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Adding a second ethernet port

A

AndrewRivett

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2010
3
0
Hi all,

I'm looking to add a second ethernet port to my MacBook Pro using this product designed for the MacBook Air:

http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/product/MC704ZM/A

Comments on the Apple site indicate that the device can be used with other computers, but I want to make completely sure it's going to do what I want it to do before I make the purchase.

The reason I'm looking to do this is that I want to link my MB (via ethernet) to another laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate and use the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client to operate programs installed on the WIndows machine.

The catch is that the internet at my current location (a university accommodation building) is also supplied by ethernet LAN and has some kind of detection system that prevents unauthorised routers from accessing the internet.

So basically what I want to do is have the university LAN/internet running into the existing ethernet port on my Mac and then connect the ethernet port on the windows machine to the USB/Ethernet adapter plugged into one of the Mac's USB ports. The Windows machine does not have to have internet access.

Is this possible? Will I be able to configure the two ethernet ports separately to operate two network connections? I understand the connections would require a different subnet mask and possibly a static IP for the computer-computer connection.

That was a bit long-winded in the end but hopefully you get the idea of my problem and can help me out.

Thanks
 
AndrewRivett said:
Hi all,

I'm looking to add a second ethernet port to my MacBook Pro using this product designed for the MacBook Air:

http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/product/MC704ZM/A

Comments on the Apple site indicate that the device can be used with other computers, but I want to make completely sure it's going to do what I want it to do before I make the purchase.

The reason I'm looking to do this is that I want to link my MB (via ethernet) to another laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate and use the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client to operate programs installed on the WIndows machine.

The catch is that the internet at my current location (a university accommodation building) is also supplied by ethernet LAN and has some kind of detection system that prevents unauthorised routers from accessing the internet.

So basically what I want to do is have the university LAN/internet running into the existing ethernet port on my Mac and then connect the ethernet port on the windows machine to the USB/Ethernet adapter plugged into one of the Mac's USB ports. The Windows machine does not have to have internet access.

Is this possible? Will I be able to configure the two ethernet ports separately to operate two network connections? I understand the connections would require a different subnet mask and possibly a static IP for the computer-computer connection.

That was a bit long-winded in the end but hopefully you get the idea of my problem and can help me out.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I previously had the same problem at my university, i think. I wanted to have two ethernet connections, but my room only had one. i needed 1 for the xbox, and one for the bluray player. I ended up buying this

http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CEAQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

and it seems to work just fine. Since, all it does it split the signal it doesn't get detected by the network.

Keep in mind, it will only allow one of them to be on at a time.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bill Gates said:
Does the Windows machine have a FireWire port? If it does, you can connect the two computers together that way.
Click to expand...

The windows machine doesn't have firewire unfortunately. I read that Windows 7 (and later versions of Vista for that matter) doesn't support networking using firewire. Do you know if you could still connect for remote desktop using this method?
 
AndrewRivett said:
The windows machine doesn't have firewire unfortunately. I read that Windows 7 (and later versions of Vista for that matter) doesn't support networking using firewire. Do you know if you could still connect for remote desktop using this method?
Click to expand...
I just did a little reading and it looks like you're unfortunately correct about Microsoft having dropped networking support. According to Wikipedia, the drivers provided here support networking, but I'm unsure of hardware support and what (if any) limitations exist. Have you tried creating an ad-hoc wireless connection between the two computers?
 
Just to add a bit of info that may or may not be useful. I believe that an ethernet/USB dongle only operates at the speed of the USB port (that is - you won't get ethernet speeds). This is because the single still has to pass through the USB controller, which is the limiting factor.
 
snberk103 said:
Just to add a bit of info that may or may not be useful. I believe that an ethernet/USB dongle only operates at the speed of the USB port (that is - you won't get ethernet speeds). This is because the single still has to pass through the USB controller, which is the limiting factor.
Click to expand...
USB is theoretically capable of 480Mb/s, so he should be able to get at least a 100Mb/s link up. For establishing an RDP connection, 100Mb/s is more than sufficient; even 10Mb/s half-duplex would work.
 
I have tried to connect the computers wirelessly but I think there is something physically wrong with the wireless on the windows machine. It can see wireless networks but refuses to connect to them. I've tried updating drivers, installing different ones and it still won't connect. I have one of those old fashioned USB wifi adapters at home, which I'll try when I get back there in a few weeks.

A friend of mine mentioned using an ethernet switch. Will I be able to assign different IP addresses to the two machines if I use one of these? The RDC connects via the IP and won't work if they are the same.

Thanks everyone for your help
 
AndrewRivett said:
I have tried to connect the computers wirelessly but I think there is something physically wrong with the wireless on the windows machine. It can see wireless networks but refuses to connect to them. I've tried updating drivers, installing different ones and it still won't connect. I have one of those old fashioned USB wifi adapters at home, which I'll try when I get back there in a few weeks.

A friend of mine mentioned using an ethernet switch. Will I be able to assign different IP addresses to the two machines if I use one of these? The RDC connects via the IP and won't work if they are the same.

Thanks everyone for your help
Click to expand...
If you connect both machines to a switch and then to the wall, your university will see both machines. As long as they permit students to have more than one device on the network that should work as well. Both laptops should be able to get IP addresses using DHCP. You could also assign static IP addresses to one or both machines.
 
What about using a DDWRT router with the MAC address set to the same as your MBP? That way the university sees the router the exact same way as your macbook pro. Then plug both laptops into the router.
 
Bill Gates said:
If you connect both machines to a switch and then to the wall, your university will see both machines. As long as they permit students to have more than one device on the network that should work as well. Both laptops should be able to get IP addresses using DHCP. You could also assign static IP addresses to one or both machines.
Click to expand...

OMG it's Bill Gates!! Giving out network advice! On a mac forum!
 
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