hey can any one suggest a cheap cable modem sharing box?? what do you use?

[ArkAoss]

I cant think of any options off the top of my head, but i need something that will make it feel like they are all directly connected to the cable modem, some thing that will work thru a 10/100 hub so it'll be even cheaper.

 

[Relayer]

Linksys 1 port router
you can buy it here

There is also D-Link, SMC, and Netgear who have inexpensive cable/dsl routers.

 

[xyyz]

i think Dlink sells one for under $100.

 

[BCYL]

I use an old PC and run Linux Router software on it... so it's totally free of charge... Some linux router's include: FreeSCO and Coyote Linux. They all fit on a single floppy, so your server PC does not even have to have a harddrive. And a 486 would be fine already, which i am sure you can probably find one lying around in a closet somewhere...

Just setup a network between your PCs and share the cable modem thru this Linux box...

 

[xyyz]

the only problem here is that the old PC uses alot more electricty than the cheap router.

eventually... that 200+ Watt (even if it's not pulling that all the time) tends to add up.

 

[ArkAoss]

ok, im gonna try makin a linux box, BCYL can i get a little help from you on that?
those are full running versions of linux, or do i hafta do alot of coding? will they require a monitor, and any amount of ram?

oh and those will work with any network card also?? if those you mentioned will work with any nic off of a floppy, then i might be in business.

 

[kw7]

Try this link: http://www.linuxrouter.org/

 

[ArkAoss]

alright im a real idiot when it comes to linux, so if i make up a floppy, stick it in a headless machine with 2 nics, and hook up my other pcs to the hub,

well im not that stupid, but i cant figure out what to grab from the linux router .org and then where do i go from there?

 

[wireless]

Get Freesco free ciscoand use a 486 or p75 or something and about 8 megs of ram

 

[ArkAoss]

hey that free cisco, just slap it on a floppy with 2 nics and go??

 

[BCYL]

I fine Linux Router project is a little hard to setup for newbies... so I suggest go with FreeSCO or Coyote Linux (see my above post for links)... Both site has a list of NICs that they work with... if your NIC is not on there, but u have the proper linux driver for it, then it's no problem...

Just download their program and create the floppy... depending on which one you use, you either configure it before or after you create the floppy... there's absolutely no coding required, same as setting up any program... It runs you through step-by-step and ask you for the information (like external IP address for your cable modem, internal IP for your LAN, DNS, etc... )

Once you configured the program and created the floppy, it's good to go! Just set the gateway of all your other PCs on your network to the IP of the linux box, and they will access the internet through it...

Then, all you need to do is boot off the linux floppy (write-protect the floppy too, so you don't accidently erase it) you created... There's really no need for a monitor, mouse, or keyboard also, cuz you don't really have to type anything it, and almost never crash...

I think they recommend 16 MB ram, cuz these linux routers work by creating a RAM drive instead of using the harddrive... if you dont have that much ram, you will need to leave your harddrive in there for it to use... otherwise take your harddrive out if you want, it won't ever use it...

You are welcome to e-mail me or post more msgs on this board if you need more help... play around with it for a while, it should not be hard to get it working... the hardest part for me was getting the NICs working properly, cuz I had one of those cheap ones @Home gave me...

 

[ArkAoss]

bcyl thanx a ton, I was just checkin in fro the morning, and that makes it sound sooo east, i wish i could give it a a try now, but i gotta split to work

 

[ArkAoss]

im tryin to get a linux box going but does any one have any other suggestions

bumpin it to the top

 

[Wik]

Freesco is got to be the easiest one to set up. I set one up for myself and just did another for a friend this weekend. Takes almost 5 minutes to get it running. www.freesco.com

 

[bozack]

well since I live in an apt and dont pay utilities I could give a rats ass about consumption

Personally I use an old p5 gateway system over driven to 200mhz mmx with an intel pro 100 management adapter for the LAN (all the nics on my lan are intel pro 100's) and a netgear fa310tx for the cable modem.

I run win98se with ICS and it works great so far.

good luck with whatever you do

 

[vi edit]

I've got an old P-100 w/ 32 megs RAM and two 3Com 509C PCI NICs running Freesco here at work.

We have zero broadband options so I have it sharing out two 56k modems to about 15 users. Works like a charm. It's been up for about a month and a half without a reboot

 

[ArkAoss]

vi_edit, can i ask you a few questions about configing freesco???
I'm gonna try to use it at home and learn it. do you have to do any special port forwarding so people on it can use icq or napster?? and configing the clients to talk to it is that easy?

 

[andri]

Well, behind my cable sits a P2-450 (my old desktop box), running OpenBSD, of course.

 

[twren]

I think you may want to weigh your options here. Unless you have a spare computer laying around you will have to spend $100 on a router or parts for a linux box. I personally think you should just lease another ip, plug the cable modem into the hub and use that as your network. I have an additional ip from @home and it only cost $5 a month, and I run my network through a 10/100 switch, with absolutely no additional hassles.

 

[Wik]

For the most part ICQ and Napster will work fine. The only time you will have problems with either of them is when you try to connect to someone that is also behind a router or firewall. You can forward the needed ports. With Napster just forward the port needed and for ICQ you can forward 20 ports to each client that uses ICQ and tell ICQ to use those ports. Start with ports 20000 - 20019 for one client then 20020 - 20039 for the next client and so on.

 

[jhu]

here's my setup:

486 w/ 16mb ram, floppy, 600mb harddrive: $35
2 isa nic: $14
coax cables: $6

i spent $55! woohoo! i also got a hub which i don't have a need for anymore since i'm using the bnc port. i unhooked the harddrive to save energy and used a modified image from the linux router project.

 

[Wik]

My cost in the Freesco box....

P120/16megs ram ... free
2 Accoton PCI 10/100 NICS ... $20 for 2
5 minutes of my time ... Priceless

I already had a network with a 5 port switch and a 5 port hub.

My total cash out of pocket ..... $20 for the 2 NICs

 

[bahree]

The Linux option as other people have mentioned here is ofcourse one way to go.

Being lazy personally I prefer the easier way out . I have a NetGear router which sells for <$200 and can support upto 200+ machines. It takes a few minutes to setup and easy to use. I like it and recommend it to other people.

 

[bahree]

Oooops I meant LinkSys and NOT NetGear!

You can check out more info here.

Amit.

 

[ArkAoss]

YEAH, ive looked into the linksys, i've got plenty of parts kicking around so, i shouldnt need to spend any cash on a linux box, just time, and i have to get another good secondary monitor, my dumb stupid insolent brother threw out a monitor we'd had since '91 and kept a monitor that some one gave us that's garbage junk and totally useless, nearly dead. such an idiot