anything i have to do?

[toph99]

i am thinking about purchasing a Linksys 5 port 10/100 Ethernet Switch, to allow my 2(soon to be 3) computers to share my DSL access(yes, the service supports multiple IP's) they all have NIC's and cables. do i just plug and play? also, with this setup, is there anything i have to do or enable to set up say, a LAN for half life, or file sharing?

 

[BCYL]

If your ISP gives you 1 IP address, then you cannot plug the DSL modem into the hub directly... you will need one PC to act as a server...

Plug the DSL modem into that PC, which will have 2 NICs (1 for DSL modem and the other for LAN), run cable from the other NIC to the hub, and plug all your other PCs to the hub also...

Next, setup a network between all PCs, then run ICS software on the server PC to share the connection... This way you already have the LAN for HL or sharing files...

You can get instructions on how to setup the network at HomePCLAN.

 

[jmcoreymv]

BCYL: If you read his post you would of noticed that he stated he had multiple ip addresses to work with.

 

[toph99]

do i have to have a computer run as a server if i'm just going to share the DSL? because i may hold off on networking the computers together until i can get more money. if i were to just share the DSL, could i just plug the two computers into the switch along with the DSL?

 

[BCYL]

In that case, if you have 2 IPs for your 2 PCs, you can just plug the DSL modem into the switch along with your two PCs... that should give you DSL access for both of your PCs...

My guess is that your DSL provider gives you dynamic IPs, so tell your PCs to obtain IPs automatically...

 

[digitalman]

rather then getting the switch, wouldn't you be better off just getting a router? then you wouldn't need a computer that would hold the ip address as the router does it for you plus it will allow all the computers to share your dsl service. there are may companies that make them. I have the linksys one and after setting it up it runs flawless and it really easy.
dm

 

[toph99]

a router is about $100 more, and i don't have the money. plus like i said, my dsl service allows me to have multiple ip's on the one line, so i don't need a computer to act as a server or a router(right?)

 

[Kanly]

Toph99, sounds like your setup will be almost exactly like mine.

The Linksys switch is great for the price.

You can get it for like $35 by having Staples.com pricmatch Onvia's price then use a $20 off$50 coupon at Staples. That's exactly how i got mine. Make sure STaples doesn't charge shipping because Onvia doesn't. It was even better when Linksys had a $30 mail-in rebate

My DSL IP let's me have multiple static IPs, which is nice and makes things pretty easy.

So, you just need to enter all the appropriate info from your ISP into each computer and setup your home network and everything should be good to go.

DSL Line > DSL Modem. DSL Modem > Switch. Then 3 comps > switch.

With the Linksys switch, the maximun # of computers you can have with DSL sharing is 4 because the DSL will take up the 5th port on the switch.

One thing I would suggest is to use Netbui for you internal lan and just use TCP/IP for your DSL access.

Steve Gibson, creator of ZoneAlarm, has a nice tutorial on how to do this Here

Since you will have all your comps connected fulltime to the internet, a personal firewall is also a pretty good idea.

ZoneAlarm is very easy to setup and use.