Home network: buying an ISP

I have just read the newbie guide to networking stick and all was good i understood it and feel confident about setting up a network, aprt from one thing

Problem

I am going to be moving into my dads house for a couple of months before i go to uni.

He currently with NTL i think it cable and through a set topbox,

The questions are, how do i know how many IPS address NTL gave him and how do i get another for my PC i would prefer to rent on for 3 months,

Also would i just unplug the cable out of My dads Pc and in to the switch.

cable usually only comes with 1 ip. all you need is a router. you plug the cable modem directly into the router. setup dhcp and hook your computers to the router. no need for seperate ip's from the ISP. the router will create internal network IP's and both comps will share the external cable IP

if you dont feel like buying a router, a spare computer can be easily made into an excellent router running linux, or if you dont feel like getting your hands too dirty, you can use whichever machine that is connected to the cable modem as the router using ICS, which comes with windows. if you wish to pursue any of these routes, i can walk you through it.

All i really need is 2 computer that can surf the net at the same at without having to have both computer switch on.

Thanks for the help

I would suggest a router as well - they aren't too expensive and are probably the best option for your setup. I got a 4 port switch with integrated router for about £30 from www.ebuyer.com.

You plug the cable modem into your router, and the pcs/set top box into your router as well. The modem goes into the WAN port and the PCs into the LAN ports.

Using the web based interface (I just set my browser to 192.168.0.1) you can get the router to clone the box's MAC address and set up the DHCP server.

Basically the router pretends that it has the same mac address as the set top box, gets an IP and then routes all internet traffic.

I use Telewest Cable here (Im near Livingston) and you have to register the MAC address of each pc you want to use with the cable. You also only get one IP address.

I have set my router to clone my PCs mac address - and currently 4 PCs are sharing the net connection with no problems.

One quick question though: do you have a seperate cable modem or does the co-ax cable plug straight into the set top box?

One quick question though: do you have a seperate cable modem or does the co-ax cable plug straight into the set top box?

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I just got to my dads now, it looks like the modem is in the set top box.

TO be honest i dont really have a clue to half the stuff u on about like regestering the ISP ( dont have a clue) the physical setting up i could do but when it come to the software IP and stuff setting up i dont have a clue.

well you have a couple of cheap options

1 is get a router, comes with a set-up cd and is easy to hook both pc's upto the internet

2 is call up your isp and tell them you want a second ip address and you will probably have to pay something like $10 extra a month for this, they should walk you thru the easy process of setting this up

so you either spend @$10 a month (time X months) for a second ip or just spend @$50 for a good router and be done with it

you probably have a settop motorola cable box with the modem built in. I had one of those but i never did hook itup.