Most cable services will run the internet cable to the house and inside one room. Then you have the option of doing the rest yourself - if there are computers in other rooms you can use a wireless setup. We are probably going to get cable service and I'm not sure we can get the wireless setup to work. As long as we have to hire someone to do it, thought maybe we should just pay someone to wire those rooms.
My question: Both computers are in bedrooms, across the hall from each other. Would it be possible (instead of buying wireless setup) to have those two rooms wired for cable and get a spliter so the signal would go to both rooms? Is that even possible?
No. The cable line (Rg-6 coaxial cable) first runs into a cable modem. From the moden you connect to a network card on the computer with Cat5 or Cat6e.
The cable company doesn't run your network cable, they only run the coaxial television cable that connects to the modem.
In order to network more than one computer you need to split the Cat5 cable after the modem with a router, not the Rg6 coaxial line.
And most cable companies prohibit this - as the want you to pay for an additional modem if you want additional computers hoked up - just like they used to charge you extra to split your regular cable line and hook up extra televisions and VCRs.
Stated in simpler words - one cable modem per cable entering the house. Don't ask why. You'd have to be stupid to pay for more cable modems per house. Each modem would be sharing bandwidth anyway, just like a home network hub does. Waste of money.
The company won't give you that extra modem for free, either, because the registered hardware address is all it needs to get on the company's network - you could give the modem to any neighbor with cable TV and they'd be likely be able to tap into the network too.
Further, most internet providers charge extra for "home networking" - another waste of money unless you can't read and follow the simple instructions required to set up your own network.
Wireless networking is no-brainer and cheap. The components come in blister packs at Home Depot these days.
Let them get the modem set up on 1 computer, as is usually included in installation, then go buy the wireless network components and read the "quick setup" instructions. In the end, you'll have as many computers as you want screaming on the internet by simply installing a wireless card in each, pay 1 monthly service, no holes and mess all of cables all over the house (and the costs of having someone drill all those holes), and no extra monthly "home networking" costs.
As are many current $50 wired systems. The brouter simply acts like a dhcp server. Most of the time, all the user needs to do is enter the login info via a simple web page interface, connect the wires, and reboot everything.
You could if you had two cable modems. With one cable modem, you can plug it into one computer, then add a second NIC and set it up for "Internet Connection Sharing" (see the Windows documentation). Then plug the second computer into that NIC. The two computers will connect the NICs with an Ethernet wire. No router needed.
While it's possible for the cable company to check whether you've got two computers connected this way, I did it for years without my supplier noticing. They did come down on those who connected extra computers via routers without paying extra.
Make sure you have a good firewall software package installed and turn off access to almost everything in your computer. Ditto a good virus checking software package.
If you can't do this, the 14 y.o next door probably can. :-)
Sometimes, if the machines are close together, or there is easy access to hollow space, like a basement or attic, wired networks aren't difficult. Wired can also come out much cheaper, faster, and more secure.
To the original poster - you might also post this question to the newsgroup comp.dcom.modems.cable if you want to talk with some experts.
A bit of work, but no real technical difficulties. The electronics and computer setup are even easier than with wireless but the physical wiring can be a challenge. Requires drilling a few holes and fishing the cables through. It can take a bit of time for someone who has no experience with this, but it is pretty straight forward. If you can operate a drill and feel comfortable crawling around in an attic space, there is no real challenge.
Apartment dwellers may not have the access needed, so this advice is better suited to home owners.
Unless you are concerned with security or performance.
I get 100 MBps on my home Ethernet. Most network adaptors, routers, etc, will support that easily. What do you get on wireless. While external traffic is limited by the cable modem service, local traffic such as file and print sharing can use the additional bandwidth.
On the security side, 802.11b wireless is terrible, especially with the default settings. The X and G versions are better, but require knowledgeable set up to reach their potential. If you do an actual pug-and-play installation with consumer grade products, you are exposed to significant risk of someone, like the teenage hacker next door, hijacking your network.
In any event, I would recommend installing a hardware firewall between cable modem and router or wireless access point. Several companies offer combination firewall/router devices that work well. Also, take the time to study the configuration settings. Change all the default passwords. Turn off remote administration options on the firewall - you don't want someone coming across the wide area net changing your configuration. If you do run wireless, turn on all the security options and pick strong authentication and set long keys. None of the wireless systems that I have seen default to good security settings.
Poor solution, Jeff. Most Cable providers (ISPs) won't allow it, and those that do will charge you twice their standard monthly fee.
A better solution is to purchase a 4-port firewall router (Under $100) and put it behind the cable modem. Then you can feed up to 256 computers off that same line. Have an installer run cat-5 or cat-6 (for higher speed) cable between the two rooms terminated in standard (RJ-48) Ethernet boxes on the wall. Or do it yourself. It's no harder than running phone wire.
Wireless is a pain. It's slow, expensive, will not work in some areas, and has security issues. It's the only solution if you want to sit on your deck and use your laptop, but a poor substitute when hard-wiring is possible.
"Wireless is a pain. It's slow, expensive, will not work in some areas, and has security issues." Slow? It runs at or faster than the cable modem speed. This user (the guy that started the thread) does not have a file server to worry about. Even then, most users will not detect the difference between wired and wireless. expensive? You can get a 4-port Linsys WAP for next to nothing. Wireless NIC is cheap as well. will not work in some areas??? He's talking ACROSS THE HALL. security issues? Enable WEP and MAC filtering and only those who REALLY want in will get in. If they want in that bad, they will get in no matter what.
My prejudice: I'm a wired ethernet guy. Maybe I just like running wires, etc.
My internet (dsl - but that 's no different) comes into the basement to my adapter and router. Then it's up into the attic via conduit and conduit runs all around the attic, out near the eaves and away from the the electrical wiring.
Since your users are across the hall, you can't just to the "through the wall or closet trick." If you put in RJ-45 jacks in each bedroom and get them lined up on the same joist space, the fishing job for the wires wouldn't be too bad. And you dont' need electrical boxes, just use mud-rings. (It's kind of scary to think you can actually get all this stuff at home depot.)
However, all things considered: I would usually recommend wireless. Unless you are spooling video off a server to multiple rooms, you will never use up the bandwidth of newer wireless standards. As far as Internet traffic - your cable is nowhere close to the speeds you'll get on you own network. But you hardly need that speed to share a printer. Make sure you keep up with all security precautions! (My friend works for a big consulting firm: she is specifically prohibited from having her work laptop on a wireless network at home. She went with a "phone line network" which has worked ok. You can also do a network over your regular house electrical wiring.)
In my experience, getting the networking to work properly with the two operating systems and each other will be more difficult than than physically setting up the network. If both of the machines are running the same o/s, you'll have a head start.
DO NOT hook up a cable modem directly to a computer! The output of the cable modem should go first to a hardware router/switch. To this, either wired or wireless, the computers are connected. In other words, the router/switch (switch=high-speed router), sits between your computer(s) and the internet. This configuration enables hardware anti-intrusion, blocking, firewall capability.
it's ideal to to put the router betw the cablemodem and the pc. but it is also optional to directly connect the cablemodem to the pc under certain situations. the pc is firewalled and running DHCP to your home LAN. this pc can also be running packet sniffers or proxy for your LAN. I use this setup for cheating with online multiplayer games.
Yep, and that's slow also. The max transfer rate on a cable modem is 10 Meg with an effective rate of about 2 Meg. Normal wireless (not g) runs about the same. A $10 RJ-45 NIC runs 100 Meg. Or in the Gig range if you run cat-6 and buy expensive cat-6 NICs. Eventually you'll get tired of that car that only runs 2 MPH and wish you had bought the cheaper car that runs 100 MPH. That big movie file that you want to transfer to the other computer and takes 5 minutes to transfer will take over four hours via wireless. That's s l o w .
You can't tell the difference between 5 minutes and four hours???
Wireless cards are two to three times the cost of a standard network card... And the required access point is four to five times as much. You can lessen the cost by buying a combination access/firewall/router, but not a lot. You can go up to 802.11g and get around 50 Meg, but you best float a loan before you go check them out.
True, but he might want to put another computer somewhere wireless won't penetrate. Like behind a concrete wall.
The point was that running wires is something most everyone can do and hard wired connectivity is totally secure. Not even the high tech equipment of goverment agencies can penetrate a hard wired lan when it's not connected to the Internet. They can, however, access any file on any computer in your house from a van across the street if you're running wireless. And they're not the only ones that can do it.
128 bit WEP is like a cheap padlock. It only keeps out the honest and those unable to obtain the tools to get past it.
And that's the exact point. The bottleneck is the cable modem, and always will be. Since the internal network, wireless, is as fast or faster than the slowest point, you can't tell the difference between a wireless network, a 100 MBPS cabled network, Gigabit over ethernet or fiber.
Oh yeah, the price goes from a minimum of about $20 US for a NIC and a long crossover to a cable modem, to not much more for a crossover to a second NIC in the primary system running ICS, to about $80 for two cables long enough and a cable router (assumes NICs in two systems alreaday), to about $100 for a wireless cable router and a wireless PCI card. No cabling, and you can move it at will. Wireless G ran me $200 for the router, two USB cards and a PCI card weekend before last.
20 minutes and a Diet Coke later, the guy's systems were sailing along, a PC, a PC notebook and a Mac. With security.
Wireless penetrates concrete fine. He might want to put a wireless laptop in his neighbor's treehouse too, but he said a room across a hall.
First, in the OP's point, he doesn't need a LAN if he's not connecting to the internet. Second, you happen to be wrong. :)
Stop by my house and try.
For all the flap on wireless security, there really aren't any instances where wirelss in a home using WEP or another security option gtes broken into. There are darned few where even open wireless connections in homes get hacked.
Plus, since your statement about wireless not being able to get to some places pretty much means the hacker has to come sit at your dining room table, it's not that big an issue now is it?
The OP should take this to one of the networking or wireless groups for the real low down. And if he wants to run the cable himself, check out sandman.com. Plus, at least locally, he can get it professionally wired for less than the cost of the tools he'd use.
On Fri, 14 May 2004 14:33:41 -0400, "George" wrote (with possible editing):
I understand that the original encryption was pretty useless, but hasn't that changed? I thought that the latest encryption (128 bit DES) was supposed to be pretty good, no? Thanks,
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