Can someone give me a hand with a LAN connection?

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by Free_Matt_417, Feb 20, 2007.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Free_Matt_417 The CIA took my baby away Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    337
    Hey,
    I wanted to set up a LAN between the main computer and my bedroom. Can someone give me some help?

    What do i need?

    And what do i need to do?
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,581
    2 x Network card.
    1 x Network cable.
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. phlogistician Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,342
    2 xTin Cans
    1 x String
     
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. phlogistician Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,342
    or two cheap USB WiFi dongles, and set up an ad-hoc network. You can then use Internet Connection sharing on whichever machine has broadband or a modem, and it will auto-connect when the 2nd machine requests a web page or whatever.
     
  8. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,581
    Oh and it helps to have a second computer if thats not the case yet.....
     
  9. Kunax Sciforums:Reality not required Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,385
    Assuming you only have 2 computers, the best way would be to buy a small switch and a net card and cable for each box.

    then all you need to do is to configure your netcards TCP/IP address, i would suggest using something like this:

    Box 1
    IP: 192.168.1.100
    SUBNET: 255.255.255.0

    Box 2
    IP: 192.168.1.101
    SUBNET: 255.255.255.0

    with this solution you will be able to add more computers(depending on the amount of ports on the switch) and you will also be able to add a internet router with minimal effort and "share" your internet connection
     
  10. phlogistician Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,342
    Wires? Unnecessary hardware? Ugh. USB WiFi and an ad-hoc network is the way to go, buying a broadband router at a later stage if required. WIRES? WIRES??!!!
     
  11. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,658
    Buy a router, follow the installation instructions, then report back if you encounter any problems.
     
  12. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,636
    Nick, I'm having problems quickly identifying my posts on these forums. Please change your avatar (which I hope is not directed at me)

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  13. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,581
    Oh its just a phase.
     
  14. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,636
  15. Kunax Sciforums:Reality not required Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,385
    Wireless is ok, if you don't mind a slower connection with the possibility of weird disconnects and the probability of getting hacked unless you have the prober security.
    All that out of the way wireless is ok, i mean you can run around your house with your labtop surfin porn in every room hell even outside in the garden... that is ofcause if you dont have thick concrete wall and insulated windows

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  16. phlogistician Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,342
    Slower than what? If the goal is to connect the 2nd computer to the Internet, then the broadband connection will be the bottleneck. If it's to share files between the computers, he'll be running at 54Mbps instead of 100, ... oooh, big deal. Unless you are xferring tens of gigabytes, and often, you won't notice.

    I've been wireless for years, and this has never happened.

    I've been wireless for years and this has never been an issue. Use WEP, and you are less likely to get hacked than you are through your internet facing connection.

    Wireless is the simplest, and cheapest way to set up a home network.
     
  17. Kunax Sciforums:Reality not required Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,385
    sure if you only want to do a little internet sharing it's fine, but what about gaming and streaming/copying, i prefer my 1Gb cable

    I setup quite a few wireless nets and granted most work there still is those that you need to fiddle around with to get to work.

    maybe your just lucky or maybe you have just not noticed, free interweb for the rest of us, thanks.

    wep is not good enough, go WPA or WPA2 AOE 256bit encryption and have mac filtering on.

    with todays equipment and guides it is properly equally easy to setup, however if you run in to trouble on the wireless most people end up clueless

    edit: ooh and you only have 54Mbps if your connection is good

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  18. phlogistician Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,342
    Total overkill for domestic use. The usage wasn't specified, so it's rather unlikely he is going from nothing to requiring 1Gb ethernet. Before specifying that, you should find out the spec of the computers, don't you think?

    'Fiddle with', you mean, like type a few settings in? OK, I'll admit I've had a few oddities, (usually strong signals from other businesses equipment, not the office I'm working on) but they've always worked. A simple Ad-hoc network has never given me any issues, however.

    I now work from home on a wireless network, and during the workday, it has never dropped in two years. Why would it be free interweb for you, you aren't on my list, so you don't get in.

    Jesus, WEP is just fine for domestic use. You seem to require industrial strength tools for domestic applications. Overspeccing is just added cost, and overcomplication frustrates end users. Know your target market, understand them, and deliver something they need, not what you want yourself. Give them potential for growth, but don't upsell right away, that just pisses people off if they don't grow, and find out they have bought kit they don't need.

    Depends on antenna location, and obstacles. In the scenario described, in a house, from one room to another, I expect a strong signal, and full bandwidth.
    Again, listen to the specifics of the scenario, and make recommendations based on those, don't recommend what you personally prefer.
     
  19. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    19,083
    I've set up WPA2 for my home wlan (linksys router).
    WEP can be easily hacked by just about anyone, the internet is full of programs that do that.
    WEP is being phased out for a reason.
     
  20. phlogistician Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,342
    WEP is enough to stop neighbours casually hanging off your network, and is nice and simple. Now, bearing in mind that this is in response to someone who had to ask how to accomplish this task, let's not give them a solution that is any more complicated than it needs to be.

    Sure, if you are tech savvy, go for more hardware and better encryption, but don't assume people that ask advice can just go do what you tell them.
     
  21. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

    Messages:
    10,581
    Title?

    Well I found the info on WEP and WPA2 useful.

    When I was a student living in a mainly student area, there were plenty of tech savvy people living around us that would quite willingly hack into other peoples wireless connections without thier knowledge. Not so important now that I live among "normal" people (I think).
     
  22. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    19,083
    You may never know how many geeks are in the basements near you!

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2007
  23. Stryder Keeper of "good" ideas. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,105
    Perhaps even *your* basement!

    As you can tell there are many methods of linking two computers together, be it via a LAN or wired/wireless.
    I wouldn't suggest using "Connection Sharing" purely because it means having to have both machines on at the same time, this does meant however that you'd require a "Gateway". Usually this is in the form of a Router.

    You can either get a router that connects to whatever modem connects to the phoneline or a router which has a built in modem. (The modem variant is usually a little more expensive). It would be up to you to decide if you want to go with Wires or Wireless, both have their advantages and disadvantages. For instance Wires can become quite a tangled mess when dealing with multiple machines however wires don't suffer from the packet loss caused by collisions from other products running on similar frequencies like Wireless might.

    Obviously wired is more secure and doesn't require an encrypted network, Wireless might need you to write down a few key phrases so that you can syncronise any encrypted tunneling and connect any extra machines in the future.

    One problem that can occur with wireless users is "Logging into the wrong network". It's all very well people stating that some of the encryption to wireless is weak, however it's very easy to broadcast a higher signal output with a rogue router and the next thing you know, your surfing the internet on somebody elses network. (With a little bit of expertise, the network can even be made to look like the one you usually use)

    You might wonder what could be achieved by this, but basically every website you visit and every action you make online could potentially be logged if you were on someone elses network. Admittedly there are measures that some companies have gone to, to attempt to secure peoples access to the internet through proxies but there are still tools and methods available to circumnavigate those measure to great effect.

    In short, I guess you could say I'm not saying "Don't use wireless", I'm saying "Be aware of which network yours is, should their be more than one".

    You might want to try looking for some already written resources out there on the subject of home LAN setups:
    http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/howto-network.html
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2007
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page