Cable Modem Questions???

[OneOfTheseDays]

Ok my question deals with cable modems and sharing internet connections. my isp is gonna install cable in my house on saturday, and i do not know what cable modem they are gonna supply. My guess is that it is external and has to be plugged into an NIC. Anyways, i really want a cable modem that is either internal or USB so that i dont have to have 2 NICS installed to share my internet. I also use phoneline networking on all of my computers, so i am a little confused. Do I (if the modem must be connected to an ethernet adaptor) install both NICS and plug the cable modem into the ethernet NIC? I am new to home networking and am very very confused. Also, what the hell are ip addresses and do i have to assign one to each computer. i find that if i dont my computer takes really long to boot up for some reason. also, would i put in an ip address to the ethernet adaptor on the host computer???

 

[Viper0329]

Woah...slow down.

Lets go one step at a time.

An IP address is an address assigned to every computer on a network. Every computer on the internet has a specific IP address. Most home networks give the computers the address 192.168.0.xxx where "xxx" is a number 1-255. It boots slower if you dont assign one because the computer must then look on a server on your home network to find an IP. You can manually assign them and it should work fine.

I used to have a phonline network just as you did. They will more then likely install a 2nd nic. It may get a little confusing to configure, but it can be done. The Nic for the cable modem will have its own IP from the ISP. Your phoneline will have an IP of 192.168.0.xx

You have two options: If you are sharing this connection, you can use ICS in Win98SE to share the connection, but if you do this, the computer connected to the cable modem must be on at all times for the other computer on the network to access the internet.

#2 If you want a lot less headache, Linksys sells a Broadband phoneline network router. You plug the cable modem into the router and it serves it on the phoneline network through an adapter built into it. If you have the money, go for this option. You wont need the second Nic, and it will be easier to configure.

If you have any questions, PM me or post here.

 

[JackMDS]

You want to do it right.

Read This:

The Basic Options to Share Internet Connection (Internet Sharing 101).

And This:

Hubs, routers, switches, DSL, LANs, WANs...?

 

[learningstill]

Ok, I would suggest you to install a NIC on each computer that you want to share Internet connection. Then buy a cable/DSL router ($99 to $150) and plug that into your cable modem. Then, connect all the computers that need Internet sharing to the router, and that's all.

In regards to IP address, you can configure the cable/DSL router to assign the IP address automatically to your client computers. This make your task a lot simpler. If you need some guide on cable/DSL router, check out http://www.8wire.com and search for cable/DSL router. They have some good reviews and you can always ask for help in their forum.

 

[BuckMaster]

All I know is you DONT want any type of USB device cable modem, if you want to share internet connections!! Get a RJ54 cable modem and Nic card. You only need one nic in your PC. Of course the other PC will need a NIC. You can use a Hub or router then which you cant with a USB connections.