Cable connection question.

[Sniper82]

Well first off I have 3 computers in my house and 2 of them are on almost all day with someone useing them. Question is if I got cable connection for all 3(no networking) how would they hook them up? All to the same cable line coming from the poll to the house? If so wouldnt this slow it down alot if a couple ppl are downloading at the same time? Wouldnt it be like networking them all together?

Or would they run 3 wires from the poll to hook them up?

 

[John]

Get a nice Router w/ 4 port 10/100 switch (Linksys BEFSR41) and network your PC's. No need to climb up poles.



http://www.practicallynetworked.com/howto/

 

[Insane3D]

Another vote for the Linksys router....I have four PC's sharing my cable connection with no slowdowns...

 

[MallowJr]

I have a linksys switch and use a comp to share the net connection between 5 pcs. i have to leave the one comp on all the time for net access ot other comps. i do this only because I've heard of problems running game servers on a router cable connect, and trobles having multiple ping requests open for software lek gamespy or pingtool...to tr to connect to a game

 

[SonofVengeance]

unless your just incredibly rich... which if that is the case go ahead and have a t3 line run in your house..
there is no reason not to network the 3 puters and use off one cable modem..
Im currently using a linksys 5 port hub... then just run cat 5 cable from the hub to each pc...
The cable company will not run a seperate line to each pc.. unless you get 3 accounts.

If you request multiple IP addys{usually a few extra bucks for each ip address} then its that simple
otherwise you have to set up a proxy server. Not sure how it works in your area but I have 3 puters to one cable modem no proxy server i pay an extra $8 a month for the extra two ips. Im 100% within my contract that way and I do not have to keep one machine running all the time as my server..

 

[Insane3D]

Hmmm...I didn't need to set up a proxy with my Linksys router, and no other computers need to be on for me to use the cable connection. Whether I have all four one or just one, it works the same. I just plugged in the PC's to the router and plugged the cable modem into the router...done deal. It assigns IP addy's to each PC.

 

[DugnDog]

Heres' input based on my experiences - ATnT cable provider (used to be RoadRunner), Minnesota area, 4 PC's, two used frequently


Cable is faster and WAY more convenient than dialup. When it works, its incredible.

However,

Cable will supply you with only one 10mb connection, even if you buy 3 IP's. You will also share the trunk line from the street to the cable office with all your neighbors.

You can overload your capacity in the house. One person doing an MP3 download or a search for half-life servers can pretty much block everyone else until its done.

You and your neighbors can overload the trunk capacity. Don't plan on getting much done between 5:30 and 6:30 when everyone comes home from work and checks their email.

Always on means always accessible to the outside world too! Don't do this without protection, either a cable router or personal firewall (I run both).

But

Its still better than dial-up.

 

[Sniper82]

Ok I see your alls point. If I ran the cable to the router and put a NIC in each computer and did it that way would the main PC have to be on before the other 2 can surf the net?

Also I know a few neighbors that are on 75% of the time how would that effect my connection. Also if a couple ppl is useing the same connection in my house like if I where surfing the net and someone else wanted to play UT? Would the person wanting to play UT have to wait?

 

[Insane3D]

No, no, no. First of all, the Linksys router does not require that any PC be on to use the internet. If you have four PC's connected to it, and they are all off, you can turn on any one of them and surf the net. Also, the Linksys router has switched ports so it doesn't really affect other users if you are using the internet connection. I personally will have one PC upstairs playing a 65K music stream on WMP, and simultaneously have another 65K stream going on one of the PC's downstairs, and I can still surf with no speed loss on the third or fourth computer with no problems.

 

[Sniper82]

Could someone give me a link to a decent router(at a good price) that will hook me up? I have 2 Linksy nics right now what else would I need? Router another nic and the CAS5 cables? Also what kind of cableing would I need?

Ok heres another question. If they install my cable modem(wether it be internal or external) and nic in my PC and I run the cable to the router then how does the router hookup to my(main) PC? Could somone explain how the router hooks up to my PC if the cable is hooked to the router?

 

[Insane3D]

Ok, here goes. First of all, the Linksys 4-port router will cost you right around $100. You can get it here for $98. If you look at this picture, you can see what it looks like. The setup is extremely easy and consists of doing the following. AFAIK, cable modems are all external...there may be some internal models, but most are external. You will need a NIC card for each computer you want to connect. If you look at the picture, there are six ports on the back of the router, and they are labeled as follows:

WAN
1
2
3
4
Uplink

There is also a power connector where the power cord plugs in. In a typical home cable internet setup, you will have the following in your one PC setup. The cable modem will be external, and will have three connections. One will be power, the other will be COAX connection that your cable line will connect to, and the third will be a CAT5 network cable connection that normally would go to the network card in the PC. Hooking up the router is very easy. The cable line and power connections will remain the same on the cable modem, but instead of connecting the CAT5 connection to the PC's NIC card, you will connect it to the router's "WAN" port. All that is left is to connect the PC's NIC cards to the router via the CAT5 ports labeled 1 through 4. You can use any one of those ports and any combination of them. For instance, if you are only using two PC's, you could connect one to #3 and one to #1...it doesn't matter. The Uplink port is to connect another router or switch since the router supports more than 200 PC's, but it only has four ports. You will not use the Uplink port. All that is left is to plug in the router, reset the cable modem (usually by unplugging it and plugging it back in), and turn on the PC's, and your good to go. Not only will your cable internet connection be working on all the PC's, they will also be on a little home network and you can share files in between them. As far as cable, either CAT 5 or CAT 5E will work fine. I suggest CAT5E since it is barely any more than CAT5 cable. The only difference between the two is the CAT5E is tested to higher standards...physically they are the same. If you need any more info on hooking it up, feel free to PM me and I'll help you out. I am sharing my connection among four PC's here...

 

[Sniper82]

Thanks insane3d that help alot. Anyway will the NICs in the other 2 PC's already be setup for internet shareing or will I have to enter a bunch of stuff?

BTW is there a cheaper router that will get the job done?

 

[Insane3D]

The NIC's need no setup. What happens is that the router uses the IP addy from the cable company, and it then assigns it's own IP addy to each NIC...no setup needed. Also, any NIC will work. You don't need to setup any of the PC's for sharing, the router does it all automatically. The PC's actually don't realize they are sharing, the router does all the sharing. There are slightly cheaper routers with less ports, but I think you said you had three PC's to connect. There are 2 port models, but they are not too much less...like $80. If you can save up the money, that router is a great deal. I payed $120 for mine and they are around that much in the local stores.