I had a long session with an internet help person who ascertained that I had the rules set properly and could ping my LAN computers from my wireless laptop and had no explanation of why I couldn't connect to them in Network Places. She suggested it might be a software problem and I should call my software security suite tech support people. Guess who they are? ZoneAlaram!. Then I came to this discussion board discovered that the folks here at sofaware have known full well about the problem I was having have known that it has nothing to do with any software. At least Erez Kalman seems to know, although his so-called advice on how to get around the problem in one message I read was cryptic and indecipherable to anyone but a networking professional. He wrote something like "use netbios in network places NBT: //IP" I have no idea what that means or how to implement it. As far as I know I don't have NETBIOS and it isn't even available in WinXP.
What I want is a clear explanation for an intelligent experienced non-professional computer user of how to go to network places and find my two LAN computers from my laptop. Assume that all the rules are properly set and that I can ping the computers and that I have no software security suite running at all. How do I create a new network place on my laptop, so that I can go to the shared directories of my LAN computers? Give me an answer I can understand and tell me the truth if the truth is that there is no way to do it. And if anyone in any position of responsibility reads this, please know how utterly and completely OUTRAGED I am that sofaware would put out a wireless router costing three times as much as any other wireless router that doesn't do such a basic thing as allow you to network a wireless computer to a wireless network. It's beyond belief.
Also if someone could please tell me how to go about sending back the router and getting a refund (assuming there is no real answer to my question and my problem, as I suspect there isn't) I'd appreciate it. I'm not counting on the upgraded firmware. I've wasted 6 hours of my life on this nonsense and I can't possibly trust a company that could perpetrate such a charade on consumers.

the NBT://IP thing
means use the computers IP address to access it, not its name

Ie.. whatever the IP address is on the internal network (or LAN).... is the address you use to connect to the drive, not the common name...

Yes. theres a fix coming soon.. look through some of the current postings regarding this issue

UPDATE: try this...
http://sofaware.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1231038134/m/3631057234

Thanks for trying but the link you gave contains no information I didn't already know, plus I do know what IP stands for and I did try to connect using NBT://IP address of the LAN computer I was trying to connect to (after setting all the rules properly to connect from WLAN to LAN), and it didn't work. Why? Because it was never intended to work. I assume that's why Erez Kalman hasn't offered a simple answer to my simple question. Instead of explaining on this forum how to connect from WLAN to LAN thru network neighborhood (the way every other wireless router for the home does seamlessly) - he just em'd me privately that a software update was coming - so I can only assume there isn't actually a way to do it but he didn't want to say so in plain English in public.

[The last line was edited out as it violates the forum terms of usage]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Erez Kalman,

If you read some of the previous threads recently there are several discussions about the Z100G not being able to "bridge" between Wireless and Wired LANS. Erez has made direct references to "an update" several times in the threads -- as recently as today in the thread "Features Needed (Please add on)".

Erez claims "available really soon." -- hope you can wait, as that should solve your problem.

quote:

Originally posted by ejfratt:
I had a long session with an internet help person who ascertained that I had the rules set properly and could ping my LAN computers from my wireless laptop and had no explanation of why I couldn't connect to them in Network Places. She suggested it might be a software problem and I should call my software security suite tech support people. Guess who they are? ZoneAlaram!. Then I came to this discussion board discovered that the folks here at sofaware have known full well about the problem I was having have known that it has nothing to do with any software. At least Erez Kalman seems to know, although his so-called advice on how to get around the problem in one message I read was cryptic and indecipherable to anyone but a networking professional. He wrote something like "use netbios in network places NBT: //IP" I have no idea what that means or how to implement it. As far as I know I don't have NETBIOS and it isn't even available in WinXP.
What I want is a clear explanation for an intelligent experienced non-professional computer user of how to go to network places and find my two LAN computers from my laptop. Assume that all the rules are properly set and that I can ping the computers and that I have no software security suite running at all. How do I create a new network place on my laptop, so that I can go to the shared directories of my LAN computers? Give me an answer I can understand and tell me the truth if the truth is that there is no way to do it. And if anyone in any position of responsibility reads this, please know how utterly and completely OUTRAGED I am that sofaware would put out a wireless router costing three times as much as any other wireless router that doesn't do such a basic thing as allow you to network a wireless computer to a wireless network. It's beyond belief.
Also if someone could please tell me how to go about sending back the router and getting a refund (assuming there is no real answer to my question and my problem, as I suspect there isn't) I'd appreciate it. I'm not counting on the upgraded firmware. I've wasted 6 hours of my life on this nonsense and I can't possibly trust a company that could perpetrate such a charade on consumers.

I apologize if there was a mis-communication; currently access from the wireless network to the wired network (and vice versa) can be achieved (without using a server or editing files on the PC) by going to start>run>enter: \\IP (where IP is the IP of the computer you wish to access).
Please make sure you've added a rule to allow WLAN traffic to the LAN (blocked by default on Medium security) by going to security>rules>add>allow>either choose service NBT to allow only the communication type specified above or select all to allow everything or specify your own settings)>source:wlan destination:lan

I tried everything you suggested below and all I get is "cannot find network address." Once again, I am absolutely incredulous that so basic a piece of functionality is missing or defective in such an expensive piece of equipment. (I can only assume that you yourself don't use this router or don't connect from a WLAN to LAN with it. I suggest you try it yourself.) So what is the REAL eta on this supposed fix that comes with the next software update? If it comes out within my 30-day return period (which means within the next 5 business days) I'll try it but otherwise this is the last business I do with your company. Please pass this on.

quote:

Originally posted by Erez Kalman:
I apologize if there was a mis-communication; currently access from the wireless network to the wired network (and vice versa) can be achieved (without using a server or editing files on the PC) by going to start>run>enter: \\IP (where IP is the IP of the computer you wish to access).
Please make sure you've added a rule to allow WLAN traffic to the LAN (blocked by default on Medium security) by going to security>rules>add>allow>either choose service NBT to allow only the communication type specified above or select all to allow everything or specify your own settings)>source:wlan destination:lan

quote:

Originally posted by ejfratt:
I had a long session with an internet help person who ascertained that I had the rules set properly and could ping my LAN computers from my wireless laptop and had no explanation of why I couldn't connect to them in Network Places. She suggested it might be a software problem and I should call my software security suite tech support people. Guess who they are? ZoneAlaram!. Then I came to this discussion board discovered that the folks here at sofaware have known full well about the problem I was having have known that it has nothing to do with any software. At least Erez Kalman seems to know, although his so-called advice on how to get around the problem in one message I read was cryptic and indecipherable to anyone but a networking professional. He wrote something like "use netbios in network places NBT: //IP" I have no idea what that means or how to implement it. As far as I know I don't have NETBIOS and it isn't even available in WinXP.
What I want is a clear explanation for an intelligent experienced non-professional computer user of how to go to network places and find my two LAN computers from my laptop. Assume that all the rules are properly set and that I can ping the computers and that I have no software security suite running at all. How do I create a new network place on my laptop, so that I can go to the shared directories of my LAN computers? Give me an answer I can understand and tell me the truth if the truth is that there is no way to do it. And if anyone in any position of responsibility reads this, please know how utterly and completely OUTRAGED I am that sofaware would put out a wireless router costing three times as much as any other wireless router that doesn't do such a basic thing as allow you to network a wireless computer to a wireless network. It's beyond belief.
Also if someone could please tell me how to go about sending back the router and getting a refund (assuming there is no real answer to my question and my problem, as I suspect there isn't) I'd appreciate it. I'm not counting on the upgraded firmware. I've wasted 6 hours of my life on this nonsense and I can't possibly trust a company that could perpetrate such a charade on consumers.

The problem I see with the ZoneAlarm box is that it's in an odd place in the router market...

1. Its appealing to consumers, who want a bit better performance...
2. Its appealing to prosumers who expect a lot out of their devices

The problem is that I really don't think that they understand the needs of the home user with a few machines or the prosumers who "expect more" plus there is the small problem of where to draw the line between the prosumers and their professional equipment... Truth be told this does a lot better job at blocking problems than your average Joe blow router... but people expect *A LOT* more out of it.. Due to the price difference...

Some of the problems like the bridging issue... are just oversights... the network (topology/map) of a home user is a lot different than a buisness user... in buisness, you want to keep your wireless separate from your wired networks because wireless is inheirently insecure.. You have a concept of authentication/encryption/VPN... but in a home environment, you depend more on the wirelesses own encryption to protect the user... which is ok. But that why I think Sofa chose to go the route they did, though it's not ideal for the audience they want...

On the reverse end of the coin, they have a bunch of prosumers customers who expect their pro gear on a shoestring budget... Problem is they can't afford to give these features for nothing, diluting the value of their professional gear... But some really are oversights and that the ZoneAlarm box should have things that "are in most entry level routing boxes" but give away a Porsche on a lower end car budget is not in their best interest either... Really would like them to look at the competition, even though the price may be lower and see what basic luxuries people expect out of the box... its like a cell phone, at one point an LCD screen with a backlight was high end.. But now we expect a color screen and Bluetooth for a song... If you want comparisons, I can think of comparing it with a D-link gaming router... say the DGL-4300
(High end consumer/prosumers device)... Truth be told there's more engine under the ZA hood, but it's the luxuries it's lacking

Also I think people can't grasp that the "professional/business" model for products like this is pay for use... per node... always has been... All you can eat is not something you find in real professional gear because oftentimes the gear cost is mitigated by the licensing... you realize theres basically a embedded PC in that sofa box of yours...

Does Sofa realize this... yes, are they trying to sort it out, yes,
Truth is told I am happy with a lot of things about the ZA box that I have never seen in the cheap stuff... Hardware quality, thoroughness of security... It's the difference between putting up a picket fence and electric fence with barbed wire...

Definitely would be nice when they figure out what constitutes a home network, a prosumers network, and why... I can see them making an add-on pack for prosumers with more technical/dirty stuff to play with, but as an option, not a requirement...

Please feel free to put in your input

For those of you having trouble with the rule working, you probably need to open up the netbios port on the firewall of your LAN computer.

Go to "control panel" -> "windows firewall" -> "exceptions" -> "add port"

name is whatever you like (netbios) and port is 445

Hope that helps someone!

quote:

Originally posted by bugeek:
[text deleted]

Definitely would be nice when they figure out what constitutes a home network, a prosumers network, and why... I can see them making an add-on pack for prosumers with more technical/dirty stuff to play with, but as an option, not a requirement...

Please feel free to put in your input

Totally agree with that las sentence of yours, it would be nice a CLI ;)

Here's the 2 rules I implemented to solve this on my network:

Allow and Forward
WLAN(source)to Wired router IP:ANY SERVICE (destination)

AND

LAN (source) to Wireless Router IP:ANY SERVICE(destination)

Hope that helps. The is suppose to be a firmware update in the next few months to allow the bridging internally with specific rules.

Problem solved. (Hurray!) I can now connect using Run: \\IP Thanks mrg for alerting me to the problem of the software firewall. The really frustrating thing is that the sofaware tech support person I originally spoke to online had https control of my laptop and knew enough to go into my ZoneAlarm software firewall and set up rules to allow me to connect to the LAN, but she didn't tell me she had done that and she didn't have enough sense to tell me that I needed to set up corresponding rules on the software firewalls of my LAN computers. Difficult to believe but true.

quote:

Originally posted by mrg:
For those of you having trouble with the rule working, you probably need to open up the netbios port on the firewall of your LAN computer.

Go to "control panel" -> "windows firewall" -> "exceptions" -> "add port"

name is whatever you like (netbios) and port is 445

Hope that helps someone!

Also go to EDIT WLAN and run the wireless wizard... Transparent Bridging is now enabled in the 7.0.36 firmware... ;)