[GRLUG] running wireless and ethernet at the same time

[Eric Beversluis]

On Tue, 2013-12-03 at 09:34 -0500, Adam Tauno Williams wrote:
> On Tue, 2013-12-03 at 08:48 -0500, Eric Beversluis wrote:
> > I'm looking for a basic explanation of what happens, what the normal
> > behavior is, when a computer is connected to the same router (and so the
> > same LAN and same Internet connection) with both Ethernet cable and
> > wireless. I don't see anything on line addressing that basic question.
> 
> You probably end up using one connection for everything; assuming all
> traffic is heading to the default gateway.
> 
> > Does one (maybe the first to come up) just take all the traffic? 
> 
> Most likely.
'ip route' lists the Ethernet connection (dev p6p1) first, even if it's
added after the computer boots up into wireless with the Ethernet cable
disconnected. And the icon in the top panel switches to the Ethernet
icon once Ethernet is reconnected. This seems to suggest that the
Ethernet will always take precedence if both are connected, but that may
be unique to my setup, as right now I have a separate AP (router being
used only in AP mode) and my router is not wireless. 

> 
> > Do they somehow alternate or otherwise share the traffic?
> 
> No.  Each interface has a separate address, so this is not possible.
> You would have to bridge the connections in order to 'bond' the traffic;
> and bridging two different medias ... not wise.
I don't see how the different address determines whether messages would
alternate. I would expect that in any case a single message would be
tied to a given interface.

> 
> > Does running both at the same time create any problems? 
> 
> Eh, probably not.
> 
> > Where and how would the behavior get determined?
> 
> I just wouldn't do it.
I was asking here about the "basic" behavior that decides which
connection to use. (So I guess this would involve delving into the guts
of the OSI Network layer?)

> 

Thanks. This has been helpful.