Home network HELP!!!

[k1n9k00p4]

Ok this has been killing me for ages.

Let me explain my setup first.

I have an NTL (Virgin now) modem (the flat silver one with the black face) and this old 3com purple and beige HUB.

Now, if i connect my modem to the HUB via Ethernet in the "uplink" port and then connect both my computers to the HUB via ethernet. only 1 machine will connect to the internet at a time, the other just gets the limited or no connectivity error.

I have 3 different HUBs and have tried all of them, and all get the same result, one machine will get internet access while the other gets limited or no connectivity.

As i said i have the purple and gray 5 port 3com HUB, a Linksys 24 port HUB, and an ntl purple 2 port triangle shaped HUB with an attatched ethernet cable.

So the way i set my internet up now is, NTL modem into the downstairs machine via USB, then connect both machines up with a HUB, but the problem with this is the downstairs computer has to be on for the upstairs one to get online.

Any ideas whats up? I have been told i need an internet access pont? but i cant see why simply plugging my modem into the uplink port then connecting both machines to the hub doesnt work.

Pleaseee help!!

(BTW i am using all straight through ethernet cables for my network, do i need a crossover to connect my modem to my hub? but i dont see how because one machine connects through the Hub with straight through cables.

Thanks.

 

[Nodsu]

You need a router device to share your internet connection. At the moment, the downstairs PC is acting as the router.

Why doesn't it work? Your ISP gives you only one public IP address. A hub is a dumb device and doesn't know anything about TCP/IP and so any PC that manages to get the IP first, pretty much monopolises your connection. A router can do something called NAT, where it translates between one public IP on its uplink port and a number of "private" IP addresses on its local port.

So go buy yourself a home router and connect that to your modem (or use an old PC as a dedicated router). You can connect the hubs to the LAN side of the router to further split up the ethernet side of things if you like.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

Nodsu is dead on with the router requirement. Regarding the patch cables: straight-through should work fine. Some older modems required a crossover cable to connect with from the router or PC, but that was quite a while ago. In fact, these days, most modems and routers are auto-sensing and you could actually use either a straight-through or a crossover and they would adjust themselves to the cable.