Setting up 2nd. Ethernet port for NAS

[creativet]

Sorry if this question or situation has been covered. I've been searching around a bit with no good results for the situation I am trying to work out.


My Network Map Connections :


Cable Internet Router Modem (Bridge Mode) -> Router (No wifi enabled / dd-wrt / DHCP server + firewall) -> 16 Port gigabit ethernet switch (unmanaged) supplying the following


3 x Airport Extreme (Provides wifi access to various iPhones & iPads / All in Bridge mode)

1 x mac mini with 2 ethernet ports (Acts as iTunes media server + file server + DNS | Using Mac OS Server also)

2 x iMac

2 x PC's

3 x appleTV (3rd Generation)

2 x Android M8S boxes

1 x Cisco SPA112 VoIP Box

1 x Lacie 2Big NAS (Used for automated backups)

1 x 5 port gigabit ethernet switch (unmanaged)


What I want to accomplish :

My mac mini server has 2 x ethernet ports. I want ethernet port #1 to access the internet normally via the 16 port switch. I want ethernet port #2 to connect to the 5 port ethernet switch and have the Lacie NAS connected to this switch to provide internal/intranet backups. A separate network with no internet access. (Mac mini -> ethernet port 2 -> 5 port switch -> Lacie NAS) All other computers need to access this NAS also for files and backups.


What I’ve tried :

With no great success I have the dd-wrt router handling DHCP.
My mac mini ethernet port #1 ip = 10.0.1.10 (static) Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0 Router = 10.0.1.1. I’ve tried setting various combos for ethernet #2. ip = 192.168.3.2 (static) Subnet Mask = 255.255.0.0 Router = 10.0.1.1 (won’t let me set to 0.0.0.0).
On the Lacie NAS I have tried various matching combos of ethernet port #2 except for the ip address which is assigned as static.


What has happened so far :

I am able to access the Lacie NAS on the mac mini, however, no other computers are able to access the NAS. I’ve tried from the Finder - Go -> Connect to Server afp://192.168.3.10 (complains unreachable). Does not show up under Finder -> Network (only on mac mini).


Can you help?

If you are able to assist I would be very happy. I’ve tried to be as descriptive as possible in setup and what I am trying to accomplish. (Is this possible?!?!) Accurate instructions (with examples if possible) would be great! Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[talmy]

First thought -- "of course it doesn't work because the NAS and the other computers are on different networks"
Your mini would need to perform the function of a router (particularly NAT between the two networks). I guess that is possible but it's beyond my skillset and probably requires additional software.

But really, there is no reason not to have you NAS on the same network as all your computers and just remove ethernet port #2.

 

[creativet]

But really, there is no reason not to have you NAS on the same network as all your computers and just remove ethernet port #2.

I think it would be far more secure not being on a network being accessed via internet.

A separate network with no internet access.

 

[Crazy Badger]

I would suggest making sure your entire network is secure, then you don't need to worry specifically about the NAS, and can sleep easily knowing everything is protected

 

[talmy]

I think it would be far more secure not being on a network being accessed via internet.

Your router should be configured with all inward ports blocked except for any that you need (typically none, and any that you do need, such as for ssh access to your server from the outside, should be set up to port forward to the server).

Once you were to set up your second ethernet to be accessible from the first ethernet, it would also be accessible from outside if ports were not blocked, so there would be no additional security anyway.

 

[creativet]

I was under the impression putting a NAS on a separate network (such as I am trying to do) would keep it from saturating the whole network. So it was dedicated and basically out of reach per say by the whole internet. So far, everything I have come up with seems to use the mini (per say) and 2nd ethernet port as an access point a gateway.

Thanks for all the "info" regarding using my modem and securing my network .... I know all this and indeed only have certain ports open as required. This wasn't my question.

 

[Crazy Badger]

If your network is secure, there really is no benefit of having the NAS on a different network. It can't be accessed from the internet, unless you specifically open/forward ports to it's IP address. Surely when you're transferring data to/from it you want to saturate the connection?

 

[talmy]

I was under the impression putting a NAS on a separate network (such as I am trying to do) would keep it from saturating the whole network. So it was dedicated and basically out of reach per say by the whole internet. So far, everything I have come up with seems to use the mini (per say) and 2nd ethernet port as an access point a gateway.

Generally you would use the second port to implement a router, the second port would be the WAN (Internet) connection. With what you were proposing, every byte transferred from the NAS would also end up on your network #1 (your LAN) when accessed by devices on network 1, so it would do nothing to reduce congestion. If most of the NAS traffic were to the Mac mini, that would reduce traffic on network #1. But in that case you would be better off with an external drive array on the mini rather than a NAS. This is basically what I have with 12TB of external drives on my Mac mini server system. Generally speaking, external drives (sometimes referred to as a DAS -- disk attached storage) will perform better than consumer grade NAS units.

 

[creativet]

Thanks for all the replies. Indeed I wasn't getting my intentions across incorrectly and therefore asking the wrong question. After a bit more research I was able to find the solution I was looking for.