[killahbee]

hey yall,

i'm a total network noobie so please dont laugh at this question ^^

i've got a computer here that's connected to a router and acceses the internet through that router.

the router's only got one um.. slot? for a network cable but i wanna connect two computers.

so here's the question: is it possible to put a switch or a hub into the router so that i can get two computers to access the internet?

what kinda cables do i need? crossover (computer to computer) or rj-45 (computer to router) ??

hope some one can help me,

greetz killahbee

 

[Pinhead-227]

Yeah, just put the switch between the computers and the router. You shouldn't have to change anything else, maybe run the Network Setup Wizard. You may not even have to do that if you're already running through a router.

Just regular CAT5e cables.

 

[JamesBond]

Normal cat 5 should work fine.. crossovers work too.

 

[killahbee]

so.. just to make sure:

I'm gonna go buy a switch and connect it to the router with a regular cat5E cable.

then i'll connect the two computers through regular networking cables, too and I'll be able to get on the internet with both of em at the same time?

are they both gonna need to connect seperately, like both have some kinda software to dial in to the internet ? or is only one of them dialing in and the other one connecting to the internet through a lan connection ?

thanks for helping tho

*gives out rep points*

 

[Ty Auchter]

Save some money and get a second network card for one of the computers, then get a cross over cable and connect it to the other computer.

 

[Blue_Fire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by killahbee hey yall, i'm a total network noobie so please dont laugh at this question ^^ i've got a computer here that's connected to a router and acceses the internet through that router. the router's only got one um.. slot? for a network cable but i wanna connect two computers. so here's the question: is it possible to put a switch or a hub into the router so that i can get two computers to access the internet? what kinda cables do i need? crossover (computer to computer) or rj-45 (computer to router) ?? hope some one can help me, greetz killahbee

What you mean is that you have a cable modem with one slot, and that is running to your computer. You WILL have to buy a ROUTER, not a switch, a switch will not work as it is a layer 2 device and is just a pass through, a router will forward DHCP which is what gives you your computer's IP address.

 

[Blue_Fire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ty Auchter Save some money and get a second network card for one of the computers, then get a cross over cable and connect it to the other computer.

Dont do this, as you may not have the knowledge to set up a computer to be a DHCP server to provide IP addressing to your network.

 

[Blue_Fire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by killahbee so.. just to make sure: I'm gonna go buy a switch and connect it to the router with a regular cat5E cable. then i'll connect the two computers through regular networking cables, too and I'll be able to get on the internet with both of em at the same time? are they both gonna need to connect seperately, like both have some kinda software to dial in to the internet ? or is only one of them dialing in and the other one connecting to the internet through a lan connection ? thanks for helping tho *gives out rep points*

No, Buy a ROUTER, and connect it to your MODEM, with cat4, 5 or 6 cable. Then buy as many lengths of cable to connect each computer to the router and run the network setup wizard. RJ-45 is the ethernet cable you will need for this project. And yes, both will be able to connect at the same time, and to each other.

 

[Pinhead-227]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue_Fire What you mean is that you have a cable modem with one slot, and that is running to your computer. You WILL have to buy a ROUTER, not a switch, a switch will not work as it is a layer 2 device and is just a pass through, a router will forward DHCP which is what gives you your computer's IP address.

If this is true, disregard my first post. If it's just a cable modem, you do need the router for DHCP. I had the same problem, I was trying to connect through a switch straight to the cable modem. Didn't work. You've got to either have a router or a PC connected directly to the cable modem, and then the other computer connecting through the first computer using Internet Connection Sharing. That can be a pain, and isn't as secure as having a router with a hardware firewall. Getting a router is your best bet.

 

[Blue_Fire]

True, to my knowledge, you cannot buy a single rj-45 connector router it would be useless, what she is describing is a cable modem.