Advice for setting up first network.
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Advice for setting up first network.
Hi, hope someone can give me advice.
I'm thinking of getting Blueyonder Broadband and want to know how to network two computers (mine and my housemate's)
My basic understanding so far is this: when we join Blueyonder my housemate will get given a broadband modem. My motherboard (MSI K7N2 Delta) has an on board LAN netwwork adapter (or "1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45" as it is exactly in the product specification on Ebuyer).
Now, what exactly do I need to do from here? Is the on board network adapter good enough and can I simply buy a router (and if so which ones are reccomended?) and what cables do I need to connect it all up? One last question - anything else I need to know about!?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Ross
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if the other computer also has a network card then it would probably be RJ45 network cable to connect the two together. or you could go wireless which is what i am doing also with blueyonder. set up 2 wireless adaptors to work in a 'peer 2 peer' mode and choose to share your internet connection.
if it is simply 2 computers you are connecting then i doubt you would need a router.
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Here's what you will need for a home network:
1. Internet provider
2. Modem
3. Router
4. Network cable rj45
5. both computers need a network card
Connect the modem to the wall outlet or splitter. Connect the router to the modem. Connect the two computers to the router.
You will need to configure the router. That can be a little trickey.
If you want to just connect the two computers together (no internet, no modem, no router) then you will need a "crossover cable".
Hope this helps
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ziggurat13's advice is the neatest and most flexible way to do this. However I offer an alternative that may be cheaper but has drawbacks.
Configure your main PC to use the broadband modem as if you were not going to consider the second machine. When it all works, purchase a second network card and install in the main PC. Then run a crossover cable from that card to the second PC. There is now effectively a "network" between your machine and the internet and a "network" between your machine and the second PC. You can then use a part of Windows called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to "bridge" the two together and thus give your second PC internet access. The big downside is that the first machine has to be on for the second to gain access to the internet.
I personally much prefer the router option but I thought I might offer an alternative.
