Home network

[Apclps]

We just upgraded our old PC with the idea that we could also use it for surfing and chatting. My dad said the best thing would be to use a network to give that PC access to the internet (and also to files on the new PC).

Now my question is, what exactly do you need to start up a small home network?

We have :

- A cable internet connection 4 mb down, 128 mb up (on the new PC)
- New PC has windows XP on it
- Old PC has win98 on it
- Both PCs have network adapters (ethernet cards)

So is something like a hub or a router needed? And if so please try to specify on that a bit.

Any info is appreciated!

thanks

 

[sn00pie]

This is how we have it:

Cable Modem > Router > iHUB > > > > PC's with ethernet cards

 

[miata13B]

Over here, we got cable connection -> Linux box -> hub -> 5 desktops in different rooms.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Right, this is what you need:

If you wish to connect multiple machines together, you need network cards in each machine. Cables from each network card run to a hub (or switch). This needs to be purchased.

Also connected to the hub is a router. You connect the Local Area Network (LAN) port on your router to the hub, and your cable modem to the Wide Area Network (WAN) port on the router. In this way, the router passes traffic that's not bound for local machines to the internet.

You can buy devices that do all of these in one go - look for a device called a Broadband Router, and check how many switch ports there are. You can even get a single device that has a wireless access point built in. I use a Linksys Wireless Access Point Router, which has a 4 port switch built in.

 

[Apclps]

Thanks all

I'll check some prices tomorrow. Great info Giles!

 

[Apclps]

Another thing : The 2nd PC is on another floor in the house. The distance between the 2 PC's (for a cable) is just under 20 m. I don't really know if the distance matters that much...

So far as I get it :

Modem -> Broadband router --> Different ports, one for each PC


And that would be it? The guy at the shop will probably be a bit helpfull with the cables so that shouldn't be a problem.

One more thing, does one PC need to be switched on for the other one to have access to the internet? If so it would be nice to have the slower one depend on the faster one (modem is near the new PC). I heard this from a friend that this would be the case but I kinda got the idea that this wouldn't be true if you use a broadband router?

grtz and thx for any more info

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by Apclps
Another thing : The 2nd PC is on another floor in the house. The distance between the 2 PC's (for a cable) is just under 20 m. I don't really know if the distance matters that much...

Anything over 100m tends to be a problem, and you'll want to start thinking about running fibre.

Originally posted by Apclps
So far as I get it :

Modem -> Broadband router --> Different ports, one for each PC

And that would be it? The guy at the shop will probably be a bit helpfull with the cables so that shouldn't be a problem.

Correct. You need straight (i.e. not crossover) CAT5 cables, also known as UTP cables.

Originally posted by Apclps
One more thing, does one PC need to be switched on for the other one to have access to the internet? If so it would be nice to have the slower one depend on the faster one (modem is near the new PC). I heard this from a friend that this would be the case but I kinda got the idea that this wouldn't be true if you use a broadband router?

grtz and thx for any more info

No, the router handles all the communications between the PCs and the internet (that's what it is: a router)

You're welcome

 

[Pako]

*cough* that's a 100m total length including all horizontal cabling and patch cable network hubs. That means you have about 98-99m of horizontal runs and 1-2m for your patch cables.

I've seen guys run UTP Cat5 up to 300m with only 5-10% loss in network effeciency. That was until their load became too great. Their running Fiber now.

 

[Apclps]

Thanks guys, I'm pretty set now. As soon as I get off work I'll try to get to a store which is still open. It will probably have to wait for the weekend though.

grtz