LAN and wifi

Hi,

Not a super experienced guy in networking. I have a Mac mini 2012 and a Mac mini 2014 (both on Catalina 10.15.3) accessing internet wirelessly (192.168.86.xxx via DHCP and static address) subnet 255.255.255.0 and router 192.168.86.1.

I wish to connect both Mac either thunderbolt bridge or Ethernet for large file transfer and faster speed and still being able to access internet wirelessly for both Mac mini.

So far I’ve tried thunderbolt bridge with manual ip 10.0.0.1 for one and 10.0.0.2 for second one. Subnet 255.255.255.0 and empty for router. I’ve set thunderbolt bridge above wifi in setup order but I can’t connect either Mac mini by thunderbolt. But I can do file sharing via 192.168.86.xxx over wifi. Also tried Ethernet with same ip and subnet and no go. All connections are active = green dot.

What am I doing wrong ?

Thanks for taking the time to respond

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Feb 24, 2020 8:59 PM

36 replies

Ally64 Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 26, 2020 5:54 AM in response to hcsitas

Once again thank you ... I’ll try that after work and will let you know ... have a great day

Ally64 Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 26, 2020 5:05 PM in response to Ally64

Ok Malcolm ... I just did as you suggested and nothing happened ... no new network appearing

Ally64 Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 26, 2020 5:19 PM in response to Ally64

hcsitas I followed the link to the guide but it didn’t worked

Ally64 Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 26, 2020 5:23 PM in response to Ally64

I thought it would be easier ... just plugging two Mac minis with thunderbolt and then swinging files from one to the other ... oh well that showed my ignorance

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Feb 25, 2020 1:07 AM in response to Ally64

Thunderbolt bridge is not necessary since both minis have gigabit LAN. Neither are manual IPs. Set all for DHCP, activate both Ethernet and WiFi interfaces and set Ethernet to first priority, should work.

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Feb 26, 2020 2:35 AM in response to Ally64

Yes, please enter DNS same as WiFi and remove static address (for consistency, best for the Macs get their IPs from the router). Restart after changes.

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LAN and wifi