PC and fired up FSX. After only 5 minutes this time, JET45 and the standby gauges started acting up.

 

Next on the list is to disable the firewall and AV to see if that fixes the issue.

 

BTW JET45 was running all night (not connected to FSX as that PC was shut down) and the FO RMU had stopped working -- all other displays and gauges were okay. I have now started to shut down all the displays and gauges manually before I shut down the machine. I'm going to have to stop Microsoft from installing updates automatically because I've gone to the machines in the morning and they have rebooted after a Windows update.

 

(Posted by Alan norris on 05-31-13)

Okay we're back with network issues for those gurus out there. I now have a server PC (FSX) and two client PCs (AVIONICS #1 and AVIONICS #2). FSX runs FS and has all of my Pokeys and FDS cards hooked to it. AVIONICS #1 runs JET45 PFD and EICAS. AVIONICS #2 runs the JET45 RMUs and the MFD as well as the standby gauges. They are all connected via a switch on a LAN. I'm not using Homegroups just a simple network. I use AVIONICS #1 as my main access PC and I connect to FSX and AVIONICS #2 using RealVPN.

 

It lets me access the desktops of the two PCs. On all PCs I have set the C: drives to share. On AVIONICS #1 I have mapped FSX as drive Z and AVIONICS #2 as drive X. I can access the drive Z with no issues at all but on drive X I can only access certain folders on its drive such as USERS but cannot access the JET45 of the Programs (x86) folders.

 

The reason I mapped the drives is because I have to set the locations of the various JET45 DUs etc in the .ini files and I assumed that they had to have a drive letter so they could be located on the network -- right?

 

I have file and folder sharing enabled on all PCs so can someone let me know what's going on here?

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 05-31-13)

Make sure that Administrative rights are set for the highest level on all machines. Especially the new PC. Also confirm that you absolutely have permissions set on the affected *folders*.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 05-31-13)

Okay I fixed it. I needed to add a new permission called Everyone and give it full permissions. My sim is now working with three PCS and we will see if it fixed the communication issues whereby the fuel quantities went haywire and the gauges kept disconnecting.

 

After numerous flights I can say for sure that the second client computer fixed the problem. If Ron can get his to work with just one client PC then that's great but at $375 it was worth peace of mind.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 06-01-13)

Yep for future reference of others- this is about the only way to get Win7 to play nice. Set up a group Everyone and enable all permissions. Just keep in mind what you have done to your network by doing this.

 

A good router firewall etc upstream is pretty important once permissions have been granted this way. I haven't been too concerned or had any issues. Glad you got it working!

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 06-01-13)

Eric, yes, I'm running a Netgear router with pretty good security as well as Norton on all machines.

 

I'm so glad to get this fixed! I ran the sim with engines running on the ground for over an hour with no problems so I think the issue is fixed (thanks to Eric Tomlin for urging me to get a second client PC). I have to say I was concerned that it only had on-board graphics and was only a cheap ($375) Dell Inspiron but the graphics look just fine.