Is a router absolutely necessary for cable access shared with 3 pc's?

[msh111]

Thoughts anyone? Is it possible to bypass using a router , and what are the problems that maybe associated with not doing so.

 

[BreakApart]

Your cable internet company will require a router so you can connect to their network(the router i mentioned is also called the cable modem).

After this box is installed, then no you don't have to use another router, you could use a proxy solution--like Win98se(ICS), or Win2000(ICS)...

A router is basically a hardware proxy with a firewall normally built in, or you could say a proxy is a software router, that sometimes includes a software firewall. (this is as simple as i can explain this)

So yes you require the cable modem(router) to connect, but you can use proxy software to share this connection.

Cable modems originally required a phone line to be used as the upstream connection--thats where the modem part came from.

(please correct any errors you find)

 

[Hecky]

No, you do not need a router. You can put two NICs in one machine, connect your cable modem to one NIC and enable ICS on that connection. Then connect your other NIC to your LAN hub or switch and you're in biz. Your other machines will be able to access your cable modem connection simultaneously...assuming you have them networked already.

 

[outlamd]

It would also depend on how many IP's they provide, my cable service gives up to 4 with no extra charge.

 

[msh111]

You're saying you must have one of their IP's on each machine? What if they only assign you one IP, and the other networked pc's have an internal IP assigned to them, and they share by accessing the machine that actually is connected to the cable modem. Are there any implications to this?

 

[TerreApart]

msh111, your last post described a proxy software solution, that will work just fine. Win98se, ME, and 2000 all include ICS software to use for this proxy.

What i had tried to explain in my last post was--your cable modem, is not really a modem at all, it is a router. That's the (1) router i was saying you had to have. Sorry if i made it confusing...

 

[msh111]

Gotcha, that was the next question, IS a cable modem a router. I'm curious (and excuse me if I sound duh here), but why must you have a cable modem specifically, and not just a router/switch?

 

[rootaxs]

A cable modem is basically a "bridge" for you to connect to your ISP's Network - pretty much what a real modem is should you be on a dial-up (a Cable modem is *not* a modem per se, but for simplicity sake it is called a modem - go figure)

A router isn't always needed unless you want it. A switch (or a hub) is needed to connect more than 2 computers efficiently.