what to get..

[esc]

i am thinking of netwroking 3 computers for network gaming and for sharing one internet account at the same time. what hardware do i need to have to do this?

 

[Nutz]

You'll need a small hub or switch and NICs for each of the three PCs. You can use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to share your connection. Its included in Win98SE and up. The built-in help system in Windows has all the info you should need on it. If you have a broadband connection, Linksys, Netgear, etc. make "broadband routers" with a built in hub or switch. Those allow you to share the connection and get your PCs networked all in one shot.

 

[esc]

thanks for the help.

 

[esc]

oh wait, one more thing...can i just get a router and use it for ICS so i won't have to upgrade my hub if i switch to a broadband connection?

 

[Nutz]

AFAIK, you may be able to do it like that. However, you will need to do some tinkering to make it work. The broadband routers w/built in hubs & switch don't support dialup. In theory you'd use the broadband router just for its builtin hub/switch and use ICS on the machine with the modem. Then just point all your other machines towards it as the gateway.

 

[RagManX]

<< AFAIK, you may be able to do it like that. However, you will need to do some tinkering to make it work. The broadband routers w/built in hubs & switch don't support dialup. In theory you'd use the broadband router just for its builtin hub/switch and use ICS on the machine with the modem. Then just point all your other machines towards it as the gateway. >>


Not entirely true. I haven't tried the feature to see how well it works, but my SMC 7004BR router has dial-up capabilities as well as a print server and 4 switched 10/100 ports built-in.

RagManX

 

[JackMDS]

Basic Options for Internet Connection Sharing

Hubs, routers, switches, DSL, LANs, WANs...?

Comparing Cable/DSL Routers. (Link of Courtesy of: TallGeese ).