quick networking question (easy one)

ok, i read the sticky, i just want to make sure i have this right:

basically, my dad wants me to hook all his office computers to his cable internet connection. I will need the following: 1 router, (he has a modem) CAT5 cable, and NIC cards for all the comps.

from what i understand, i don't need to call the ISP because the router sets LAN IP's for the comps, meaning the ISP doesn't have to assign multiple IP's to the same connection......

Can you just verify this for me so when I go to set it up i don't look like a total n00b.....

I've set up game LAN's before with no problem, so i figure I can do this, i just want to make sure i understand it properly.

Sounds like you got it right. If you want to know more about configuring it go to the manufacturer orf the routers website and download the manual to learn how to set it up. Good luck!!!

My ladies dad got roadrunner yesterday, being the dork that I am I told him that I could connect all of the PC's in their house to the cable modem. It is a MOTOROLA SB4100, what else would I need to connect it to 4 other PC's.

I have a small check list, what am I missing?

Motorola SB4100

Some Kind of Hub/Router [what's the difference?]

Wire [what kind?]

Network cards [good cheap ones?]

A couple of bottles of Chimay [my pay]

THANKS!

Krome said:

My ladies dad got roadrunner yesterday, being the dork that I am I told him that I could connect all of the PC's in their house to the cable modem. It is a MOTOROLA SB4100, what else would I need to connect it to 4 other PC's.

I have a small check list, what am I missing?

Motorola SB4100

Some Kind of Hub/Router [what's the difference?]

Wire [what kind?]

Network cards [good cheap ones?]

A couple of bottles of Chimay [my pay]

THANKS!

Click to expand...

We did this at school in my apartment. All you need to do is take the output from the cable modem and run to preferably a router. The difference between a router and a hub is that a router is kind of a 'smart' hub, being that it doesn't just take the bandwidth and divide it evenly (blindly) to each port as a hub does. A router looks at which computer is demanding bandwidth at a given time, and supplies that computer with the most bandwidth. When the other computers need bandwidth it divides up the bandwidth in a way where both computers have maximum available bandwidth. I know that was the shi**iest explanation ever...basically routers just maximize the available bandwidth to suit the needs of all the systems attached.

As for the networking part...most cable modem providers use DHCP for their connection protocol. All you would have to do, like I said above is plug the output from the cable (probably cat 5, RJ-45 connectors I believe) into the input of the router. And then run individual cat 5 cables (which is your standard ethernet cable) from the router to each system. Just make sure he has TCP/IP set up under the protocols and then make sure DHCP is configured in the properties menu of the TCP/IP (I assume he's using windows). This is different for every cable modem provider though, as road runner might not use DHCP (which will find your IP for you automatically).

I'm sorry how this post seems like it is just a lot of rambling (5 and 1/2 hours sleep just doesn't cut it for me). I'll try to look later on in the day and see if I can make it sound nicer.

Hope this helps

p.s. If anyone else sees anything wrong with what I've said...feel free to correct me

What brand/type of Router do I look for? [cheap/good]

All the PC's have Windows 98 SE.

How can I find out if Roadrunner has DHCP? [I know the cable modem is a Motorola SB4100]

Thanks!

h20link, you've got everything you need (unless you're making your own cat5 cable, then you need crimpers and ends, too). if you've set up a LAN network before, you most likely wont have any problems doing this.

the difference between a hub/switch and a router:

hub/switch: basically connects computers together, lets them share info. switches are better, but for home use hubs will work.

router: a router acts like a computer (firewall) by taking the ip address that the cable/dsl company assigned and using it for itself (the cable company sees one computer hooked up, which is actually the router). the router then assigns each computer on the network an ip address (the cable company doesn't see these addresses) and distributes the info to whichever computer (with the fake ip addresses) needs it.

with a router, you only need to purchase one ip address form your ISP. it will then assign internal ip addresses to all computers, while it acts as the "computer" online.

with a hub, you would need to purchase additional ip licences from your cable company, because the hub only connects the computers, it doesn't actually use & distribute ip addresses.

also note: any router you see that has more than 1 port is also a switch or hub. for example, the linksys 4 port router is a router that contains a 4 port switch inside. that makes it possible to use one piece of equipment rather than using a router hooked up to a hub.

krome:
i have found linksys routers to work great and not give me any problems so far (except for the 2 lightning strikes that hit our building and fried our entire network). i have had and worked with several, and they are quite easy to setup/maintain.

also, which OS you use wont effect the router. all that you have to do is make sure they all use the same protocol (tcp/ip) and you can hook up any platform to the internet and share files (provided your OS can read the other computer's OS). here at my work i currently have 5 win2k, 8 win9x, 2 macOS, and one imac which i dont know if that uses macOS or what. they all share the same internet connection via the one router.

roadrunner will work fine with a router, that's what i use at home and for business.

good luck!

Krome said:

I have a small check list, what am I missing?

Motorola SB4100

Some Kind of Hub/Router [what's the difference?]

Wire [what kind?]

Network cards [good cheap ones?]

A couple of bottles of Chimay [my pay]

THANKS!

Click to expand...

cable modem= your motorola

router= linksys 4 port (or 8 port if you need)

wire= cat5 cable (RJ45 ends)

network cards= Linksys 10/100 card for like 15 bucks at newegg (that's what i've used for all my computers i've built for home and work)

remember to get straight through cable instead of the cross-over kind.

Dlink or SMC also make good routers.. and they're usually cheaper.

where can I get RJ45 ends? [is there another name for these connections?]

I think they're called PLUGS..
if you want it quickly, lowe's or home depot usually have some.

Krome said:

where can I get RJ45 ends? [is there another name for these connections?]

Click to expand...

ditto on what was just said: home depo, radio shack, or any place that would carry wireing or electronics.

btw, you only need the ends if you are going to make your own cables (buy a roll of cable, and ends and crimp the ends on). it's worth it if you are going to make a lot of cable, but if its just for a couple wires, i'd recommend just buying the cables pre-made.

here's what I'm thinking for the [4 PC] setup...

1. SMC 7004ABR [LinkSysBEFSR41 is the other one I'm looking at]

2. 100 ft. Cat5 cable

3. 3 NIC cards [I don't know if I need 10 or 10/100?]

4. Motorola SB4100 Cable Modem [we already have it]

5. Some kind of cat5 tool [for attatching the ends]

6. A small bulk [10?] RJ45 ends

Any comments/suggestions on my selections, I have till the next week to make all my choices... Thanks

since 10/100 cards are so cheap, i'd get the 10/100. that means the megabits per second they can transfer.

your cable modem (most likely) can only transfer 5 or so megabits a second. however, when you connect between computers to share files and whatnot, they would benefit from the faster NIC's.

other than that, looks good.

ahh... also, they're kinda expensive, but it's a life saver to have a cable tester when you make your own cables. mine cost me around 60 bucks, i think. but it lets you know if the cable is good, or whether you got a miswire, or crossed wires, etc.

dunno if it's worth it to you, since you (sound like) are only going to do 5 cables.

also: in case you need the wire layout (with clip down, left to right):

1) white/orange
2) orange/white
3) white/green
4) blue/white
5) white/blue
6) green/white
7) white/brown
8) brown/white

both ends should be the same, this is the standard layout for cat5 cable (helps if you ever have to fix the end to a premade cable to know the proper order). so the way it works (layed out flat), the wires actually REVERSE during the process... that is why you need a hub or router.

if you ever wanted to make a crossover cable (doesn't make sense why they call it this, since normal cables are really the crossovers?!?), you would make one end normally, then make the other end go from right to left. the crossover cable would allow you to directly connect 2 computers without a hub.

SteenkyBastage said:

your cable modem (most likely) can only transfer 5 or so megabits a second. however, when you connect between computers to share files and whatnot, they would benefit from the faster NIC's.

Click to expand...

How exactly do I go about making all the PC's able to swap files/share data?

hey krome,

it's gonna depend on your OS, and whether you want just one to be the main server, or if you just want to share files on each computer.

after reading your post earlier, you said all are win9x. the way you share files on win9x is to first, hook them all up to the router (this not only connects them to the internet, but due to the built in hub/switch, will connect them to each other.

once they're all connected (and you can test to make sure by seeing if they all can access the internet), you would simply set up file sharing on each computer (that you want to share it's files).

i'm going off the top of my head, cause i am on a win2k machine right now and cant look at the specifics... someone plz correct me if i'm making a mistake:

to set up sharing, control panel-> network -> (somewhere in the network area you should find this) check the box that says "i want to be able to share files w/ other comptuers" (or something like that).

once you have set up sharing, you need to specify the folder(s) and/or drive(s):

rigt click on the folder/drive you want to share info from -> sharing -> check the box that says "shared as" or something along those lines -> click ok.

if you did this properly, the folder/drive should now have a hand underneath it (this indicates that it is a shared folder/drive). once it has been shared, it and anything inside it (including folders inside and what they contain) will be accessible to your other computers.

to get files on another computer that has shared something:

open up your "network neighborhood" browse to the appropriately named computer, and open that up, and you should see the folder(s) and/or drive(s) that are shared by that computer.

final note: when you set up the network (software) you will need to make sure they all are in the same workgroup (such as "ABC"). also, they will each need a different name for the computer that will let you identify easily which is which (such as P3-450).

feel free to ask away if there's anything i left out (or didn't explain clear enough).

good luck!

I probably will upgrade all the OS's to Win2K Pro, but my girls bro wants to keep Win98SE...is he wrong?

a note on the cat5 and RJ45 ends: You really should use a crimp tool to attach the ends, but if you don't have one, and only have a few cables to make, and want to save some cash, it is possible to push down the pins on the RJ45 ends with a small screwdriver, just make sure each one makes contact with each wire, i did this with the few cables i made for myself, and it worked fine on the first try. Again the correct way is to use a crimp tool made for the RJ45, but it can be done without one.

what is the cost of a crimper/tool for these connections, are they available @ Radio Shack?

RadioShack probably has them, but you might have to make catalog order. A better place to look would be Lowe's or Home Depot. Prices as i remember are between $15 and $40 depending on quality/brandname ect.

Krome said:

I probably will upgrade all the OS's to Win2K Pro, but my girls bro wants to keep Win98SE...is he wrong?

Click to expand...

wrong? well... it doesn't function as stable as win2k, but it is obviously working for him, so not necessarily wrong. also, win2k and win9x will all co-exist together on the same network. the only thing that would make them not work is that if you use the NTFS (as opposed to FAT32) file system on the 2k machine, the win9x machines will not be able to read files off that particular partition. but any FAT32 partitions on the win2k machine will work out the same as a win9x machine's FAT32 partition.