Networking Question

[Boogaloo_Shrimp]

I have a Cable connection at my house and I use a Linksys router to send the connection to my house, and upstairs. This is my current set up.<br><br><br><br>I need to set up a few more computers upstairs but I can only send the one line of CAT5 upstairs. I don't know how to set it up though, would i buy a cat 5 splitter, if there is such a thing. Or would I set up a hub upstairs, and then route the connection to each of the new computers.<br><br>If I do use the hub, would they be able to access the Internet or would the hub prevent that?

[randall]

use a hub. That is what it is for.<br><br>With the hub, you will be able to access the internet from any computer on that LAN.

[Boogaloo_Shrimp]

so cat5 upstairs, cat5 to hub, then computers to hub...

[randall]

yeah. that is basically the same thing I have in my house.

[James]

Randall,<br><br>Have you experimented with wireless? <br><br>James

[Boogaloo_Shrimp]

OK cool thanks, I guess I 'll have to go look for a cheap old hub. I guess a 4 port hub will do and it has to be 10/100. I appreciate your help it cleared it up for me although I have one more question if you can answer it. My linksys router has a dhcp server, will it assign IP's to the computers that are connected to the hub?

[Moose or Chuck]

Yup, that's what hubs are for.

[randall]

I don't want or need wireless. Its cool technology and stuff, but it is unecessary for my purposes. I have 6 computers on my home lan. How much would that cost to do it all wireless? and in what way would it be better than running lines- would I be getting a better, more stable connection?<br><br>I didn't think so.<br><br>

[randall]

I assign ips to all my computers, for internal reasons. With my proxies (both analogX and Winproxy) the proxy is able to determine what data gets sent to which computer without any help from me.<br><br>As long as the server has the proxy properly installed, and each computer is configured to access the internet through that computer, all is well.

[James]

I ask about wireless to see if you have any experience and/or opinions. I'm putting up a wireless node for my PocketPC and my wife's laptop and if they worked well, it would save me the trouble of running another CAT 5 cable into my son's room.<br><br>James

[PDAFantast]

You're not safe with a 4 port hub (3 usable).. get a 8 port instead. For future expansion.<br><br>And for Christ sake, don't buy a hub. Get a switch instead. The difference in price is minimal and you get better throuput with a switch.<br><br>A good entry level switch is 3Com's OfficeConnect Dual Speed Switch 8. They're in the 100 -150 price range. Or get something fancy from NetGear.<br><br>But remember, no less than 8 ports (7 usable) and it's gotta be a switch.

[randall]

I'd suggest any damn hub you can get ahold of. I have never bought one new, and never paid more than $15 for an 8-port hub. 5-port hubs can be had for as little as $5 used.<br><br>Hubs can also be daisy-chained. Not an optimal solution, but two 5-port hubs at $10 versus $150 for an 8-port switch... guess which I'd choose?<br><br>Anyway, yes I have dabbled in wireless networks. I have never seen one in use in a professional/industrial setting, unless it was a really small business with 2 or 3 computers. Therefore I have very little use for it.<br><br>It is a fun toy though, and great if you have a laptop and want to sit out under the tree in your front yard

[Dan East]

Getting the physical connections all worked out is fairly straightforward. Setting up your proxy servers(s), and configuring all the client software on your other PCs is the pain. Many things just won't work with proxy servers, or at least not with the freeware servers. If all you do is browse the web, then it shouldn't be a problem. But if you do POP3 / SMTP email, telnet, ftp, instant messenging, etc, then you'll have some work ahead of you. Also, multiplayer games like Half Life, Quake, etc, will not work over proxy servers to my knowledge.<br><br>Dan East

[randall]

Most do permit games, if you have a decent Proxy like WinProxy. They have various settings to allow certain types of traffic. I think there are even some presets for the more popular games like Half-life and Quake. Winproxy has a built-in and highly modifiable firewall.<br><br>But yeah, the proxy can be the biggest pain to configure. AnalogX has a whole host of problems, because it is such a small and limited proxy. Its a good product(free), but I'd recommend something a little more powerful if you intend to do some heavy internet stuff.

[Boogaloo_Shrimp]

I don't think I'd need a proxy server for what I'm doing though. Maybe I will grrr.