Author Topic: Help with wired home LAN (Read 427 times)

Gunthr · « **on:** January 14, 2007, 11:02:16 AM »

i have cable DSL. my daughter needs connection sharing thru my computer, which has 2 ethernet cards. both computers run WindowsXP. i ran Cat 5 cable to her computer/ethernet card, and tried to set up connection sharing, but i seem to be having some kind of configuration problems. (the connection sharing wizard tells me the the two computers' cards are disconnected, even though they are connected via the cat 5 cable.) i've kind of given up on this method.

would it be easier if i bought a "hub" or a "switch"? Do i need a router?
i need to set this up right away. can anyone advise me on any gaming considerations and on what the best, fastest hardware would be to buy and set up a wired LAN? i'm not sure wether to go wired, or wireless. but I've tentively decided on a wired LAN because her room is near mine and mobility isn't important. i'm open to suggestions.

Wes14 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2007, 12:04:17 PM »

You shud be able to hook the 2 computers together and have the main(yours) have internet sharing on

Kev367th · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2007, 01:27:34 PM »

To directly connect two PC's together you neeed a CAT 5 crossover cable.
Much better using a switch.

Gunthr · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2007, 02:14:09 PM »

im having trouble using just the cat 5 cable and 3 ethernet cards. don't know what the problem is, but it isn't working.

what switch do you recommend? I'm clueless about this stuff.

thanks for any help.

Irwink! · « **Reply #4 on:** January 14, 2007, 03:47:01 PM »

If the two pc's in question are directly connected and can't "talk" to each other it is probably as stated previously because you are not using a crossover cable. It's wired differently than most cables you buy off the shelf at the local Circuit City or whatever. True, you can buy a switch but it costs a heckuva lot more than a cable. Even so, I'd buy a simple little Linksis hub before I bought a switch. A hub is just a dumb switch (and a lot cheaper). Whatever, the right cable is the cheapest option of all.

Kev367th · « **Reply #5 on:** January 14, 2007, 03:59:09 PM »

Actaully you are better off with a cheap switch.
Hubs split the bandwidth, switches don't.

Linksys. SMC, DLink etc all make nice cheap 4 port switches.

Kermit de frog · « **Reply #6 on:** January 14, 2007, 04:11:53 PM »

If you buy a switch and have the dsl connected to it, both computer will have their own IP address to the internet.

YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY EXTRA TO YOUR ISP if you go this way.

Router will solve this problem. Router takes up only 1 ip address and then assigns 2 private ip address for your home network. Your internet service provider will only see you as having 1 computer on their network. Every home router has a built-in switch.

If you go directly from one computer to another. Use the orange Cat 5 cable. This is a cross-over cable that is wired differently than a Cat5 blue cable. Then connect your DSL cable modem to one of the computers that has a 2nd network card. Then when you have the internet working on one computer and you have both computers on and they see each other on their network. Bridge the two networks together. Go to your help files in WinXP and the wizard will guide you through this.

Kev367th · « **Reply #7 on:** January 14, 2007, 04:26:33 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Kermit de frog
If you buy a switch and have the dsl connected to it, both computer will have their own IP address to the internet.

YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY EXTRA TO YOUR ISP if you go this way.

Router will solve this problem. Router takes up only 1 ip address and then assigns 2 private ip address for your home network. Your internet service provider will only see you as having 1 computer on their network. Every home router has a built-in switch.

If you go directly from one computer to another. Use the orange Cat 5 cable. This is a cross-over cable that is wired differently than a Cat5 blue cable. Then connect your DSL cable modem to one of the computers that has a 2nd network card. Then when you have the internet working on one computer and you have both computers on and they see each other on their network. Bridge the two networks together. Go to your help files in WinXP and the wizard will guide you through this.

Yup.

Rather than use Internet Connection Sharing which requires one PC to be on for others to access the Internet, grab a Router.
You set the Router up to connect you to the Internet, and give all your PCs Private IP Address.
Can even let the Router hand out DHCP IP adrresses to your PCs if your not comfortable setting them manually.

Same applies for makes as switches, i.e. DLink, SMC, Linksys all make nice cheap home routers ($30 - $40).

Gunthr · « **Reply #8 on:** January 14, 2007, 04:34:29 PM »

thank you all. i apologise for my ignorance. is it possible that my Ativa 25 ft CAT5e Networking Cable is not a "crossover" cable?

Kev367th · « **Reply #9 on:** January 14, 2007, 04:42:51 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Gunthr
thank you all. i apologise for my ignorance. is it possible that my Ativa 25 ft CAT5e Networking Cable is not a "crossover" cable?

Not only possible, it's more than likely its a standard "straight through" cable.
Crossovers are wired slightly differently.

In all honesty go with a router, many advantages -
1) It becomes your 'gateway' to the Internet
2) Basic built in hardware firewall
3) No need for any specific PC to be on for others to get to the Internet.
4) NAT - which hides your IP's used on the home network from the Internet.
5) DHCP - it can hand out IP addresses to your home network PCs.

F4J · « **Reply #10 on:** January 14, 2007, 05:02:40 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Kev367th
Not only possible, it's more than likely its a standard "straight through" cable.
Crossovers are wired slightly differently.

In all honesty go with a router, many advantages -
1) It becomes your 'gateway' to the Internet
2) Basic built in hardware firewall
3) No need for any specific PC to be on for others to get to the Internet.
4) NAT - which hides your IP's used on the home network from the Internet.
5) DHCP - it can hand out IP addresses to your home network PCs.

This is the best solution. A Crossover Cat 5 cable has the Transmit and Receive reversed on one end. A straight thru cable has both ends wired the same. A straight through cable has the two computers talking Transmit to Transmit and Receive to Receive which means, they aren't really able to talk. A crossover has the Transmit on one computer talking to Receive on the other.

The Router route is definitely a better way to go for the reasons that Kev lists.

Gunthr · « **Reply #11 on:** January 14, 2007, 05:20:54 PM »

thanks! i'll take y'alls advice on the router too. tell me, what should i look for in choosing a router? is there one that is faster than the others? do i need a "switch" too?

i'd love it if somebody could tell me - "here is a list of what you need to go out and buy."

Wes14 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 14, 2007, 05:39:15 PM »

i heard that linksys routers r pretty darn good (might get one soon so i can have my psp online:aok )

Kev367th · « **Reply #13 on:** January 14, 2007, 05:43:27 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Gunthr
thanks! i'll take y'alls advice on the router too. tell me, what should i look for in choosing a router? is there one that is faster than the others? do i need a "switch" too?

i'd love it if somebody could tell me - "here is a list of what you need to go out and buy."

Unless you are going to link more than 4 PCs together, you only need a standard home router. Basic ones come with 4 ports.

Not much to choose between the home routers.
I prefer Linksys or SMC, had problems in the past with DLink ones.

Auger · « **Reply #14 on:** January 14, 2007, 09:29:20 PM »

It's easy to tell if a network cable is a crossover. Look at the ends, with the gold contacts facing you. If the wire colors have the same pattern on both ends, it is not a crossover.

And the folks that recommended a router are spot on. It allows anyone in the house to get on the Internet without having to leave one PC on all the time, plus it has a firewall that will keep out all the probes and stray attacks. They used to be very cheap until they started putting wireless connections in them, but a good one will only run $40-$50.