Networking help needed...

[Chuffmaster2k]

I am fairly new to networking stuff and need a little help...

I setup two computers for my parnets earlier this year and installed 98SE. Right now they have a cable modem and are using a 4 port 10/100 hub to share the internet access. I have been reading a little bit about routers and have a few questions.

If I understand this correctly, the router takes the information from the cable modem and splits it into multiple IP addresses. With a router will they still need a hub?

If I were to buy them a router, they would not have to pay for another IP address like they are having to do now and they would have a hardware firewall?

Are my assumpations correct? If there is anything else you think I should know please post it here. Thanks.

 

[LordSandMan]

Your assumptions are correct for the most part. A router actually hides another network of IP addresses behind the router. The addresses you should probably use is 192.168.0.x. Where x would be any number between 1 and 255. You can get a personal router fairly cheap, I think they're around $200. I don't have time to explain more right now, but if you need more help let me or someone else on the forum know.

 

[bigshooter]

this belongs in the networking forum.

 

[Howard]

I think all routers have switches built in. Switches are hubs that send incoming data to only the computer that requested it, not to all networked computers. This means that switches are faster than hubs.

I'm not sure that all routers have a built-in firewall though.

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

I have done a search on Pricewatch and there are several routers that are under $100. Are there any brands that someone recommends over some others?

Thanks for the help everyone. I know I should have put this in the networking forum, but this forum recieves a lot more traffic.

Some of the cheaper ones are D-Link and Linksys. I am using Linksys lan cards and a linksys hub at their house right now. Should I stick with a Linksys router or is D-Link a good one also. Again, thanks for the replies...

There is also one from Addtron for $95 + shipping that has "IP Sharing with 4 port -10/100Mbps Switch, Internet Access router w/ NAT Firewall"

Anyone know anything about this? Most others I have seen do not include the switch. They are only one port.

 

[LordSandMan]

I've heard good things about both d-link and linksys. Either one should serve your purpose fine.

 

[Eug]

Since you already have a hub, you only need a 1-port router. The Linksys is about $100. However, if you want a 5-port router, it's about $150.

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

Thanks for all the replies... I'll get one soon.

 

[cavingjan]

You can get routers with built in switches. You can also get just plain routers that plug into the uplink port of a hub/switch. The choice is yours. I would consider getting one with the built in switch. The cost difference makes it fairly worthwhile. It'll free up that hub for another place. Also saves you another plug into the wall or powerstrip. It would also provide some more expandability for later. But its your choice.
Regarding what brands are good. Linksys has a nice easy to configure router that does a good job. If you want to tweak the router more, I suggest a Netgear one but be aware its not a beginner friendly with the setup menus. The SMC Barricade also provide a serial port for a modem if one is neccesary for later (AKA they move and won't have cable or DSL and are now back to dialup) and includes a parallel port for a network printer. I am not familiar with the DLink router.