Home networking

[crassus 0]

Well, the game rig is built, but I want to get it connected to the one cable connection I already have.

I don't know if it's a simple matter of getting a router, and a pair of ethernet adapters, one for each PC.

I'm not looking for anything "fancy", but just to get the new rig online.

Recommendations for specific brand names, and of course technical tidbits will be greatly appreciated.

[blackdog~ 0]

I think this is what you need:

http://store.yahoo.com/i-software/10100812.html

Don't buy it yet though... need confirmation that this is the right thing for you from someone else

[crassus 0]

Yeah, thanks....Always wait for that 3d or fourth opinion.

[m16a2m203 0]

Sorry, thats not what you need. That is just a switch. What he needs is a combination cable/dsl router & switch with two network cards with one in each computer. i have that current setup with a linksys BEFSR41 model router. I got mine a couple years ago for around 75 bucks but you can probably find a newer model at a cheaper price elsewhere. Another thing you might want to conder is going wireless. I found this deal here which looks like a steal. You could follow the directions and get one card and router for 10 bucks after rebate. You'll just need one more wireless net card to go with it.

gren

oops forgot link ...Wireless Deal

heres a router at tcwo but look around more for other brands and cheaper prices ... TCWO Router

[CrashDome 0]

I f you are attempting to connect multiple PCs to a single cable connection the router idea is your best bet. You can use software and connect one PC through the other, but it'll most likely cost you bandwidth and stability.

If you do get a router, I think you may want to do better than a Linksys. We had one at our office (slightly older model though), and it didn't have the abilities of my D-Link at home. You are going to want to map ports for your games and some routers have limited abilities. I suggest the DI-704P... you can connect up to 4 computers AND share a printer - it's also a switch.. it's only $57 at www.newegg.com but there are definitely others you may want to look at.

If you're new to networking I suggest browsing here: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/router7.htm

[crassus 0]

So, just to confirm, I'm looking for something like this Nexland ISB SOHO, basically a combo a cable/DSL router with a built-in, four-port, 10/100 Ethernet hub, although something not as expensive?

[m16a2m203 0]

Thats it. One thing you should consider also is the connection from your cable modem to the computer currently. The two different types of modems I have seen are one with an ethernet jack and the other a usb. Obviously you need a router that will have a connection to accept that type your modem is. Currently my old linksys only has a ethernet plugin so if the a cable company up and decided to only give out usb modems I'd have a slight hookup problem. Got it?

[crassus 0]

Thank you much, folks.

[Supah 0]

What you need depends on how your connection and your ISP's network is setup. I have cable and on this network a simple switch will suffice. Cant really say without allot more info

[Badgerboy 0]

Two Ethernet cards and a crossover cable will do it. Far cheaper as well.

[Mister Frag 0]

I'd pass on a solutions that relies on the PC doing the work, because that means that you can't turn it off, you dedicate resources (RAM and CPU cycles) to it, and it still lacks some of the features of a separate router. It also isn't significantly less expensive.

I'd get a broadband router with a built-in hub and firewall. I would also insist on UPnP support. While few programs today require UPnP, not having support for it will prevent you from using the full functionality, and down the line more and more programs will take advantage of UPnP.

I actually replaced my old router with a new one just last night. I got a Netgear WGR614 from a company called Comp-U-Plus. The WGR614 has a four-port hub, UPnP, SPI, a firewall, 54Mb 802.11g Wi-Fi support (backwards compatible with 11Mb 802.11b), and a bunch of other neat things. The cost was US$109 before a US$25 mail-in rebate, brining the cost down to $84 -- an excellent deal.

[crassus 0]

LOL, the more I get answered, the more questions come up.

With regard to my two PCs, my wifes computer is hooked up to the internet via an external modem connected to the PC with a Linksys USB NIC. The OS is Win 98.

My new rig has an Asus A7N8X dlx, with both 3COM and nVidia LAN ports. Obviously, this is the one not hooked up to the internet. The OS is Win XP Home.

I would like my wife to be able to surf the net and for me to play around in OFP at the same time.

What I'm getting thrown off a bit with in all this tech-speak is what a switch is, and if it applies at all to my wanting to hook up at the most three computers to the one cable connection. I'm leaning toward the wireless route, but again, some of the definitions/hardware requirements are quite frankly losing me.

[Badgerboy 0]

I'm a cable and sockets man myself,so I haven't dabbled with wireless yet.

With regards to networking, always choose a switch over a hub. A 100mb switch will guarantee a 100mb connection to each port, whilst a hub has to share the 100mb between all the ports.

At home my net connection runs through my server, which is on 24/7. I've run a crossover cable to my game machine for internet access, but this requires the server to be running constantly. (Which isn't a problem for me)

A better way of doing this, is to have a dedicated router to share resources. It sits on its own, handing out data when required. For this, you would need the router plugged into a switch, as well as all the computers that will need a net connection/networking.

[Mister Frag 0]

For sharing an Internet connection, a hub (or a hub built into a broadband router) will suffice. As Badgerboy pointed out, a switch is smarter than a hub, but for a small number of systems on a home network there is no practical difference.

[Supah 0]

There is, depending on the bitrate of your cable modem/network of your ISP. Mine's uses a 10 mbit network while i have a 100mbit network, so you need a switch. it switches between the different speeds (Prevents packet collisions)

[Mister Frag 0]

That's another good point, but for a different reason. A switch will prevent all of the 100Mb devices from dropping down to 10Mb speeds, so transfers on the local network would be much faster.

A switch does not prevent collisions, though -- Ethernet is still a CSMA network that detects collisions, but doesn't avoid them.

[crassus 0]

Okay okay okay  I think I've nailed it down. I think I'll go the wired route for now, and make use of the onboard LAN ports on the a7n8x dlx.

Let me throw this at your for approval:If I've researched this correctly, then I will need

1) An LNE100TX 10/100 LAN card for the PC without a LAN port

2) A BEFSR41 Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port Switch to link the two to the cable modem I already have in place.

I probably could do better than Linksys, as I've read some negative reviews when shopping through PriceGrabber....But from what I've seen of D-link (or was it Netgear?) I would have to get a separate switch, and a router, and a LAN card.

[Mister Frag 0]

One obvious drawback of the BEFSR41 is that it doesn't have a firewall built-in, it only has NAT. It also cares whether you use straight-through or cross-over cables, whereas newer designs will detect that automatically and adjust.

But the BEFSR41 would work, as would just about any PCI 10/100Mb Ethenet network card for the second PC.

[CrashDome 0]

Crassus,

It looks like you're on the right track, but I see you're still looking at the Linksys....

Dont forget about the D-Link DI-704p...

It does all of the above - switch,firewall,NAT,etc.. AND includes a port for a shared printer and is STILL as cheap as the Linksys.

http://www.dlink.com/products/broadband/di704p/

[crassus 0]

Thanks for the link, CrashDome.

I think I may settle on the DI-614+ as it serve in a wired and wireless capacity. I'm thinking, hook up the new rig with the Asus A7N8X deluxe mobo to it using the on-board LAN ports, and buy a either a USB or PCI network adapter for the nasty eMachine.

Thanks, everyone.