Networking & Broadband w/out router?

[ProximityX]

Before i begin im brand new to any of this. Dont be suprised if i dont make sense, just try to correct me

I have:
*2 comps (1 Win95, 1 XP Home)
*Broadband Cable using Ethernet

I Need to hook them up the cheapest way possible

Can I:

*Can you use a hub (cheap $10 one, 4 ports) to share a broadband connection without 2 network cards on host comp?? Someone on another forum described their setup saying they had the broadband in the uplink of their hub and the comps on the normal hub ports.... This sounds like a good idea, if it works.

Or...

*Do I need to use a router? I found one for $20 in town. I dont want to use a router, because I cant hook up more comps that way (like 4 way LAN)

Any Suggestions??

Thx in advance

 

[Lardog]

If you cable provider will simply hand out unlimited IP addresses, then the hub will work.

However, chances are they do not. They either set their DHCP according to MAC address or host name. In this case, the router is needed as it will get the Internet IP, and act as a DHCP server for your local LAN to provide internal IPs and provide NAT service for all hosts connecting to it. If the router only has 1 or two ports, you can also hook the hub to it and connect additional hosts that way.

ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on XP will essentially do the same thing, it just needs two NICs in that box. But cost wise, they can be found for $10-20 too, so no big deal.

 

[JohnWill]

I don't understand the comment about the inability to have a network behind a broadband router, don't tell all these computers here that! IMO, if you can afford several computers and broadband service, you can afford a $40-50 router switch, which will allow for at least four computers to be on the LAN.

 

[patch-man]

IMHO: It is a very bad idea to connect any computer directly to the internet without some sort of firewall. You probably could get your computers to connect up with no problem (most cable ISP allow up to 5 address per router), but I can almost guarentee that you will have a worm, virus, etc on that computer within a day. If you are going to use the hub method, I strongly suggest getting something like ZoneAlarm. Go to http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp and on the lower right side of that page is a link for the free version.

 

[JohnWill]

Actually, many cable ISP's only provide a single IP, Comcast is one of those. Since I have a broadband router, it's not an issue, I only need one.

 

[Del]

Exactly, if they allow multiple IP's, a hub, if not, a router.

 

[GOTzMADsKILLz]

Or you can feel free to use a nice fast switch

 

[JohnWill]

Originally posted by Del:
Exactly, if they allow multiple IP's, a hub, if not, a router.

Actually, since the router also offers VPN and firewall services, I'd use it anyway. Unless you're running servers, there's no real reason for multiple IP addresses that I can see...

I did notice that Comcast is now selling extra IP addresses for $9/mo, but I didn't jump up and buy one.

 

[patch-man]

Originally posted by johnwill:
Actually, many cable ISP's only provide a single IP, Comcast is one of those. Since I have a broadband router, it's not an issue, I only need one.

I stand corrected. In my area, there are only two broadband cable providers, and they both offer up to 5 IP's per connection free.

I would second your reasoning about the router, but I took the meaning from the orginal post to be that he didn't want to spend a lot of money. That was the reason behind my suggestion of ZoneAlarm. If multiple IP's are allowed, then the free ZoneAlarm with a cheap hub is the best option. Or possibly useing connection sharing software on one of the machines, with ZoneAlarm on it, to act as a router. I know there are options out there for every version of Windows, and I believe that XP even has one standard.

 

[Miz]

If the $20 router you've found only has one port to plug in a computer, then you can still use it with several computers by also buying a cheap hub. A four-port hub can be had for around $10, 8 port for around $20, 12 port for around $40, etc.

You just plug all the computers into the hub and then the hub into the router. The router will give you access to both the internet and your home network.

 

[Monstrous Mi]

You don't need a router but I would recommend as a minimum a router with 4 LAN ports. These are common and inexpensive.

Here's what a router will do for you.

1. Assigns IP addresses to all your computers automatically for up to 255 computers.

2. Shares bandwidth equally between all computers.

3. Provides Network Address Translation (NAT) which means that people external to your router have no information on what computers are behind that router.

4. Rejects any external unsolicited Internet requests. (i.e. stops people from scanning your ports.)

5. Allows for access control both internal and external by IP and port number.

6. Some even have a printer server so you can share a printer with everyone on the network.

The only thing you are resticted from doing is sharing files using MSN Messenger. Also, on-line gaming can be tricky to set up.

 

[JohnWill]

Originally posted by Monstrous Mi:
The only thing you are resticted from doing is sharing files using MSN Messenger. Also, on-line gaming can be tricky to set up.

Actually, you can use MSN Messenger, you just need to open the correct ports. Basically, with the proper configuration, there's very little that you can do direct connected that you can't do with the router in the configuration.

 

[Monstrous Mi]

johnwill:

Here is the link to my router manufacturer: http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?sec=Support&pg=FAQ-Details&note_id=133&site=c

 

[ProximityX]

Thxs for the advice, but it wont help due to my circumstances (atleast for right now) Researched more to find out that att broadband requires win98+ and 300mhz.... So, until the old one dies and we buy a new one, we would have to have dial-up and cable. And, the powersupply in the old comp is to the point that if it gets turned off, it wont ever turn back on. That means no chance installing net card..... Heh heh, maybe i should just go turn it off and blame it on the power company, that way my parents buy a new comp anyways.....

Any ideas are great, but proly im stuck for now

Thx

 

[Lardog]

Thxs for the advice, but it wont help due to my circumstances (atleast for right now) Researched more to find out that att broadband requires win98+ and 300mhz

AT&T doesn't require anything other than a network card. They are simply providing network connectivity. You do realize that there are a lot of non Win98 machines with lesss than 300MHz procs connected to networks, right?

Those requirements are for their software which you neither need nor want.

As for your powere supply, can't help you there. Time to suck it up and get a new one. They are only around $30 - $40.