NICs

[NaiLed]

Ok, I'm very close to getting a new computer and I want both of them to be conencted to the internet. I'm taking FA's advice and going to get 2 NICs.

Just wondering what NICs are the best as there's lots of different makes. Could you give me some links? Also, do I have to connect the second computer to a phone line also (I have 512kbps ADSL)? I guess I do.

One computer will be upstairs and the other downstairs - that won't be a problem right?

EDIT: oh yeah, and how do I plug them in?

[Mr. Peanuts]

Simply get a PCI (32 Bit) Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Card and plug it in a free PCI slot, make sure the one you buy is a PCI chip, not an ISA chip.

Lindy are a good brand that deal with communication devices:
http://www.lindy.com/uk/productfolde...0953/index.php - This is a 10/100 card and has everything you need for internet, games and other application sharing.

Then you will need an ethernet cable - linking the 2 computers, just get a simple 10/100 mbps cable, and make sure it reaches the other computer.

Or you could go wireless if you wish, but don't ask me

BTW- I'm just going off what I learnt in ICT last year when we briefly covered networking, make sure it gets FA's or someone's approval

Your ADSL modem should act as a router, make sure the stronger computer is the server with the ADSL modem, otherwise you will get lagged.

[NaiLed]

trhe 2 computers will be almost opposite sides of the house, it would be a bagillion times easier if i didn't have to link the 2 computers together with a wire

[Mr. Peanuts]

Yeah, wireless would be your best bet, but wireless is quite expensive. If you have the cash to blow, do it.

[Fallen Angel]

Here's what the setup would look like (made a few assumptions):




In this setup:

• The ADSL modem is directly connected to one of the primary PC's NICs, using a straight UTP CAT5 cable.
• The secondary PC is directly connected to the primary PC's remaining NIC, using a cross-over UTP CAT5 cable.

Some notes:

• If the ADSL modem connects to your PC via USB, logically you will need only one NIC in the primary PC, to which you will hook up the secondary PC.
• If you are going to use the network setup between the two PC's for ICS only, you needn't bother with Gigabit NICs and a CAT6 UTP cable, as 100 Mbps NICs and a CAT5 UTP cable will be more then adequate (not to mention cheaper).

Could you post the make and model of the ADSL modem you use, as the abilities (or lack thereof) of the modem significantly influence the setup?

[Ewan]

You can get a decent NIC for a fiver.

[Hairygroin]

as a tech, I'd have to recommend getting a router WAY over just getting a NIC.

Buying a NIC card (btw, you'd need a crossover cable to hook up from one comptuer directly to the other) won't fix any security problems. If you get a router, your home network is completely separate from the internet (picture a little bubble attached to a giant bubble...the point where they touch is the router). Otherwise, you are just looking at a potential nightmare.

Besides, a router would let you plug in more than just 1 or 2 PCs, and it handles all the processing and firewall activities by itself. Even if your computer is indeed fast, it still will suffer a bit if you have a software firewall running.



To do a router based setup, you'd just plug the modem into the router's WAN port with a standard RJ-45 network cable. Plug each computer that needs internet access (and also for network support for playing lan games or whatever) into the remaining ports on the router, and you should be pretty much set up.

[Akai]

for a second I thought you made that image special for this post

[Fallen Angel]

for a second I thought you made that image special for this post

I did.
MS Visio.

[Fallen Angel]

...

Yes, but in the previous thread the router option was rejected iirc.

Personally I'd go for the DrayTek Vigor 2600W, which is has both a 100BaseT ethernet switch and a WAP onboard. Currently I'm using the DrayTek 2500E, which is by far the best home router I have ever used. DrayTek routers are a bit expensive though.

[Akai]

I did.
MS Visio.

cool - those are all part of default clipart?

[Pure_Luck]

wireless isn't as expensive as it used to be.

[Fallen Angel]

wireless isn't as expensive as it used to be.

Especially true for the 802.11b (11 Mbps) specification.
Perfectly suited for ICS purposes and LAN gaming, but way too slow to handle serious network traffic.

As with regular NICs you only need two wireless NICs to connect two computers. You don't need a wireless access point, because you can create an ad-hoc connection between the two wireless NICs. A 802.11b wireless NIC costs about 30-40 euros.

[Mr. Peanuts]

It isnt as expensive but, I'd still rather have an cabled LAN rather than a wireless one, it just isn't worth the money.

[NaiLed]

Here's what the setup would look like (made a few assumptions):




In this setup:

• The ADSL modem is directly connected to one of the primary PC's NICs, using a straight UTP CAT5 cable.
• The secondary PC is directly connected to the primary PC's remaining NIC, using a cross-over UTP CAT5 cable.

Some notes:

• If the ADSL modem connects to your PC via USB, logically you will need only one NIC in the primary PC, to which you will hook up the secondary PC.
• If you are going to use the network setup between the two PC's for ICS only, you needn't bother with Gigabit NICs and a CAT6 UTP cable, as 100 Mbps NICs and a CAT5 UTP cable will be more then adequate (not to mention cheaper).

Could you post the make and model of the ADSL modem you use, as the abilities (or lack thereof) of the modem significantly influence the setup?

Oh, so I'd still have to physically connect both computers together using a wire? That's very tricky for me (the 2 computers couldn't possibly be further apart, there's so many walls between them on opposite sides of the house).

my modem is a BT Voyager 100 USB ADSL Modem. it's just a standard one that comes free with the ISP when you sign up.

I only want the computers to both be able to connect to the internet, but i'll probably use them to download big files fro p2p programs, etc.

So how much would a wireless setup be? Would I still be able to get a strong connection and would it be laggy?