Helpful tips for home networking

rugby · 09-13-01, 03:37 PM

I'm writing this as a sort of mini-guide to help people out here in the Internet/Networking forum.

I have seen lots of posts regarding sharing Internet connections in their home. I have written this up to help people so they don't have to keep asking the same questions as people have before them. Don't fret, we've all been newbies before so it's no biggie.

Now, you've got your connection, whether it's cable or DSL or whatever. There are some differences you should note.

Cable is a shared medium, meaning you share your connection with your neighbors. You are basically one port of a switch so ANY traffic, even to another computer in your home that has another IP address, goes to your cable ISP and back before going to your other computer.

DSL is not a shared medium. You DSL modem is a router that works entirely different than a cable modem. If you have multiple IP address from your DSL provider the modem will route between your computers more efficiently and you will have pretty good speed.

Commercial routers- Linksys, D-link, SMC these are a few of the companies out there making commercial routers/switches. I personally have a D-link but I bought it at a time when prices were MUCH higher than they are now and this one was cheaper than the rest. I would recommend any one of the products by these companies.

The router's job is to route traffic. Duh, right? Anyways, when you put your router between your computer(s) and the modem it can do many useful things. Here are some of them

NAT(Network Address Translation)-basically taking the IP address your cable/dsl modem gives out and translating it to private addresses so you can hook up multiple computers and share an address. This is very useful for home networks and we even use this technology at my school district here. Now, the IP address your computer is using now is what's known as a private address. We'll get to that later.

DHCP server-You can have your router give out IP addresses to computers that are hooked up to it and then booted up. Very handy for quick setup although I am a fan of static addressing in the long run, and you'll see why in a second.

DMZ zone-This enables your router to forward any and all traffic to a single IP address. This requires static addressing so you're not forwarding to an invalid IP address.

Port mapping-This is like a DMZ zone but more controlled. You can enable only certain ports (ftp, http, telnet, SSH) to certain IP addresses inside your network. Again, static addressing is needed so as to not forward traffic to computers that are not there.

Setup on these routers is fairly straight forward. You take the cable provided by the router (usually in the box) and plug the router into the LAN port on your cable/dsl modem. You then plug straight-through ethernet (regular old cat-5) cable from the computers to the switch ports on the router. Reboot or startup the cable/dsl modem, start up the router, start up the computers and you should be good to go.

This is the easiest way to share a home network connection IMO. Sure you can set up a windows PC with ICS installed and configured to be a mini-router. You can also set up your own router using Linux, but you have to keep these computers on 24/7 and if you need for any reason to shut them down or restart then the rest of your computers will lose their connections to the Internet.

I hope I’ve made home networking a bit easier and haven’t overwhelmed anyone here. If you have any further questions feel free to post here or PM me. Thanks.

RED Hot Machine · 09-13-01, 03:42 PM

Good Guide, I wonder if one off the Mod's could make it a sticky

Newbie_Doo · 09-13-01, 09:40 PM

Done. Happy to oblige.

BTW, I have the Netgear router (RT314) and it works fine too.

Anthony

hkgonra · 09-13-01, 10:05 PM

I'm assuming since the netgear hub is a four-port, that your Internet connection takes a port and you can hook three pc's up to it?

rugby · 09-14-01, 08:31 AM

Nope. when it says it has a 4-port switch it means you can hook up 4 devices to it and still have your wan port.

!-=sky=-! · 09-14-01, 10:15 PM

wow
this is a great guide
explains bacially everything
thx

UnseenMenace · 09-17-01, 07:44 AM

I have the Netgear RO318 and would reccomend it.. ( 8 Port )

Amedeo602 · 09-17-01, 11:43 AM

methinks this should be in the networking FAQ

great newbie guide rugby

Zeke009 · 09-17-01, 12:35 PM

I would never use or recommend using M$ Internet Connection Sharing, I had it installed and it died every 2 weeks. All I had to do was look at my calendar next to my desk at home and I knew that ICS was going down on what day and about what time. I could never figure that out.... it was every 2 weeks on the button.

Then I picked up a LinkSys 5 port 10/100 hub and plugged the cable modem in the uplink and used ports 2 and 4 for my 2 machines. Cable company never caught the 2nd ip address... they had other issues to deal with. It seemed only a small portion of their country wide service was reliable... and I was in it.

Never have had a problem with hackers, trojans, or worms. Both machines have some sort of security installed. As always, somewhere somehow someone will get hit with one of the above, just make sure you have your AV always up to date!

JetMech · 09-22-01, 12:49 PM

I came here looking for a way to rig my PCs so they can up and download fold without me and BAM! Thanks Rugby. Good lookin out.

Ottoman · 10-14-01, 10:00 PM

I've got Rogers@home cable service (canada)

and they have been giving me hell, caused so much trouble...

hkgonra · 10-14-01, 10:28 PM

I got the linksys BEFSR41. I am very pleased with it.

BTW, since I hooked it up I haven't been getting any alerts on my zonealarm. I used to get hit 30-40 times a day, I guess the router catches it all now.

Joeteck · 10-15-01, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hkgonra
I got the linksys BEFSR41. I am very pleased with it.

BTW, since I hooked it up I haven't been getting any alerts on my zonealarm. I used to get hit 30-40 times a day, I guess the router catches it all now.

Your Cable/DSL router acts as a firewall in a matter of speaking. Your internal addresses are non-routable and can not be reached unless open up a port with an intenal IP address.

I use the 4-port Asante Cable/DSL router. And I love it.

The linksys by default allows anyone, even outside people to attach & administer the router. If you have not done so already, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD. I've already connected to a few Linksys routers out there that still have the default username & password. Shame on you!

The info about Cable vs DSL is incorrect. What I think he ment to say was ADSL. but I would still go with Cable. Because its still faster even though it is shared.

There are MANY types of DSL out there. The most common is ADSL which has a downsteam of 256kbps to 640Kbps. the upsteam is 90kbps. Now, how can you compare this to cable is beyond me. Cable (Optimum online in NY) is up to 40Mbit download and up to 1Mbit upload. Cable solution is 29.95 a month (if you have cable to the house) if not it's 39.95 a month, and ADSL is 39.95 a month. Now which would you go?

- Joeteck

hkgonra · 10-15-01, 05:46 PM

I have cable (roadrunner) and I love it , the slowest speed I have ever seen when I test bandwidth is 1928 that rocks!!!!!

However the pricing is higher, it is 45.99 a month if you have cable $60 if you don't, DSL around here is $45.

Speed_Freak · 10-19-01, 07:37 PM

1928? thats awesome

hkgonra · 10-19-01, 09:00 PM

I know , I love it, and that is the slowest I've seen.

I have seen my download ticker (I'm not sure what you call it) go above 1mb per second. Granted it is usually in the 150 -250 range , but when it gets above 1mb it REALYY ROCKS!!!!!!

Oni · 11-05-01, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ottoman
I've got Rogers@home cable service (canada)

and they have been giving me hell, caused so much trouble...

I have Cogeco@Home (Canada). I love it. I havn't had ANY problems w/ it! My modem goes down now and then, but its very brief when that happens, and it only happens rarely.

jeff_harrison_344 · 12-10-01, 05:13 PM

great guide...what about wireless networking?

rugby · 12-10-01, 10:09 PM

Wireless networking?

802.11b=11mb/sec
802.11a=54mb/sec - not compatible with 802.11b
802.11g (coming soon)54mb/sec - backward compatible with 802.11b

For internet wireless rocks, unless you've got faster than an 11mb/sec connection.

For transferring files it sucks. I take my laptop off wireless at work when transferring large amounts of data because it's so slow compared to 100mb switches.

Gandalf · 12-14-01, 08:20 PM

Thankyou for the guide!
This answered many of my questions!

09-13-01, 03:37 PM	Thread Starter #1
rugby King of Cats Senior Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chicago, IL	Helpful tips for home networking I'm writing this as a sort of mini-guide to help people out here in the Internet/Networking forum. I have seen lots of posts regarding sharing Internet connections in their home. I have written this up to help people so they don't have to keep asking the same questions as people have before them. Don't fret, we've all been newbies before so it's no biggie. Now, you've got your connection, whether it's cable or DSL or whatever. There are some differences you should note. Cable is a shared medium, meaning you share your connection with your neighbors. You are basically one port of a switch so ANY traffic, even to another computer in your home that has another IP address, goes to your cable ISP and back before going to your other computer. DSL is not a shared medium. You DSL modem is a router that works entirely different than a cable modem. If you have multiple IP address from your DSL provider the modem will route between your computers more efficiently and you will have pretty good speed. Commercial routers- Linksys, D-link, SMC these are a few of the companies out there making commercial routers/switches. I personally have a D-link but I bought it at a time when prices were MUCH higher than they are now and this one was cheaper than the rest. I would recommend any one of the products by these companies. The router's job is to route traffic. Duh, right? Anyways, when you put your router between your computer(s) and the modem it can do many useful things. Here are some of them NAT(Network Address Translation)-basically taking the IP address your cable/dsl modem gives out and translating it to private addresses so you can hook up multiple computers and share an address. This is very useful for home networks and we even use this technology at my school district here. Now, the IP address your computer is using now is what's known as a private address. We'll get to that later. DHCP server-You can have your router give out IP addresses to computers that are hooked up to it and then booted up. Very handy for quick setup although I am a fan of static addressing in the long run, and you'll see why in a second. DMZ zone-This enables your router to forward any and all traffic to a single IP address. This requires static addressing so you're not forwarding to an invalid IP address. Port mapping-This is like a DMZ zone but more controlled. You can enable only certain ports (ftp, http, telnet, SSH) to certain IP addresses inside your network. Again, static addressing is needed so as to not forward traffic to computers that are not there. Setup on these routers is fairly straight forward. You take the cable provided by the router (usually in the box) and plug the router into the LAN port on your cable/dsl modem. You then plug straight-through ethernet (regular old cat-5) cable from the computers to the switch ports on the router. Reboot or startup the cable/dsl modem, start up the router, start up the computers and you should be good to go. This is the easiest way to share a home network connection IMO. Sure you can set up a windows PC with ICS installed and configured to be a mini-router. You can also set up your own router using Linux, but you have to keep these computers on 24/7 and if you need for any reason to shut them down or restart then the rest of your computers will lose their connections to the Internet. I hope I’ve made home networking a bit easier and haven’t overwhelmed anyone here. If you have any further questions feel free to post here or PM me. Thanks.

09-13-01, 03:42 PM	#2
RED Hot Machine Inactive Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: London, England.	Good Guide, I wonder if one off the Mod's could make it a sticky __________________ You only live once, look out for those true friends and never forget them EVER!!

09-13-01, 09:40 PM	#3
Newbie_Doo Admin Parent Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Stafford, Virginia USA	Done. Happy to oblige. BTW, I have the Netgear router (RT314) and it works fine too. Anthony __________________ "Remember, the Aperture Science 'Bring your daughter to work' day is the perfect time to have her tested." Welcome to my sandbox. Sandbox Rules: 1) Play nicely. 2) Don't throw sand. 3) Share your toys. 4) Go inside to use the potty. newbius.blogspot.com

09-13-01, 10:05 PM	#4
hkgonra Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: West TN.	I'm assuming since the netgear hub is a four-port, that your Internet connection takes a port and you can hook three pc's up to it? __________________ "I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin Franklin My Heatware

09-17-01, 07:44 AM	#7
UnseenMenace UnseenModerator Join Date: Apr 2001	I have the Netgear RO318 and would reccomend it.. ( 8 Port ) __________________ one M15x is never enough

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09-14-01, 08:31 AM	Thread Starter #5
rugby King of Cats Senior Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chicago, IL	Nope. when it says it has a 4-port switch it means you can hook up 4 devices to it and still have your wan port.

09-14-01, 10:15 PM	#6
!-=sky=-! Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hong Kong	wow this is a great guide explains bacially everything thx

09-17-01, 11:43 AM	#8
Amedeo602 Member Join Date: Jul 2001	methinks this should be in the networking FAQ great newbie guide rugby

09-17-01, 12:35 PM	#9
Zeke009 Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Minnesota	I would never use or recommend using M$ Internet Connection Sharing, I had it installed and it died every 2 weeks. All I had to do was look at my calendar next to my desk at home and I knew that ICS was going down on what day and about what time. I could never figure that out.... it was every 2 weeks on the button. Then I picked up a LinkSys 5 port 10/100 hub and plugged the cable modem in the uplink and used ports 2 and 4 for my 2 machines. Cable company never caught the 2nd ip address... they had other issues to deal with. It seemed only a small portion of their country wide service was reliable... and I was in it. Never have had a problem with hackers, trojans, or worms. Both machines have some sort of security installed. As always, somewhere somehow someone will get hit with one of the above, just make sure you have your AV always up to date! __________________ -=The Nightmare Build=- CPU: Intel Core i7 3820 - Noctua NH-U12P Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 RAM: Mushkin DDR3-1600 4 x 4GB for 16GB GPU: EVGA GTX470 Audio: CL X-Fi Titanium PCIE HDD: Mushkin Chronos SATAIII 120GB SSD - WD 500GB Black SATA Optical: LiteOn DVDRW & Blu-Ray PSU: Corsair 850W Case: CoolerMaster CM690 II OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 Default DX79TO BIOS that won't recognize the i7-3820 and shuts off after 5 seconds. I had 2 bad i7-3820's in a row!

09-22-01, 12:49 PM	#10
JetMech Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Folding 24/7 in Newport News, Va. Since Sept. 2001	I came here looking for a way to rig my PCs so they can up and download fold without me and BAM! Thanks Rugby. Good lookin out. __________________ Fold Smart E6600@2.4x2 Proud member of Folding@Home Team #32--Folding 24/7 Avatar by : IMOG "Greater love hath no man than to give up his puter(s) for science." Last edited by JetMech; 10-15-01 at 07:27 AM.

10-14-01, 10:00 PM	#11
Ottoman Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bahrain	I've got Rogers@home cable service (canada) and they have been giving me hell, caused so much trouble... __________________ 00 Titanium silver BMW M5 (daily beater) Series 4 88 mazda rx7 Turbo 2 (drag car) Series 5 91 Mazda RX7 Turbo 2 (track/drift car) series 6 93 Mazda Rx7 Twin Turbo (show/weekend car) New PC in the works

10-14-01, 10:28 PM	#12
hkgonra Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: West TN.	I got the linksys BEFSR41. I am very pleased with it. BTW, since I hooked it up I haven't been getting any alerts on my zonealarm. I used to get hit 30-40 times a day, I guess the router catches it all now. __________________ "I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin Franklin My Heatware

10-15-01, 05:46 PM	#14
hkgonra Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: West TN.	I have cable (roadrunner) and I love it , the slowest speed I have ever seen when I test bandwidth is 1928 that rocks!!!!! However the pricing is higher, it is 45.99 a month if you have cable $60 if you don't, DSL around here is $45. __________________ "I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin Franklin My Heatware

10-19-01, 07:37 PM	#15
Speed_Freak Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Cali	1928? thats awesome

10-19-01, 09:00 PM	#16
hkgonra Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: West TN.	I know , I love it, and that is the slowest I've seen. I have seen my download ticker (I'm not sure what you call it) go above 1mb per second. Granted it is usually in the 150 -250 range , but when it gets above 1mb it REALYY ROCKS!!!!!! __________________ "I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin Franklin My Heatware

12-10-01, 05:13 PM	#18
jeff_harrison_344 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001	great guide...what about wireless networking? __________________ "If you could fly, would you really wan't to?" --Jeff Harrison :=)

12-10-01, 10:09 PM	Thread Starter #19
rugby King of Cats Senior Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chicago, IL	Wireless networking? 802.11b=11mb/sec 802.11a=54mb/sec - not compatible with 802.11b 802.11g (coming soon)54mb/sec - backward compatible with 802.11b For internet wireless rocks, unless you've got faster than an 11mb/sec connection. For transferring files it sucks. I take my laptop off wireless at work when transferring large amounts of data because it's so slow compared to 100mb switches. __________________ G4 MDD DP867@DP1ghz Real men overclock macs with a soldering gun.

12-14-01, 08:20 PM	#20
Gandalf Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Near Niagara Falls, CANADA	Thankyou for the guide! This answered many of my questions!

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