Need help figuring out how to network my 2 computers...

[jagr10]

Here's the problem, I have one computer upstairs and the second computer will be downstairs (quite a distance). How can i get my cable modem internet connection on both computers? I cannot put them both in the same room because of electricity probs (not enough voltage). I need internet on both computers and the cable company charges $10 extra for another ip address if you have a hub, but that's if the computers are close to one another. THey said they'd have to charge me full price for another internet connection because of my pc's been too far apart. Any ways to get around this?

 

[Tonec]

If you're on a tight budget, buy 2 $10 1mbps phoneline nics and use one computer as the server.

 

[ledzepp98]

buy a router..i have a linksys 4 port router but i'm sure there are a few brands that are good. they are in the neighborhood of $100-$150, plus you need a length of cat5 cable (whatever the distance of the computers) and ends.


edit: tonec is right also...but i don't have experience with that. i got a router because i have 3 computers and it was easy

 

[yiwonder]

I just ran some CAT5 cable in the walls between a few rooms and installed some wall boxes. Each CAT5 cable goes from that room back to the room with the router in it. I'm currently using the Netgear RT314. Linksys and SMC both make good routers too. With the CAT5 setup, you can get a 100Mbps network fairly easily between rooms. If you are on a tight budget though, go with the phoneline setup as suggested by Tonec.

If you want some more info on my network, just PM me.

 

[jagr10]

Where can I buy these cat5 cables?

Is a router the same thing as a hub?

If not then do i need both a hub and router or just a router?

Will i be able to have a separate IP address for each computer or will I only be able to use the net on one computer at a time?

 

[nnnyyy]

you can buy cat5 and homedepot or any computer store.

a router lets you split the internet connection. you plug the cable modem to the router instead of your computer. you connect all the computer that you want to share the cable with to the router using a network card and cat5.

you dont need a hub if you have a router with a built in switch. SMC, netgear, linksys all have routers with 4 port switches.

they can all access the internet at the same time.

 

[Belegost]

CAT5 cable can be purchased at many electronic's stores (Fry's, Compusa, hell even Radio Shack had some last time I was there) If you need to do any running of cable through walls, then you'll need to purchase the wire with no ends, a crimper and some RJ45 connectors (they're like big phone line connectors.) This is a good wiring reference.

A router is not the same as a hub, though it can have a hub or switch built in. The routers you would be interested in allow you to connect your computers to the router, and then connect the router to the cable modem. You will only be charged for on IP, and you can use many computers at one time (254 max on the Linksys and I think the Netgear, 253 on the SMC because one spot is reserved for the print server.) An alternative to one of these routers is a computer with two network cards, one plugged into the cable modem, and one connecting to the other computer, or hub. You would then install and setup Internet Connection Sharing which comes with Win98SE, and ME. Or the equivalent on Win2k (never tried it on 2k)

As for the cable company saying your computers are too far apart, how far is this? You should be able to run CAT5 up to 100 metres from hub to PC.

My recommmendation is to invest in a hardware router, check the Hot Deals forum, one of them are always on sale. Having used the Linksys, Netgear, and SMC routers, I can say all three work great. Then run yourself a line downstairs. Give yourself a weekend to do it all, especially if you run the cable through the wall.

 

[jagr10]

thanks guys! The cable company charges $10 per extra computer that you want a second ip for. The hook it up with its own connection so i guess the way they thought of doing it (using a hub) wasn't possible because of the distance. I guess i'll look into the router method.

So i guess there's absolutely no way of using a hub with my setup?

 

[HellRaven]

Jagr, I had a similar situation and here is what I did:

Cable modem goes to an SMC 4 port router ($40 after rebate)

One port on the router goes to my first computers NIC

The second port goes to a HomePNA to Ethernet bridge ($110)

The HPNA/Ethernet bridge goes to a phone jack

My second PC has a HPNA NIC which goes into the phone jack in another room and picks up the signal from the bridge ($40)

HomePNA is a phoneline networking standard. It uses your phonelines to network computers. All you have to do is make sure the HPNA devices are hooked up to the same phoneline. It will not interfere with telephone calls and it will even work with DSL and a telephone at the same time. Speeds are about 6mb/s with HomePNA 2.0 which is plenty.

Total cost was under $200 which is much less than most wireless solutions but more expensive than just running CAT5. For some people however, running CAT5 isn't an option.

 

[Belegost]

Well, you can use the hub with the system. You can purchase routers with only one connection, you would run a patch cable between that and the uplink on your hub, or a crossover cable to any connection on your hub and connect your computers to the hub. Or if you got one of the 4 port routers (highly recommended) but needed to connect more then 4 computers you could again hook the hub to the router.

Raven's idea will work if for some reason you don't want to, or cannot run CAT5 cable, though you pay a lot more.

 

[jagr10]

<< Well, you can use the hub with the system. You can purchase routers with only one connection, you would run a patch cable between that and the uplink on your hub, or a crossover cable to any connection on your hub and connect your computers to the hub. Or if you got one of the 4 port routers (highly recommended) but needed to connect more then 4 computers you could again hook the hub to the router.

Raven's idea will work if for some reason you don't want to, or cannot run CAT5 cable, though you pay a lot more. >>



Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a patch cable? I'm not sure i understand your idea, but it seems a little interesting. Here's what i make of it:

- Buy 2 routers with one connection on each of them
- Buy a hub
- Hook one computer to the router and connect the router to the hub
- Hook the other computer to the other router and run a really long cable from the router to the hub using a &quot;patch cable&quot;?

Is that what you mean?

 

[bluegi]

all you need is to buy one netgear r314 router, two network cards and cat5 cable. Once you have these just follow the instructions from the router manual.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

You only need one router. It connects to your modem and interfaces with your internet connection. The routers mentioned in this thread come with 4 ports (looks like a hub - but smarter with the data). Then you plug in whatever comps you are going to use into the router. The router gets the ip address from your isp, and it assigns ip address in the subnetwork of computers plugged into the router. All the computers share the connection and the router keeps track of which computer asked for and sends it out accordingly.

 

[circut16]

yoou can always use internet sharing sofware, buy a hub and two NIC's

 

[CigarSmokedByClinton]

If you use Internet connection sharing, you don't need to buy a hub, but rather just but a &quot;patch cable&quot; or as its sometimes called, a crossover cable. Might save you a bit of money.

But the best way to do it would be to do this:

Buy the Netgear RT314 ~$50 on Hot Deals Forum.
Buy 2 Network Cards ~ $10 each if you shop around
Assorted ethernet cables(CAT5) ~$10

You will need to hook the cable modem up to the internet port on the router. See the instruction manual on info on how to do this.

Next, hook both computers up to the 4 port hub/switch which is included with the above router. You do this via regular ethernet cables (CAT5). If possible, run the ethernet cable through the wall to get to the other computer.

If you do it this way, the cable company won't charge you $10 for having more than one computer connected, as the only thing connected to the cable modem is the router. It will pay for itself after a few months. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

Cigar

 

[bigd480]

<< yoou can always use internet sharing sofware, buy a hub and two NIC's >>

if it's only 2 computers no hub is necessary... 2 NICs and one longass crossover cable...

Windows ICS sucks though...

 

[jagr10]

What is a cat5 cable? Is it that DSL huge phone wire look alike thing? How long can it be before it stops transmitting data? I need a whole lot of it.

 

[yiwonder]

<< What is a cat5 cable? Is it that DSL huge phone wire look alike thing? How long can it be before it stops transmitting data? I need a whole lot of it. >>


CAT5 cable is cable that is used for 100Mbps (or less) networks. I assume that the &quot;DSL huge phone wire look alike thing&quot; is CAT5 cable. The RJ45 connector on the CAT5 looks like a wide phone jack (which is RJ11). It can be (I think) 100 meters long.

 

[CigarSmokedByClinton]

Yup, 100 meters.

Just be careful not to kink it. That really cuts down on the distance it can travel.

Cigar