Cable Modem network quickie

[Powerchordpunk]

I wanna network my computer and a laptop together, both having internet access. I have cable internet access. What would be the cheapest way to go? hub? switch? router? would I have to pay extra to cable co.? thanks.

 

[ray_gillespie]

Hi,
We've got 4 computers running off a cable modem, we just use a hub running at 10Mbit/s. We're gonna upgrade it soon to 100Mbit/s for LAN games etc, but for simple ICS the current hub is fine. Cost £20 online and cables cost about £5 each depending on where u go. Check out a computer fair next time there's one on for the best deals.

 

[BigPete]

Cheapest way is to use windows built in ICS(internet connection sharing). To be honest, its crap and not worth all the hassle that its going to cause you down the road. If you use a software solution such as ICS or WinGate or anything like that, one computer has to have 2 network cards and has to be on all the time(atleast if you want internet access all the time). With a router, you connect the router to the cable modem, then your computers to the router - thats it(basically). Routers are fairly cheap these days anyway, so while it may not be the cheapest option, its not so much more, and the cost is worth it.

Pete

 

[Powerchordpunk]

I talked to attbi tech support. I talked to a real honest tech who said that I could get around their additional ip charges by using a router. Is this true?

 

[Qumahlin]

OMG a tech told you that? thats friggin amazing coming from their idiot techs 90% of the time

but yes it is true, just get yourself a router and you don't have to pay any extra charges

 

[Sprung]

I use ICS and a crossover cable, and I tell you...if 4000 Mbit/sec on either computer is considered 'sucking'...then I suck eggs!

ICS is the easiest and cheapest way to share access with 2 computers. If you want more than 2, the you must go other routes.

 

[Zedric]

Originally posted by Sprung
if 4000 Mbit/sec on either computer is considered 'sucking'...then I suck eggs!

4000 Mbit? 4Gbit? Isn't that a little over the top?

 

[Sprung]

WHOOPS!

I mean K not M

I wish M LOL

 

[patrick]

Well, for you or anyone else reading this post I'd just like to clarify some of the things mentioned here.

You can use ICS or software sharing without purchasing additional hardware, but you will need two network cards in one computer. Although I had some trouble sharing my cable modem using Win98 it is quite achievable and argueably easy. You might as well give it a go before going out and buying additional equipment anyway.

A router is basically just a stripped down computer with two network cards to share internet access.

Even if you have a router you will still need to purchase a hub/switch (unless your router has one built in).
You then plug all the computers including the router into the hub.

I currently have a Netgear 8 Port hub - FS108 ($250) and a Netgear Cable Router - ($350).
I love both products cause they've never failed on me and it takes "plug and play" to a whole new world of meaning.
I will only be buying Netgear in the future and I recommend it to anyone who can afford it.


BTW Powerchordpunk, unless you're going to be expanding your network anytime soon, go with ICS and I guess use the desktop as your server.
However, if you ever wanted to spend some cash, you should get yourself a wireless access point so that the laptop isn't restricted by cables.


Patrick

 

[Qumahlin]

You have a router that doesn't have any ports other then the one to plug the wan connection in and such? thats odd nowadays , most companies such as linksys and netgear now make router's now that are pretty cheap and are usually labeled cable/dsl routers that are usually 4-6 ports so you can just go with one of them and won't have to worry about any hubs or switches.

 

[patrick]

Well yes... Netgear do make routers with built in hubs which are excellent for a set-up-and-forget-about-it situation, but it worked out about the same if I get the hub and the router seperate.
I also wanted a seperate hub to use at lanparties and... hey! It's another shiny blue box on my table to show off!

Patrick

 

[JeremyT]

I have 2 machines sharing my cable internet connection through a switch w/o buying extra IP's from AT&T. Didn't really do anything special, just plugged everything into my switch (the cable modem into the uplink port on the switch) and set internet explorer to connect using LAN. It works like a charm. Both computers are getting full bandwidth 100%of the time no matter what, I can play online games without any problem at all. I have no problem sharing files/printers.

 

[Zedric]

Originally posted by JeremyT
I have 2 machines sharing my cable internet connection through a switch w/o buying extra IP's from AT&T. Didn't really do anything special, just plugged everything into my switch (the cable modem into the uplink port on the switch) and set internet explorer to connect using LAN. It works like a charm. Both computers are getting full bandwidth 100%of the time no matter what, I can play online games without any problem at all. I have no problem sharing files/printers.

Ummm... you are leaving something out here. Either you run ICS (or similar) on one of the computers OR your ISP gives you more than one IP. Without a router of some kind there is now way you could share the same IP.

 

[TomStet]

Cable/DSl/Router/100Mbs switch all in one.

Best way here is a cable/DSL router/ 100/Mb switch. I'm using one from LinkSys. It will cost you around $100 US it has 4 ports so you have room for growth. It's uses something called NATing, so you share one IP address, the router then assigns IPs to the Lan side of the network. I'm running a Novell 5x server and 2 Xp Workstasions and have no problems at all. If you have to Log-in to your DSL it has a setup for that also.

 

[bheagle]

Gee... you are all so stoic about routers...

Get this... I have a 5 port HUB connecting into that I have 4 computers and my cable modem... the Linksys 5 port workgroup hub cost me a whole $30.00 and no, I don't pay fees for the other three computers and we can all use the internet and I do not use any ICS... hmmmmm

 

[Zedric]

Originally posted by bheagle
Get this... I have a 5 port HUB connecting into that I have 4 computers and my cable modem... the Linksys 5 port workgroup hub cost me a whole $30.00 and no, I don't pay fees for the other three computers and we can all use the internet and I do not use any ICS... hmmmmm

Well if it's a hub you either get more than one IP from your ISP or there's a built in router in your cable modem. Period.

 

[patrick]

Just some supporting information.

My friend has a standard hub, two computers and a cable modem.
With the cable modem plugged into the hub, both computers can access the internet but cannot be networked together. This is due to the fact that both computers have only one network card and therfore they have only 1 IP address each. Automatically assigned by the ISP, both computers use identical IP addresses so they can connect to the internet on the accepted IP. Unfortunately, having the same IP prevents the machines from recognising each other as a network. (Though he can always pull out cable, change the IPs and network as usuall without the internet).

A router is like a computer that acts as though it has two network cards. This allows the router to have the IP specified by the ISP on one card but also have a standard 192.168.*.* IP address on the other card to get onto the network. It then acts as a bridge between the two network cards to allow the computers on the network to access the internet through the router. The process is the same with ICS although a dedicated server is used instead of a router.
Therefore, (correct me if I'm wrong), this proves that it is impossible to use a cable broadband service using multiple computers unless a router or ICS is set up on the network.

Just a thought,
Patrick

 

[Zedric]

Originally posted by patrick
My friend has a standard hub, two computers and a cable modem.
With the cable modem plugged into the hub, both computers can access the internet but cannot be networked together. This is due to the fact that both computers have only one network card and therfore they have only 1 IP address each. Automatically assigned by the ISP, both computers use identical IP addresses so they can connect to the internet on the accepted IP. Unfortunately, having the same IP prevents the machines from recognising each other as a network. (Though he can always pull out cable, change the IPs and network as usuall without the internet).

That really shouldn't work! Are you sure about the IP:s? The DHCP lease is bound to the MAC-address of the card. Therefore PC2 should not get the same IP whilst PC1 has an active lease. Unless both computers have the same MAC-address... But that should produce really crappy results too...

 

[bheagle]

Well if it's a hub you either get more than one IP from your ISP or there's a built in router in your cable modem. Period.

Prehaps it's my provider, but there is a DHCP in the modem, but I still don't pay for the other computers to use the internet.

and there is nothing stated about a router in the hub manual.

 

[Zedric]

Originally posted by bheagle
Prehaps it's my provider, but there is a DHCP in the modem, but I still don't pay for the other computers to use the internet.

and there is nothing stated about a router in the hub manual.

Aha! Is it a DHCP client or DHCP server? What is the IP(s) of your computer(s) btw?