Okay. I got two computers at home sharing one DSL. All I have to do is to buy a hub to split the connection into two right? Is there anything else special I need to do? I have never done this before. Thanks

No, but setting up my D-Link 704 router was a pain in the butt. If you want to do fancy things like online gaming, you have to disable the firewall (for a router at least, I'm not sure HUBs require them - routers come with integrated firewalls, it is completely unavoidable because that is what defines a router).

A router generally looks like a rectangular box you can plug quite a many PCs into. A HUB is usually smaller, less expensive, and connectes directly into your wall outlet (where the electricity goes). Routers are generally of higher quality and allow more PCs to be connected (though you only have 2).

Routers come with integrated firewalls to prevent hackers from breaking in. However they can block your internet access in many ways by sealing off ports and not allowing certain types of connections and protocols. You have to manually go into routers and disable the firewall and set yourself as DMZ host in some instances.

A HUB might work well for you. Try to find one without a firewall and just get your own personal firewall like Zonealarm.

Stryder Unknown would know more about this.

Also, for a router you may sometimes need provisions for a serial number (and sometimes ISPs don't like to give provisions out cuz they don't want to be cheated out of their money if they can have you pay for 2 connections). If you have NICs, you generally need provisions. A USB ethernet adapter does not require them (though these will generally not work with routing devices).

This is confusing. I know my ISP has it's own firewall. The first two weeks when I first got DSL, I used to spend all my spare time just to figure out how many ports I need to open exactly. I did that thru my DSL model and type in weird commands. It is like learning a new programming language. Is the router's firewall seperate on its own? That would really suck.

Anyways, I think I will just buy a hub.

Theres a diagram for a setup like your talking about here:

http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/linux-share-internet.asp


The diagram has a linux firewall but a windows machine would work too if you dont want to get into the mysteries of iptables.

The firewall machine would have two interfaces (two ethernet cards) one the ip your isp gave you and the other a local address like 10.0.10.1. The firewall machine would be the machine that all the others on the network (those plugged into the hub) would use as a gateway.


If you do feel like setting up a linux firewall machine iptables would give you control over what went into and out of your network at the packet level and there are firewall wizards available for linux that are pretty easy to use and scripts available posted on the net.

Freaky, I was gonna ask the exact same question :eek:

Well, thanks for your help....I guess :confused:

I was also thinking about getting a hub, but I didn't if it would work or not

If you use a hub you will need 3 network cards (two in one machine... one for DSL one for home network) if you use win98 se or above it has a handy internet sharing facility.

~If you go for the more expensive router, you will only need two network cards, and only one machine will have to be on for it to work.

Network cards. That I have plenty of

I just spoke to a friend of mine. He thinks a router is better. I ordered a 4 port router from amazon.com for $60.

OMFG A cheap router is a recipe for disaster Joeman. I know this all too well. I have a D-Link router. While I'm not totally sure at this point (some of it could be a prob with my ISP), let's just say I have not been too pleased.

If you got a Linksys router you should be ok. I think 3com also makes good routers. But uh...... not to scare you or anything, let's just hope this works out ok for you.

Almost all normal (for in home use, not to run a 5 billion dollar main frame) routers are 4 port, with the option of attaching a small HUB to the first port (to allow like 2 additional PCs I think).

This is what I ordered

Linksys 4-Port Cable/DSL Router

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004SB92/103-2813788-2159869

My computer geek friend said it is a really good deal.

Well you are in luck this time Joeman. Linksys is renowned for making good networking products. I on the other hand, am stuck with D-Link.... :(

You may want to make sure you get the lastest firmware upgrade though. Though, make sure there are no electrical storms going on while you do this - firmware is permanent and writes the changes to your flash memory (it is a ROM chip). If the power is cut off while you are in the writing process, the device could become worthless (it is not something you can go back and change like a driver update).

I use one of D-Links HUBS and have never had a problem with it - that's not for me to say others haven't had problems with products from that company.

Originally posted by sjmarsha
If you use a hub you will need 3 network cards (two in one machine... one for DSL one for home network) if you use win98 se or above it has a handy internet sharing facility.

~If you go for the more expensive router, you will only need two network cards, and only one machine will have to be on for it to work.

:eek:
This isn't exactly right. Most hubs now come with an uplink port. What you can do is hook the dsl modem to this uplink port. Then hook your other computers onto the hub using the other ports. Then all you have to do is just have each computer set up so that it can use your modem. For example, if you use Verizon DSL, install the software on both systems, that way they can dial. Therefore, you just need two network cards, not three.

heh... sorry bout this, but it's easier to just get a router. That way you don't have to install all that other useless software.

=)

or you could plug the dsl into the faster computer of the 2 and use ICS (Windows) to share it with the other pc. You would need 2 network cards in the "master" computer and 1 in the "slave" . This is what I did and with a couple clicks I was up and running on both pcs.... by the way I use zone alarm with this setup and works fine.

If you get stuck with firewalls just get hold of a port mapper program(allows you to map addresses across between computers or networks).

It can be quite handy using this method, and allows you to force a number of ports onto the same secure ones.

Personally I would just run a system (Linux box) acting as a firewall, with two network cards (one input, one to the network).
Then have the network sat behind it, either more linux systems or windows systems.

(The Gateway machine i.e. Linux box, should be the faster of the two, or in this case running just a commandline OS, since it needs all the processor and RAM to keep running. BTW, most transactions will be running at the Network card speeds almost independant of the CPU)

DLINK network cards aren't too much of a problem, main problem is when your dealing with clone cards that run with windows drivers rather than having their own BIOS, those ones can be annoying for Linux users.

I just got my linksys router, but the ethernet cable I purchased doesn't seem to work. I heard there are two types. I must have bought the wrong type.

No, there is only one type (unless they made a bigger one for the new gigabit ethernet standard, or 100 megabytes per second transfer - however I doubt they did).

Now if you are referring to a standard cable or cross over cable, then yes. However a cross over cable is not needed for a router (a cross over would allow you to interact between to NICs, while a standard only sends and receives one way). But it will also work (so will a standard one, they will both work)

BTW Joeman, just to confirm, a ethernet cable looks like a 56k modem or phone line cable, except it is a bit bigger (bout twice as big). A analog modem cable is not considered an ethernet cable

Ethernet cables are also sometimes called patch cables.