Home Lan Network

[hobilla]

i have a lan card in my pc and i connect the broadband line there and get my net. Now my Q is, how can i share this connection with another pc i have in another room. Do i need a LAn card for that as well? and maybe a HUB? maybe a network wire?

i heard from some one that he did it using a hub and set the main pc as the "server". He said that if the main pc was on, all the others get the net connection. If its turned off, then the whole thing is off.

ps. He used ccproxy as the software in the main pc.

How do i do it?

 

[Rick]

The best (and only real solution, in my opinion) is to get a router. It's like a hub, but it can share your broadband connection to a number of computers on your network. A hub can do no such thing on its own.

Obviously, your computers need to be connected to each other somehow. That requires some central device like a hub or switch (router, preferably) and each computer needs a cable or wireless connection. So each PC needs a LAN (network) card. You could also do wireless if cables aren't practical - that usually requires you have a wireless access point connected to your hub/switch/router or a wireless router.

The easiest and most elegant way to do this is to buy yourself a wireless router and buy a wireless card for your other computer. You'll be able to connect your PC that's online right now to the router using a cable and connect your PC in the other room wirelessly without running any lines. The router itself plugs into your broadband modem and shares it amongst those computers.

There are quite a few posts about this, but I'm sure you'll get plenty of help setting this up, no matter what method you choose.

 

[toffeapple]

You could use a cheap 4 port switch and Enable ICS on your main pc using this as the gateway for the other pc..BUT as routers are so cheap now ricks solution is the only way to go

 

[NetCablesPlus]

A wireless router is definitiely the way to go; however, if you are a gamer or do a lot of downloading, it would be best to hardwire with Ethernet cables as many of your PC's to it as practical. Wireless connections are simply not as fast as hardwired ones.

 

[hiway]

Yes you do need another lan card in your pc to avoid more expensive router/hub/switch setup. After that, you just need a crossover cable that runs from your pc (connected in other lan card) to the pc in next room.

 

[Schmutz]

A wireless router is definitiely the way to go; however, if you are a gamer or do a lot of downloading, it would be best to hardwire with Ethernet cables as many of your PC's to it as practical. Wireless connections are simply not as fast as hardwired ones.

I'm worried about whether my router (Buffalo WHR-HP-G54) will be able to support my internet at its full speed if it is upgraded again (Currently Virgin Media/20mb) as the fastest I have been able to copy files from one computer to another is between 2-3Mbps

As for gaming, I don't argue that wired connections are faster, but with microsoft selling the wireless adapters and the PS3/Wii's wireless connections - do you think gaming is affected at all when using a wireless setup? The benefit in using ethernet cables is (in my opinion) if you need to move large files (.iso's/videos) over the network often

 

[NetCablesPlus]

Yes you do need another lan card in your pc to avoid more expensive router/hub/switch setup. After that, you just need a crossover cable that runs from your pc (connected in other lan card) to the pc in next room.

I try to dissuade my customers (I happen to sell Crossover cables) from setting up any form of permanent networking that includes two PC's linked together by a Crossover cable. It is rare for me to hear of anyone being really satisfied with such a configuration. If you need to use a Crossover set up between two PC's for a one time transfer of files and have no other easy option, okay, but otherwise, it is not an optimal solution, in my opinion.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

I'm worried about whether my router (Buffalo WHR-HP-G54) will be able to support my internet at its full speed if it is upgraded again (Currently Virgin Media/20mb) as the fastest I have been able to copy files from one computer to another is between 2-3Mbps

As for gaming, I don't argue that wired connections are faster, but with microsoft selling the wireless adapters and the PS3/Wii's wireless connections - do you think gaming is affected at all when using a wireless setup? The benefit in using ethernet cables is (in my opinion) if you need to move large files (.iso's/videos) over the network often

I don't think that Microsoft does wireless any better than anyone else. Many gaming applications can consume a lot of bandwidth, much like downloading large files or streaming video. Some of my customers are serious gamers and they only use Cat 6 Ethernet cables for their networks.

 

[tipstir]

I'm worried about whether my router (Buffalo WHR-HP-G54) will be able to support my internet at its full speed if it is upgraded again (Currently Virgin Media/20mb) as the fastest I have been able to copy files from one computer to another is between 2-3Mbps

As for gaming, I don't argue that wired connections are faster, but with microsoft selling the wireless adapters and the PS3/Wii's wireless connections - do you think gaming is affected at all when using a wireless setup? The benefit in using ethernet cables is (in my opinion) if you need to move large files (.iso's/videos) over the network often

The Wired WAN port on that router is 100MB
Wireless WAN 54MB to 125MB

So roughly you're good for 100MB for Internet

 

[Schmutz]

Sorry in advance for taking your thread a little off topic, hobilla

I don't think that Microsoft does wireless any better than anyone else. Many gaming applications can consume a lot of bandwidth, much like downloading large files or streaming video. Some of my customers are serious gamers and they only use Cat 6 Ethernet cables for their networks.

Well, thats made me think about whether I should use an ethernet cable to connect to xbox live. Since I do experience latency every so often. I have now also looked up various disadvantages using wireless connections for Xbox live - the biggest one is XBL's dependance on low latencies. On speedtest.net I get an average between 16ms-30ms which I'm sure is fast enough though??

The Wired WAN port on that router is 100MB
Wireless WAN 54MB to 125MB

So roughly you're good for 100MB for Internet

that is a relief but I'm confused how I cannot transfer items over the network at more than 2-3MBPS? Is there a difference between transferring data from;

computer1 --> router --> computer2
modem --> router --> computer

 

[hiway]

The question is for sharing internet and not other resources whatsoever between the two computers. I have one such active connection between a desktop and a notebook and find no difference as far as internet surfing is concerned. I however, agree with you, it is not an optimal solution.