How to Network 101

[Sawyer]

Ok here is something I need to be able to do - get my computers to talk with each other. Right now my main comp has DSL through an external sbc modem. They gave me an internal modem that did not work on my new computer so I found and old external one that did. Anyway this is connected to my computers Network card I believe. I would like both compts to have interenet access and to be able to see each other. How do I do this? Do I just need a router? Plug the modem into the router and the routers links my cpus?

 

I am afraid of SBC and that if I ask for another piece or hardware I will have to give them more money and I would rather give that money to a cat or one of my children.

[vertexART]

hi there,

U guessed right.

this should be your setup (see attached)

 

hope it helps.

[kainoa]

Well, it's not as simple as the graphic shown. Specifically, what you need to look for is a ROUTER with a built-in SWITCH. A 4-port switch is the most common (can connect 4 PCs).

 

I recommend Linksys or Netgear as I've had both and they both have served me well. They both come with good instructions on how to get everything connected. They are also very cheap nowadays.

 

Also, these are a great as they come with built-in firewalls that, if conf. correctly, block out a lot of adware/rubbish from my PCs.

 

Good luck

[ecastillor]

my setup works almost exactly like the one in the picture...and we have hooked up 10 pcs

[AJLynn]

A hub won't work unless you've got an agreement with the DSL provider to get multiple IP addresses. The "Cable Modem / DSL Router" is the correct part - the difference is that the router looks like a computer to the outside network (the internet, aka WAN) but manages an internal network (the LAN - this is where the 192.168.x.x addresses come in) and manages the passing of traffic between them. This has the added advantage of acting as a passive firewall - unrequested traffic from outside does not go to any of your PCs.

[Sawyer]

The "Cable Modem / DSL Router" is the correct part - the difference is that the router looks like a computer to the outside network (the internet, aka WAN) but manages an internal network (the LAN - this is where the 192.168.x.x addresses come in) and manages the passing of traffic between them. This has the added advantage of acting as a passive firewall - unrequested traffic from outside does not go to any of your PCs.

 

See this is the part that get confusing to me. Actually I was given a wirelesws Lynksys 2.4 ghz access point 11 mbps. Ok I don't know if it will work for what I really want which is network renderings. The person who gave it to me said something like "Ok it's really complicated (to set-up)" & I have kind of dreaded getting it to work. At the offices I worked we had a router & it seemed so easy to put on a new comp. but I can't remember what we did.

[vertexART]

Ok ,I hope U fixed it by now, but I've decided to steal some of your topic for my current problem...

 

I have aDSL modem which is connected through USB to my comp('host' in following text). I have a LAN switch in which both comps are connected to.

I tried a lot of things without any luck, so...

 

How can I access internet from a second computer?

What kind of network setup I need for file sharing?

Is it possible at all or do I need aDSL router? Because I talked with some people who said I can get away with a 'crossover' LAN cable if there are only 2 comps in question..

 

I would appreciate any tips, thanks!