How can I set up 2 wifi networks using OpenVPN client on one but not on the other

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wrenster66

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Jan 4, 2014
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networking issue involving OpenVPN and IPVanish
Hi, i have a tricky issue involving OpenVPN and IPVanish and a 2nd wifi network
I have a Virgin Broadband superhub setup as a simple cable modem into which I have plugged in a Linksys WRT54 running Tomato 1.28 by Shibby......i have this set up with a VPN which I can use to connect to IPVanish in order to set myself up with a US IP address..i have an Apple Airport Express hooked into the LAN port on the Linksys Router which has a static IP Address which I have placed in the DMZ on the Linksys router.

My thinking was that when I start the VPN client and obtain a US IP address for the Linksys's wifi network, the wifi network on the Airport Express would not be changed (i read that putting the Airport Express into the DMZ woudl be the same thing as connecting directly to the Cable Modem. ) Using IPVanish gives very slow broadband speed and I wanted to have some devices hooked to a US IP address (using Linksys network)and some using the regular IP address provided by Virgin (Airport Express wifi network)

But this is not the case; when I start the OpenVPN cline ton the Linksys router, the IP address on the AIrport Express wifi netwrk is the same as for the Linksys (ie a US IP address)



is there anything I can do to fix this issue? or should I somehow connect the Linksys router to the Airport express instead of the other way round? trouble is, I can't seem to find any instructions for connecting a 2nd router to Airport Express (everyne seems to want to connect Airport Express to an existing router).

any insights woudl be much appreciated. I tried to get my local computer store to look at this but they just looked at me like I'm crazy!

thanks
 
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Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I figured it was an order thing, set-up one then the other but most likely DHCP is what's causing this. A static IP on one of the routers may have been the answer but I haven't needed to do that in such a long time I've become rusty.
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crookedmouth

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I think you need to set-up a separate network on the Airport first using Airport Utility. Plug everything in and run the utility then set up OpenVPN after you get a network running with the Airport.

Airport Utility for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1547

I know this can be done because I have setup separate networks on both an Airport Express and Extreme coupled with a Linksys Router.
 
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wrenster66

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HI,

I have two separate networks already; even so, I tried setting up the Airport Express network again with the OpneVPN disabled, but same result. So I have separate networks from both routers, but running OpenVPN on the Linksys router still changes the IP addresses for the other network.

i tried to run the linksys router off of one of the LAN ports on the airport express but this didn't work at all; I couldnt get internet connection on the Linksys's wifi network.
 
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crookedmouth

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Use a paperclip to push the reset button on your Airport for 5 seconds. Go into Airport Utilities and choose something like manual setup, tcp-ip or manual IP set a custom IP? It's been awhile since I setup an Airport so something like that. I know you can configure a separate IP.
 
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wrenster66

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sounds feasible, but what manual IP should I choose? i'm not particularly knowledgeable on networking; i was only able to configure the Linksys with tomato because there's so much info on the net about it. Do i need to configure the airport with a dynamic global hostname? thats the only thing i see which seems manually configurable
 
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wrenster66

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I've actually got an ethernet switch... this one http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-SF1005D-5-port-100Mbps-Desktop/dp/B000FNFSPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1388845269&sr=1-1&keywords=ethernet+switch

but when i try to connect both the airport express and the linksys to the cable modem neither seem to work properly

i will try it again just to be sure

i thought it might be something to do with the airport express; all apple products seem to give trouble when combined with anything else...but since I use macs and iphones i am stuck

would using a second linksys router connected to the existing linksys be different? i dont mind buying a cheap router if it allows me to set up like I described above..

thnks
 
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wrenster66

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i tried using the ethernet switch to connect both Airport express and Linksys router to the cable modem but it doesnt work...only the first one to be connected will get an internet connection, the other one doesn't get assigned an IP address. I guess that's pretty much to be expected.

i may try to get a cheap linksys router and try to connect that to the first Linksys router. if that works as expected using the first router's DMZ then it should give me what i want

 
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crookedmouth

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Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I figured it was an order thing, set-up one then the other but most likely DHCP is what's causing this. A static IP on one of the routers may have been the answer but I haven't needed to do that in such a long time I've become rusty.
 
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wrenster66

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Jan 4, 2014
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no worries, it seems to be more complicated than i thought.

i managed to set up a TPlink router behind the Linksys router with static IP pointed at the DMZ of the Linksys. But this has exactly the same result as before in that starting the OpenVPN client with IPVanish on the Linksys changes the IP for the network on the TPLink as well.

I may try now to set up the Linksys router behind the TPLink router and see if that makes a difference but I suspect not. I think if you have only one internet gateway/provider, then running IPVanish through an OpenVPN client resultes in a changed IP across the whole system.

it seems logical that it shold be possible because if you run IPVanish on your laptop, it changes the IP only for the laptop, not the rest of the network (which is why I wanted to do the OpenVPN thing in the first pace, as I wanted the Roku box and WDLive to have the varible IP adresses!)

I'll post again once I've tried it..

thanks for the suggestions!
 
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wrenster66

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looks like i have solved this issue, albeit by introducing yet another router into the mess of wires and hardware that occupies the tv cupboard...

As above, i connected the TPlink router to the cable modem and then the Linksys router into a LAN port on the 1st (TPLink) router. I leave IPVanish openvpn client permanently running on the Linksys so when i want the US ip address for netflix I use the Linksys's wifi network. for all other internet usage and to watch crappy UK netflix, I use the TPlink's wifi network.

i left DHCP as is on both routers and it seems just fine so no messing about with DMZ's or anything like that.

I'm a little confused why that would work but i might save that investigation for another day

still dissappointed i can't get the airport express to work with the internet properly, but i suspect i could use Airport Express as a router instead of the TPlink and get the same result but I just dont have the energy for that. I think i will set that up as a standalone network and keep it for music and photos etc

thanks for the advice on the ordering, Crookedmouth, and the hint that Airport Express doesnt play well wth others, if not for those bits of information I might have given up!
 
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