Static IP problem

As an EE, self employed, I have to interface with electronic equipment with my laptop. Most equipment comes with a software program that handles this communication. The problem I have is with equipment that I communicate with using my WEB browser (Win Explorer 7). I do this by assigning a static IP address using the local area connection properties, specifically the TCP/IP. The properties of this is usually set to Obtain IP address automatically. I change this to "Use the following IP Address" . The IP address, subnet mask and default gateway are determined by the addresses on the equipment I am trying to connect to. Once this has been set up, I launch my browser and type in the required IP address and all goes well on any computer except my two Sony VAIO's. Both have the Intel PRO/100 VE network circuits and I believe this is the problem.

I can connect with my SONY using a Belden wireless connection and a wireless router connected to the equipment. But, I rather do the direct connection (using a Null cable) and not take additional equipment with me.

I am not a computer expert in any sense but I do understand good directions. What do you think? Am I stuck with the wireless solution?

 

Do you mean a cross-over cable (a CAT-5e/6 cable used to connect two computers)? A null cable is an RS-232 cable, and using this type of cable doesn't involve IP addresses, since that isn't a TCP/IP stream.

 

When you say that you set up a static IP, is that on the target system you're trying to connect to, or your own computer? It strikes me that if you're trying to connect to another computer that has DHCP enabled for its wired ethernet connection, it won't get its own IP address or other necessary information unless it's connected to a router that can serve DHCP info.

 

That correct. A Cat 5 cable crossed connected.

 

The procedure is to set up a static IP address on my computer, the last three number of the static IP address must be offset by a figure of (1) or more. Then I address the exact IP address using the browser that the equipment has assigned to communicate with it. Again, this works OK with other network adapters in other computers. Only my two Sony VAIO with the Pro/100 VE fails to make this connection.

 

Are using the same cable, same network settings (IP, subnet mask, gateway) and same operating system on both your Sony vaio and the other working PC ?

 

I'm curious if this is a subnet issue. What are the IP addresses that you have assigned to your computers?

 

"Are using the same cable, same network settings (IP, subnet mask, gateway) and same operating system on both your Sony vaio and the other working PC ?"

Yes. Exactly.

"I'm curious if this is a subnet issue. What are the IP addresses that you have assigned to your computers?"

The IP address as defined by the equipment I need to communicated has a factory setting but it can be set to any address to work with any network to avoid conflicts. The Subnet mask is 255.255.255.000. I assign an IP address to my computer exactly like the equipment IP address except I offset the final numbers by (1) or more. Then I use the exact IP address of the equipment in the browser for communication. The equipment uses JAVA and I have turned on JAVA logging so I can tell that a connection is being made. On the Sony's, JAVA logging never starts.

The exact IP address I can not provide since I do not have that piece of equipment with me at this time.

 

If you have a 3rd party firewall, disable that, also disable the windows firewall just to make sure that no firewall is blocking your outgoing traffic.

Earlier you said that you connect to the device with a browser, what kind of a response you get when you type in the IP ? a page cannot be displayed error or some other error ?

If you know the port used by the JAVA client, then you can try use the telnet tool to try and open a connection to that port. Even though you can’t do anything useful by opening a telnet connection, you can use it to check if there is a listening port on the other side. Type telent xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx yyyy at the command prompt (xxx… is the IP of your remote device , yyyy is the port)

 

"If you have a 3rd party firewall, disable that, also disable the windows firewall just to make sure that no firewall is blocking your outgoing traffic.

Earlier you said that you connect to the device with a browser, what kind of a response you get when you type in the IP ? a page cannot be displayed error or some other error ?

If you know the port used by the JAVA client, then you can try use the telnet tool to try and open a connection to that port. Even though you can’t do anything useful by opening a telnet connection, you can use it to check if there is a listening port on the other side. Type telent xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx yyyy at the command prompt (xxx… is the IP of your remote device , yyyy is the port)"

The MS Explorer browser tries to connect and after a short time it indicates that the connection was not completed (JAVA never starts). I've tried Foxfire and it does the same thing. Only on my two Sony's with the Pro/100 VE network adapter. BTW, The Sony's work OK on my LAN (IP automatically assigned). And all Internet functions appear normal. I have compared all the settings (Internet and JAVA) on my Sony to the other computers and they are the same. The PRO/100 VE network has a lot of variables that I have not seen on the other computer network adaptors. I've tried to work these settings, but I am doing this blind since I don't understand what most of these settings actually do. And, like I said in the first post, this computer makes the connection if I bypass the Pro/100 and use a Belden (or probably any other) wireless USB network appliance.

And the firewall both Norton and Windows (which is by default not used with Norton) are disabled and all Norton functions disabled. Norton can be on with without a problem when I go wireles on the Sony.

 

Have you tried using a straight cable instead of a cross-over cable?

 

A straight cable won't do the trick.

While it is odd that you can use another wireless adapter to make the connection, that narrows things down a bit. So we were all wrong about the network settings. I highly doubt it is the firewall either. It is a lot deeper than these issues. Could be a fluke driver issue or hardware.

 

If we were talking about two computers, I'd agree (but, modern NICs auto-negotiate, so cable type is irrevelent). However, if one device is not a computer, then the cable might be the problem.

 

The same crossover CAT 5 cables works with my HP, Dell and panasonic computers. It is only the Sony's with the PRO100/ network adapter that will not work.

It appears obvious that no one has ever seen this type of problem and I thank each and every one with your assistance. I will just have to continue to use my wireless connection with this particular piece of equipment.

The one thing that I have not been able to verify if the equipment I am connecting to has a peculair problem. At this time, I have not had the opportunity to try a different piece of equipment (one that communicates through a web browser and supprots JAVA). Other pieces of equipment that I have used usually comes with dedicate software that does all the communication protocols without using a web browser. They all work normally with my two Sony laptops.

 

A final solution has been found. The process is so simple I am embarrased to post it.

When entering the IP address, leave off the leading zero's. The equipment shows the leading zero's but if you enter them into the Explorer 7 browser, nothing happens.

I said it was simple. I fell so stupid!