Need Help with a networking question

[supesman]

Ok, so I wanna set up my two computers so that I can share the cable modem, files and the printer. The question is if the client computer has the printer and the zip drive, will the host computer be able to access them or does the host need to have all the resources available so the client can access them. I haven't started, i'm going to go out today and buy a NIC and a crossover cable.

If somebody could direct me to a good site that I can easily set up the network that would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[Bleep]

Look here. Click here.>
Bleep

 

[PalmettoTiger]

You'll be much better off getting a hub/switch than a crossover cable. I used one and it fried both NICs. Considering how cheap hubs are, especially compared to buying the crossover cable and 2 NICs to replace the crispy ones, it's a deal. Better yet, if you can find a switch for within ten or twenty bucks of the hub you want, you give each machine a full 10/100 half-duplex/full-duplex connection, depending on what the cards are capable of. Using a hub, all devices under it slice the same bandwith "pie" - with a switch everybody gets their own pie.

 

[Shukla]

You're building/built an internal network (home net). If you're using Win98, ME, than make sure you have "file and print sharing" in the Network properties.

Once done, you can freely turn on sharing on the client machine. The host should be able to see and use Zip on the client (though I've never net shared a zip drive).

Also, you should be able to setup the host with a "network" printer on the client.

The only reason the "host", "client" thing is relavant here is the external connection to your cable modem. Really, if you setup the network through a hub, you could have the cable hook up to the hub, and then each machine branch from the hub. A router is safer (firewall protection) though. Just my $0.02.

Just as tiger said. I'd go with a hub vice Xver cables.

 

[JackMDS]

1. You can set the resource any way you want.

2. To share cable modem without HUB, you need two nic in one computer. One for the cable, and one to connect to the second computer (that means an additional IRQ). Then you need sharing software, and triple configuration. If you use the second computer, the first one must be on.

3. Get a HUB it only few $$$ more, and life will be simpler and better.

4. If you want, elegance and security get a Cable/DSL Router (a more expensive solution).

 

[TBP]

<< Really, if you setup the network through a hub, you could have the cable hook up to the hub, and then each machine branch from the hub. >>



Are you guys sure about the hub thing? I personally can't get this to work (cable modem - hub). For some reason my cable modem want to see a really computer, or at least a router which to some extend is a computer, too. I'm using @home.

 

[JackMDS]

Some Cable services use the serial number (mac) of your nic for authentication, if you change the connection from your computer to the hub, the cable system sees your hub mac!

 

[TBP]

hmmm...however I can connect different computers (different MAC addresses certainly) to the cable modem and work fine, so I'm sure the cable company does not use my NIC's MAC for authentication.

How do you guys do this?

Another thing I can't seem to understand is if you want both computers (connected to the hub) to be able to use the internet, you've got to have the cable company assign you two different IPs, right? Maybe that's the reason.

 

[oneye]

A note: The hub solution wont work to share the internet cable connection unless your paying for a second ip address. if you are, make sure the cable from the modem to the hub is a x-over cable, with patch from the cpu's to the hub.

If only 1 IP address is available, the hub solution will only allow one cpu to connect at a time, and with varied results (at least with my attempts)The best solution is 2 nic's in the host cpu and one in the client. A x-over between the 2 cpu's, or a hub with 2 patch cables to connect the internal LAN will both work, if no expansion to a third cpu is needed save some money and go with the x-over.

Of course my solution was to get a router like the (linksys 4port) so that the sharing is done off my cpu's (lag / fps freak I be) and I got the added bonus of full duplex speeds between cpu's.

 

[Shukla]

Oneeye is right. You'd need a router, like from Linksys. The cable modem, would then &quot;see&quot; a NIC.

Without a hub, install 2 cards in the &quot;host&quot; machine and then link up the home network.