Well, I’ve done my share of localtalk-by-phone-jack and crossover-cable-ethernet setups in the past, but now I’ve got a cable modem and too many computers to just fumble around like I’ve been doing.
I’d like to be able to:
see any computer’s hard drive from any other computer
share my broadband connection across all machines
have some hardware firewall protection
Here’s what I need to hook together (all have ethernet jacks built-in):
a cable modem
a PowerMac 7300 (which has a localtalk laser printer attached to it … but that’s another story … )
an iMac
an iBook
another iBook, sometimes, when my friend visits
So, 4 machines. My research (threemacs.com, etc.) indicates that I need a router to trick my provider into thinking I’m only accessing the Internet via one machine, but that I also need a hub to be able to get the machines to talk to each other. What’s the cheapest, easiest way?
I had noticed this router, but do I still need a hub with this sort of thing? How would a hub get hooked into everything?
The router you linked to has a built-in hub, so you won’t need an extra one. The router would come with setup instructions. The cable modem would plug into the router, and your other computers would plug into the router. Setting up the computers would be dependent on whether they are running Classic Mac OS or Mac OS X.
granted, it’s $100 more than the one you linked to, but it has built in 802.11b wireless ethernet, so anyone with an airport card (or other 802.11b card) doesn’t need any ethernet cabling… plus there’s something so cool about being able to access your highspeed outside, on the toilet etc… and you don’t have to drill any holes and go wall fishing to run cabling.
other benefits, it’s a switch instead of a hub (I simply refuse to use hubs), it has a built in print server (very useful for sharing a printer among machines, and it has a serial port so you can hook up an external modem and it will dial-on-demand incase you have to set up your LAN where there isn’t highspeed internet.
on reading further on the link you originally posted… it is a switch also, not a hub… so strike that point. I should have read fully instead of trusting Cleophus
Also, I’ve had some bad experiences with netgear stuff (well, not all their products… their small/home office switches are just fine, for small and home office applications… for production environments, it’s cisco all the way)
All of this is good information. I think the choice you will have to make is between a conventional wired Ethernet network or a wireless network. When I designed my home net two years ago, wireless was more expensive, so I retrofitted four rooms with Cat-5 cable, and hooked up a Asante Friendlynet router and Faralllon mini switch (you need a switch, not a hub). Both are easy to configure and use and support Mac architecture. Now both components are combined which is good.
If I could do it over today, I would choose wireless due to the lower hassle factor, the benefits of unlimited accessibility and the lower cost. Plus my new G4 has Airport built in.
Yeah–I think I’m sticking with wired Ethernet over wireless. (1) it’s still cheaper, since I would need to buy airport cards for every piece of equipment vs. some cat-5 cable for my ethernet-ready products (2) no freeloaders picking up my signal (3) in a year I’ll be moving into a new house, which will be wired with cat-5 and coax and whose physical structure (lots of metal/wire mesh under plaster in the walls) will likely cause problems for the wireless network.
Yeah, I probably will pick up a sub-$100 USB inkjet at some point, but the old sucker I have is a LASER … and, for lots of my needs, an inkjet, no matter how good it is, just doesn’t cut it.