Networking newbie needs help with cable modem and internet sharing

[TakedownCA]

Hi. I have a cable connection and want to share it with my sister's computer. I've heard the words 'hub', 'switcher', 'router', and 'crossover wire' before, but I don't really know enough about networking to have any idea which to use or how. What's the best/simplest/most economical solution if all I want to do is give her internet access. Unlike me, she's not a big downloader, so I also would like to minimize how much her connection slows down mine. Thanks in advance for any help.

Mahir

 

[willhart]

Hey, I don't know too much about cable modems, but I have a DSL connection. I know you can buy a new DSL modem, or some ISP give you thier own. Some of the DSL modems and Cable modems you can get have internet connection sharing. what you will need is to have a Ethernet card(network card) 10/100 is best, in both computers. Then you need a hub. Basically a switch and a hub are the same thing, but a switch is more expensive, will reduce network traffic, and many other things you don't need for a homenetwork. In that hub you get(i suggest a 5 or more port), you plug the cable modem into the port on the hub that says uplink. For both computers plug it into the other ports in the hub. If you have have Windows 98B, Windows Millenium, Or Windows 2000, they all have internet connection sharing(your going to have to ready about that if you want to set that up too complicated to explain). If you don't have one of those opperating systems their is software that you can get that will do the same thing. Just type in @ yahoo internet connection sharing.

Hope that helps

Sorry if it is not to clear, too much stuff to explain

 

[Quickfingerz]

if you are going to use internet connection sharing, you will need two NIC's in one computer and a crossover cable.

 

[TakedownCA]

and what exactly is a crossover cable?

 

[warlord]

a diagram and explanation are here: anand's networking article

 

[Wik]

You guys are going to confuse this guy to the point of no return. If you want the cheapest and easiest way put 2 NICs in your computer and one in your sisters. Leave the cable modem connected into your computer on the first NIC. You can them network to your sisters computer using a crossover cable (a cat5 cable with one end having a couple of wires swtiched allowing you to connect to another computer without the need for a hub or switch).
The method willhart trying to explain works only if your ISP can supply you with another IP address usaully at a cost of around $10 per month. You would not use ICS then as each computer would have its own IP (connection).
So if you have Windows98SE,ME, or 2K just put 2 NICs in your main computer and use ICS to share the net with the other one. Go here for lots of information Practically Newtworked

 

[Ladi]

Even easier: get a cable/dsl router for sub $150...even sub $100. Plug it in, plug puters in, set both computers to DHCP. Get your sister to chip in on it

~Ladi

 

[SoyBoy004]

router is the best idea. it also maintains the bandwidth.

 

[Jamey]

Maintains bandwidth? Do you mean you can actually set at what speed a certain port is connected at...not just 10mbs or 100mbs? Could you set a .1 or .2 mbs connection speed to the router on a second computer in order to keep the bandwidth to the internet almost entirely on a primary computer? It seems when I have both computers on, my cable modem connection slows down about 1/3 even while not using the other computer.

 

[TakedownCA]

Will using a crossover cable considerably slow down my main computer's internet speeds? All she does is websurf and email, so I don't want to lower my already slowing download speeds (damn shared cable access) just so she can send an email or two. Thanks.

Mahir

 

[TakedownCA]

bump. still wondering how much slowdown will be caused on my main pc by using a crossover cable instead of a nat router?

 

[bex0rs]

Well, in any situation, the bandwidth provided by your cable modem is going to be shared. Just because you have two computers hooked up to it (either via a residential gateway, 2 NIC's + crossover, or all 3 devices on a hub) does not mean that you will have more bandwidth available. That said, anything she does (send email, download web page, etc.) will need to be shared on the connection, thus slowing you down. Realize, though, that sending email / browsing the internet requires such a negligible amount of bursted bandwidth compared to what your cable modem is able to provide that you would hardly notice it if you were sitting there downloading megabytes of MP3z, pr0n, or whatever. So, in short, yes it will slow you down, but you are not going to notice it provided that all she is doing is casual use.

It seems like you have decided on the 2 NIC + crossover cable route. In the short term this is a good idea, but if you want to add more computers that have access to the internet, you will need to purchase a hub. Also, if your computer is the one connected to the cable modem, it must be on at all times if your sister is to get online. All of these problems are solved by purchasing a residential gateway / firewall / nat box (or whatever you wish to call it). The basic idea is that it allows all of your LAN connected computers to access the internet with no dependence on eachother while providing a certain level of security from online hax0rs. They are quite simple set up. If you do decide to go this route, get the SMC Barricade, by far the best one out there.

Hope that helped,

~bex0rs

 

[bex0rs]

BTW, I don't know if it's been explained yet, but a crossover cable is what you need to connect two computers directly or two hubs. A straight through cable is what connects a computer to a hub. The straight through cables are your more common variety cables, so if you go to the store to buy a crossover cable, make sure the package says something like CAT5 Crossover.

A hub is what you plug your computers into so that they are networked. Consumer level hubs usually have 5 or 8 ports, which means that all 5 or 8 computers plugged in will be able to talk to each other over the network. A hub reapeats all network traffic across all of its ports regardless of its destination.

A switch is basically a smart hub. It knows what port each computer is plugged into so it only reapeats network traffic to the specific port that the destination host (computer) is plugged into. In effect this reduces network traffic and allows the switch to have a higher aggregate bandwidth than the hub. Switches don't cost a whole lot more than hubs, so if you are in the market for one, get the switch.

A router, in the most basic of terms, is a piece of equipment that connect two networks. It knows about the computers on both networks and makes sure that packets destined from one network to the other are able to get there and back. "Router" has basically become a buzzword used by companies like Linksys, Dlink, and SMC to make their dsl/cable gateways sound more complicated than they really are.

Sorry to those of you out there who read this and didn't get anything out of it, but it might help some people, and it helped me avoid doing more CS homework.

Cheers,
~bex0rs

 

[TakedownCA]

Right on, anything to help you avoid cs. and after looking up a lot of info and reading a lot of advice, I think I'll go with the barricade or similar router. That way I have the most efficient use of bandwidth, I don't need to keep my pc on, and I can add another pc to the network later. Thanks for all the help guys.

Mahir

 

[TungFree]

furthermore because I will have 4 computers on my network I purchased the Baricade from SMC with 4 switched ports so it will never slow down between the local computers networking and will provide a separate IP in the LAN for each computer while only getting a single IP on the Cable and run at full duplex. so the ones suggesting the Barricade are right on as it is available for from 99$ I paid 116 shipped to Hawaii in 3 days.

Tungfree

 

[UKnowWhat]

OK I do not know how easy it is to set up Barricade but I have spent 2 days without any progress on this baby which I have bought on Monday. I have cable modem SB4100 leased from Charter Pipeline (ISP is Earthlink). This modem works fine w/ USB connection but once I connect the cable modem to Barricade thru WAN port, it just played dead. SMC tech support email is not that helpful because I have done what they have asked (well, if anyone takes the trouble to visit their website would know where to look for FAQ or even better search Deja News for help). The next thing is to call them but I have hang up twice because of excessive waiting time ... yes, it is excessive.
BTW, I noticed that the cloning MAC address is unexpected. Instead of cloning the modem MAC address, they clone the #1 NIC card's address in the network (and I did check the connection).
So am I dreaming or not when everybody said setting up the Barricade is a piece of cake ???

 

[looper]

bexOrs.........the router you mentioned is better than the Linksys ?

 

[bex0rs]

I've never actually used the linksys, but my experience with the SMC Barricade was so wonderful that it must be the best.

Seriously though, I actually did a lot of research before reccommending the SMC to my parents. They had the dlink before and it just wasn't cutting it becuase it was lacking in features, namely support for pptp passthrough. I believe that both the SMC and linksys do support pptp, but at the time the SMC was a bit cheaper, and it also had extra features like the built-in 4 port switch and print server.

I guess some people have their preference when it comes to these things, and I just like the SMC.

~bex0rs

 

[UKnowWhat]

Follow thru on my post.

Actually it is not the problem with the SMC Barricade. It is the problem with the SB4100 that you have to actually power down the cable modem box by removing the power cord from its socket to get rid of the previous configuration. The procedure is as followed for anyone who has problem with cable modem set-up.

1) Power down the SB4100
2) Power down the SMC Barricade
3) Power down your PC
4) Remove the cable modem power cord & wait for 5-10 sec before reconnecting
5) Power up the SB4100
6) Wait for Power on, Send, Rec & On Line lights to all on
7) Power up SMC Barricade
8) Power up your PC

Everything should be fine afterward. As a side note, my ZoneAlarm has not reported any suspicious attempt on my server since the date my SMC Barricade started running while previously, I have at least 10 attempts a day. Isn't that nice?