Home network hookup (1 Viewer)

[Mike LS]

Just got Bellsouth DSL and I want to set up a network throught the house. I want to set it up myself, so I don't want to fool with the "network" service that the ISP provides (for a fee of course) because it limits you to 4 connections. The cable has already been pulled, so I just need to purchase any additional equipment needed. I'm probably looking at about 8 ports altogether (might add a printer in the future).

I've got the ethernet modem, and I know that there has to be a login made to connect to the Bellsouth network. I'd like for this to be an automatic process outside of my main PC. I've heard that there are DSL routers that will handle the PPPoE connection, but I'm not sure of exact models and how everything needs to be connected to make this work correctly.

I know I can handle this myself if I have the right information.....can anyone help?

 

[Max Knight]

When I had DSL I had a D-Link cable/dsl router that did PPPoE connections. I think most of them do.

 

[Scott L]

A router/switch connects to your modem and will split your internet connection between its ports. But 8 ports??? Why don't you just hook up your printer to one of your computers. You can still use that printer form any computer on the network.

I have a Netgear 4-port router connected to cable at home splitting the connection to 3 computers. 1 of which has a printer.

 

[Mike LS]

The 8 port thing is just so I can put ethernet connections in different rooms of the house so I can connect my laptop wherever I may be. They won't all be used, but I'd like to have the freedom of connecting in any room without having to limit myself to the # of ports on the router, which is usually pretty small.

Anyhow, I'd connect the DSL to the supplied modem, then connect the modem to the router, then from the router on to my hub?

 

[Mike McNertney]

Yes, DSL modem->router->computers and/or hub sounds fine. You can chain a number of hubs together. Most hubs provide a special port for use with connecting to other hubs. If not, you can just get a "crossed" ethernet cable, which is just a standard ethernet cable with two of the wires crossed which allows you to connect two standard ethernet ports directly

You mentioned that the reason you want so many ports is because of your laptop... Have you considered wireless? A number of routers have a wireless access point built in, or you can just get a separate one and hook it up like a hub. This would allow you to take your laptop anywhere around the house without worrying about wiring it up. I think wireless access points are typically $50-100 and about the same for a decent wireless PCMCIA card.

 

[DaveGTP]

Techbargains.com and techdeals.com frequently have had wireless networking access points, a wireless networking router would be better for your purposes. Wireless is definitely the way to go if you have a laptop. I have recently seen the router and laptop card combo for about $120.

 

[Mike LS]

I've considered wireless, but the wiring has already been done, so I plan to stick to that route. I found it just as easy to simply run CAT5 cable to every phone jack.

Plus, I've heard that wireless networking equipment is prone to interfer or take interferance from other 2.4ghz equipment and I have a couple of phones on this band. I didn't want to run a risk.

So again, anybody have a specific model they can recommend (router)?

 

[John_Berger]

I've been using the LinkSys BEFSR41 (four ports - your model number would be BEFSR81 if you want 8 ports) for a few years without a problem.

 

[Juan Castillo]

Hooking up the printer will require an additional piece of hardware, a print server. Otherwise you will not be able to use it like you want. Secondly, Scotts comment about hooking it up to another computer, will work, if you have another computer that is, and the kicker is, that computer has to be on when you want to print. Microsofts file and print sharing is all you will need. The router will take the incoming Bellsouth IP information and use it as the connection the ISP sees. Then it will disperse internal IPs for what you need. This way, the ISP only sees one IP. Otherwise you may be charged. In other words, you definitely want a router and not just a hub. You will not have to login each time you move from room to room, but you will have to release and renew IP's for your laptop to work in a different room (that is if you move it while it is already on, when it initially comes on it will automatically renew its IP address if one is available. If you have more than one computer on this LAN, you will want to make sure to have password protection for drive sharing, otherwise you open yourself up to the world.

Also, the linksys router described above for 8 ports will only give you 7, if you use the uplink port for the incoming signal from the dsl modem. You will want to use the WAN port to connect which should give you all 8 ports free. You will need to configure this router to use DHCP to spit out IP's. I can help here later if you need.

 

[Mike LS]

I checked out the Linksys website and I think that their BEFSR11 would probably work best for what I need. I already have a hub that I'd been using just for file sharing, so the single port router should work great for me.

I scanned through the user guide for that router and the setup seems pretty straightforward....hopefully setup won't be too painfull!

Here's another question. I've ordered the DSL and have gotten my modem package and from what I'm told the service is connected and ready to go on my line, but I haven't taken the time to set the connection up on a single PC yet. Do I need to do that to get any initial setup out of the way? Or can I just hold off and set it up with the networking equipment all at once?

 

[Juan Castillo]

nah, wait till you get the router, you will have to enter all the info into it. Your laptop should just be set up to Obtain an IP address automatically.

 

[Mike LS]

OK....

Thanks for all the info!

 

[John_Berger]

I checked out the Linksys website and I think that their BEFSR11 would probably work best for what I need.

Just remember that you have a single pointof failure. If the that port fails for whatever reason, your router is effectively dead. At least with a 4-port you'll have redundancy unless the whole thing goes belly up.

 

[Mike LS]

OK, I know what equipement I need now, but would you suggest I go with Linksys or Netgear? The prices are comperable and they're pretty much available anywhere.

Any pros/cons?

 

[Scott L]

I've bought all Netgear in the past and have had minor problems before but it's a solid brand overall. I haven't heard any problems with Linksys, and the next choice I'd have to make between the 2 would be a Linksys product.

 

[John_Berger]

OK, I know what equipement I need now, but would you suggest I go with Linksys or Netgear?

I've heard that NetGear used to have a problem if multiple computers were performing on-line gaming at the same time. I don't know if that issue has been resolved. But if you're not doing multiple PCs running on-line gaming, that's not even an issue.
My LinkSys has never been a problem for me, but I don't have multiple computers doing on-line gaming.
I would say that your best bet would probably be to flip a coin. Heads, NetGear; tails, LinkSys.

 

[Mike LS]

Heads, NetGear; tails, LinkSys.

That's always the answer you want to hear!
This setup won't be used for gaming so I doubt I have to worry about that. It's actually going to be more of a business based setup. Multiple users, email, file sharing etc.
If both brands are highly thought of, I think I'll go with Linksys since they seem to have a slight price edge.

 

[Parker Clack]

Mike:

I use and have used both the wired and wireless Linksys router/hub combos with no problems at all. Set up is easy and there is nothing to configure. All you have to do is make sure that the browsers are set to use a LAN instead of a dial up.

I went with the wireless route when my daughter got a computer and I didn't want to run the CAT5 to the router. It worked like a charm. She then took it to college with her and they have four computers hooked up to it wirelessly with no problems even with all four using the set up at the same time.

Amazon has had some really good deals on both the wired and the wireless set ups. You might want to check them out.

Parker

 

[Juan Castillo]

Is your Bellsouth account static or dynamic? If it is static, then the router will have to be configured. I would choose linksys over netgear if I had a choice. Been using both at work for a long while, and the netgear stuff is the only one to have problems. Grant it, they were not so good when they first hit the market, and have improved drastically to be a very reliable company and product. Linksys has never failed us and we use them in public internet access kiosks all over the world.