Some LAN questions

Boltzmann · May 27th, 2003

Greetings,

I must make a LAN with three computers at home, and I’ve some simple doubts about how I should proceed. The first of them is about what Ethernet card I should buy. I’ve seen a 10/100 model in a store (don’t remember the brand, though), and it was pretty cheap. My main reason for making the LAN is that I’ve to share an ADSL connection with the three computers, so is that 10/100 card sufficient?
The computers that will be in the LAN are an Athlon XP 1800+ (mine), a K6 II 500 (my brother’s) and a Pentium IV 1800 (my father’s). I’m using WinXP professional, my brother is using Win98 and my father Win ME. Is there any problem in connecting all these different OS?
Thanks in advance for any information.

Live long and prosper.

zukeft · May 27th, 2003

10/100 means 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps meaning that your maximum data rate is 1250 kb/s and 12500 kb/s (if I'm not mistaken) respectively and unless you have a lot of cash, you *might* not have a 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps ADSL connection. So yes, I know that a 10/100 NIC will be more than enough. As for a brand, it really doesn't matter. I'm using a generic 10/100 NIC and it works great.

I'm not sure how Internect Connection Sharing works, but I don't think there'll be a problem, at least not between XP and ME (not sure about 98 though).

GSDragoon · May 27th, 2003

Any 10/100 network card will work. Networking the different OS's isn't hard. Just use XP's Home Networking Wizard and it should be fine. The wizard will creat a floppy disk with the XP wizard to run on the other comp. With that I am able to connect a POS pentium 166 to the network so people can use it to crawl on the web.

Note: The networking wizard is only if you want to have a network between your computers. If you just need the internet then forget all that wizard crap.

May 27th, 2003

Actually, it's much easier than that. Just buy 4 generic NICs. 1 for each of the machines and then the fourth for the gateway machine that is connected to the Internet. Make sure you use XP as the gateway, enable ICS on the Internet connection and just configure all the others to use DHCP (default setting, IIRC) and the XP machine will act as a DHCP server, automatically handing out IP addresses to the other machines and configuring itself as the gateway in their TCP/IP settings.

GSDragoon · May 27th, 2003

Sure that will work, but it isn't easier.

zerocopy · May 27th, 2003

doesnt adsl use up your nic device, so do i have to install dual nics to share my internet connection, or should i just buy a router which is more appropriate for internet sharing

Badaro · May 27th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by zerocopy
doesnt adsl use up your nic device, so do i have to install dual nics to share my internet connection

Yes, you need two NICs for the gateway machine. Here's the setup @ home:

Code:

                                         PC2
                                          |
ADSL-----(NIC 1) Gateway PC (NIC 2) -----Hub-----PC1
                                          |
                                         PC3

The gateway PC is an old Pentium 233MMX running FreeSCO (http://www.freescosoft.com). In my case it's a dedicated machine, but this is not necessary.

Quote:

Originally posted by zerocopy
or should i just buy a router which is more appropriate for internet sharing

If you can spare the cash, the dedicated router is a better solution IMHO. They're easier to configure, don't take much room, and you can leave it on all the time without any major worries.

[]s Badaro

GSDragoon · May 27th, 2003

Only bad thing about routers and switches is that sometimes you can't connect to other comps online. Mainly when you are trying to connect to someone else with a router also.

Drack · May 27th, 2003

>If you can spare the cash, the dedicated router is a better solution IMHO. They're easier to configure, don't take much room, and you can leave it on all the time without any major worries.

This is what I use for my network config. I like it alot more because its easier to set port forwarding options for my NAT firewall than using Windows ICS. Also I don't have to worry about the gameway always needing to be running.

GSDragoon · May 27th, 2003

I don't have a firewall, that's not the problem. It's because the router has it's own IP address.

Badaro · May 27th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by [FF]Dragoon
Only bad thing about routers and switches is that sometimes you can't connect to other comps online. Mainly when you are trying to connect to someone else with a router also.

This is not really a problem, you just need to know how to setup port forwarding on your router.

[]s Badaro

Drack · May 27th, 2003

>I don't have a firewall, that's not the problem. It's because the router has it's own IP address.

Yes, so does mine. It has a WAN IP address for the internet and then has a DCHP server that assigns a internal IP to itself and all the other computers on the network.

Boltzmann · May 28th, 2003

Greetings,

Thank for the info guys. So I"ll need to nics on the main machine, one for the ADSL and the other for the LAN.

>>If you can spare the cash, the dedicated router is a better solution IMHO. They're easier to configure, don't take much room, and you can leave it on all the time without any major worries.

How much would it cost me? (Remember that I'm a brazilian too). Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the ADSL connection would go into it and then distributed through the computers?

Live long and prosper.

Badaro · May 28th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Boltzmann
How much would it cost me? (Remember that I'm a brazilian too). Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the ADSL connection would go into it and then distributed through the computers?

I checked my favorite online store (http://www.lmcomputers.com.br), and a Linksys 4-Port Cable/DSL Router is ~R$390.

Quote:

Originally posted by Boltzmann
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the ADSL connection would go into it and then distributed through the computers?

Pretty much. For the model above you'll connect the ADSL to one port then connect you computers to one of the 4 ports available (if you have less then 4 computers you shouldn't need a hub).

[]s Badaro

Boltzmann · May 28th, 2003

Greetings,

Thanks for the quick answer Badaro. ATM I can't spare all this money, but I can go for the router in the near future.
Anyway I'll connect only 3 computers, so I guess I'll not need any kind of hub anyway (I'll just connect the computers directly).

Live long and prosper.

May 28th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by [FF]Dragoon
Sure that will work, but it isn't easier.

How in the world is that not easier? You plug all the NICs in and check "share this internet connection" on the connection properties. He just wanted the machines to be able to access the Internet, not a home LAN.

**Kirby** · May 28th, 2003

Interesting, you have the exact same setup as my home, and the exact same computers and OS for both my brother and dad......I hadn't got the time lately to set up file sharing yet, but by reading the router manual, it really shouldn't make a difference what OS all the computers are using

Bed again

Back tomorrow.....

Badaro · May 28th, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by Badaro
if you have less then 4 computers you shouldn't need a hub

Quote:

Originally posted by Boltzmann
Anyway I'll connect only 3 computers, so I guess I'll not need any kind of hub anyway (I'll just connect the computers directly).

Sorry, I think I expressed myself poorly above. If you're connecting more then two computers you will need a hub.

What I was trying to say with the sentence above was that since the router has 4 ethernet ports, it could also work as a hub, and you wouldn't need to buy both devices.

[]s Badaro

**n_w95482** · May 28th, 2003

well my friend has a 4 port router hooked up to his cable modem and it works fine. he has the 2 comps hooked up thru the front ports and the back port goes to the cable modem. both comps can access the internet at the same time and trade files with each other while surfing the net. the brand of router that he has is d-link.

Chinoz · May 28th, 2003

Router - the mother of all sharing
IIRC, more then 2 comps, you need a router. A router would, to me, make things neater and much easier

May 27th, 2003	#1 (permalink)
Boltzmann Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: São Paulo - Brazil Posts: 7,649	Some LAN questions Greetings, I must make a LAN with three computers at home, and I’ve some simple doubts about how I should proceed. The first of them is about what Ethernet card I should buy. I’ve seen a 10/100 model in a store (don’t remember the brand, though), and it was pretty cheap. My main reason for making the LAN is that I’ve to share an ADSL connection with the three computers, so is that 10/100 card sufficient? The computers that will be in the LAN are an Athlon XP 1800+ (mine), a K6 II 500 (my brother’s) and a Pentium IV 1800 (my father’s). I’m using WinXP professional, my brother is using Win98 and my father Win ME. Is there any problem in connecting all these different OS? Thanks in advance for any information. Live long and prosper. __________________ "The Improved Man will be a king over you. And give women their dowries as appointed." - Anders Sandberg The Hell Law says that Hell is reserved exclusively for them that believe in it. Further, the lowest Rung in Hell is reserved for them that believe in it on the supposition that they'll go there if they don't. - HBT; The Gospel According to Fred, 3:1 - The Principia Discordia BTW, Don't Forget to Desecrate your Quran.

May 27th, 2003	#2 (permalink)
zukeft Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Bogota, Colombia Posts: 1,157	10/100 means 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps meaning that your maximum data rate is 1250 kb/s and 12500 kb/s (if I'm not mistaken) respectively and unless you have a lot of cash, you might not have a 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps ADSL connection. So yes, I know that a 10/100 NIC will be more than enough. As for a brand, it really doesn't matter. I'm using a generic 10/100 NIC and it works great. I'm not sure how Internect Connection Sharing works, but I don't think there'll be a problem, at least not between XP and ME (not sure about 98 though). __________________ Flaretech.biz web hosting

May 27th, 2003	#3 (permalink)
GSDragoon Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,969	Any 10/100 network card will work. Networking the different OS's isn't hard. Just use XP's Home Networking Wizard and it should be fine. The wizard will creat a floppy disk with the XP wizard to run on the other comp. With that I am able to connect a POS pentium 166 to the network so people can use it to crawl on the web. Note: The networking wizard is only if you want to have a network between your computers. If you just need the internet then forget all that wizard crap. __________________ Athlon64 3400+ @10.5x250MHz, 2.625GHz \| DFI NF3 250GB 2x512 Corsair pc3200 \| BFG FX6800 OC 128MB \| X-Fi XtremeGamer

May 27th, 2003	#5 (permalink)
GSDragoon Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,969	Sure that will work, but it isn't easier. __________________ Athlon64 3400+ @10.5x250MHz, 2.625GHz \| DFI NF3 250GB 2x512 Corsair pc3200 \| BFG FX6800 OC 128MB \| X-Fi XtremeGamer

May 27th, 2003	#8 (permalink)
GSDragoon Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,969	Only bad thing about routers and switches is that sometimes you can't connect to other comps online. Mainly when you are trying to connect to someone else with a router also. __________________ Athlon64 3400+ @10.5x250MHz, 2.625GHz \| DFI NF3 250GB 2x512 Corsair pc3200 \| BFG FX6800 OC 128MB \| X-Fi XtremeGamer

May 27th, 2003	#4 (permalink)
ShADoWFLaRe85 Guest Posts: n/a	Actually, it's much easier than that. Just buy 4 generic NICs. 1 for each of the machines and then the fourth for the gateway machine that is connected to the Internet. Make sure you use XP as the gateway, enable ICS on the Internet connection and just configure all the others to use DHCP (default setting, IIRC) and the XP machine will act as a DHCP server, automatically handing out IP addresses to the other machines and configuring itself as the gateway in their TCP/IP settings.

May 27th, 2003	#6 (permalink)
zerocopy Banned Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2,953	doesnt adsl use up your nic device, so do i have to install dual nics to share my internet connection, or should i just buy a router which is more appropriate for internet sharing

May 27th, 2003	#9 (permalink)
Drack Registered User Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: PDX, USA Posts: 1,187	>If you can spare the cash, the dedicated router is a better solution IMHO. They're easier to configure, don't take much room, and you can leave it on all the time without any major worries. This is what I use for my network config. I like it alot more because its easier to set port forwarding options for my NAT firewall than using Windows ICS. Also I don't have to worry about the gameway always needing to be running. __________________ Athlon64 +3200, GeForceFX 5900, 1024 MB DDR 400, nForce3 250Gb chipset 80 GB SATA Seagate , 80 GB 7200 RPM Seagate, 120 GB 7200 Seagate Lite-on SOHD-167T and Pioneer DVR-A06D Running XP Professional and SuSe 9.1

May 27th, 2003	#10 (permalink)
GSDragoon Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,969	I don't have a firewall, that's not the problem. It's because the router has it's own IP address. __________________ Athlon64 3400+ @10.5x250MHz, 2.625GHz \| DFI NF3 250GB 2x512 Corsair pc3200 \| BFG FX6800 OC 128MB \| X-Fi XtremeGamer

May 27th, 2003	#12 (permalink)
Drack Registered User Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: PDX, USA Posts: 1,187	>I don't have a firewall, that's not the problem. It's because the router has it's own IP address. Yes, so does mine. It has a WAN IP address for the internet and then has a DCHP server that assigns a internal IP to itself and all the other computers on the network. __________________ Athlon64 +3200, GeForceFX 5900, 1024 MB DDR 400, nForce3 250Gb chipset 80 GB SATA Seagate , 80 GB 7200 RPM Seagate, 120 GB 7200 Seagate Lite-on SOHD-167T and Pioneer DVR-A06D Running XP Professional and SuSe 9.1 Last edited by Drack; May 28th, 2003 at 03:29.

May 28th, 2003	#13 (permalink)
Boltzmann Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: São Paulo - Brazil Posts: 7,649	Greetings, Thank for the info guys. So I"ll need to nics on the main machine, one for the ADSL and the other for the LAN. >>If you can spare the cash, the dedicated router is a better solution IMHO. They're easier to configure, don't take much room, and you can leave it on all the time without any major worries. How much would it cost me? (Remember that I'm a brazilian too). Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the ADSL connection would go into it and then distributed through the computers? Live long and prosper. __________________ "The Improved Man will be a king over you. And give women their dowries as appointed." - Anders Sandberg The Hell Law says that Hell is reserved exclusively for them that believe in it. Further, the lowest Rung in Hell is reserved for them that believe in it on the supposition that they'll go there if they don't. - HBT; The Gospel According to Fred, 3:1 - The Principia Discordia BTW, Don't Forget to Desecrate your Quran.

May 28th, 2003	#15 (permalink)
Boltzmann Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: São Paulo - Brazil Posts: 7,649	Greetings, Thanks for the quick answer Badaro. ATM I can't spare all this money, but I can go for the router in the near future. Anyway I'll connect only 3 computers, so I guess I'll not need any kind of hub anyway (I'll just connect the computers directly). Live long and prosper. __________________ "The Improved Man will be a king over you. And give women their dowries as appointed." - Anders Sandberg The Hell Law says that Hell is reserved exclusively for them that believe in it. Further, the lowest Rung in Hell is reserved for them that believe in it on the supposition that they'll go there if they don't. - HBT; The Gospel According to Fred, 3:1 - The Principia Discordia BTW, Don't Forget to Desecrate your Quran.

May 28th, 2003	#17 (permalink)
Kirby I want you INSIDE me Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 8,382	Interesting, you have the exact same setup as my home, and the exact same computers and OS for both my brother and dad......I hadn't got the time lately to set up file sharing yet, but by reading the router manual, it really shouldn't make a difference what OS all the computers are using Bed again Back tomorrow..... __________________ Kirby's AnimeDB list AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+ Toledo, Nvidia GeForce 7950GT SLi, 2GB PC3200 2-3-2-5, ABit AN8-SLi, Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic

May 28th, 2003	#19 (permalink)
n_w95482 Administrator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: California Posts: 4,684	well my friend has a 4 port router hooked up to his cable modem and it works fine. he has the 2 comps hooked up thru the front ports and the back port goes to the cable modem. both comps can access the internet at the same time and trade files with each other while surfing the net. the brand of router that he has is d-link. __________________ Main PC: DFI LAN Party nF4 SLI-DR Expert w/406-bta BIOS, AMD Opteron 165 (CCBBE 0615 EPMW) @ 3 GHz (334x9), 1.55v w/D-Tek Fuzion WB; 2x1 GB OCZ PC4000 EB Plats @ 250 MHz, 3-3-2-8, 3:4, 2.7v; ATi Radeon X1900XT 512 MB @ 668/855 w/DD Tyee WB, 150 GB WD Raptor, 4x500 GB WD RE2 (RAID 10), SB Audigy 2 ZS, 700w OCZ GameXStream, CM Stacker 810, Windows XP Pro

May 28th, 2003	#20 (permalink)
Chinoz ... Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Desa Park, Key Ell, Malaysia Posts: 2,301	Router - the mother of all sharing IIRC, more then 2 comps, you need a router. A router would, to me, make things neater and much easier __________________ System specs P4 2.6c \| Abit AI7 \| Radeon 9800pro \| 1024mb kingston ddr400 \| 120gb seagate sata \| 40mb wd \| And all the minor bits and pieces 3dMark2001SE

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