we have two computers. one of them has a network card, and both have internal 56.6k modems. both are of reasonable quality, one is two years old with a PIII, the other is about four years old with a PII (though it was recently refitted with a massive hard drive and a few other things, but it still lacks a graphics card).
my objectives for this network are as follows;
1.) we’d like to share a printer between two computers. (we could do this with just a switcher, but we’d also like to run in a color printer with the laserjet, though only the laserjet is essential)
2.)we’d like to be able to play games through a LAN between both computers. there are easier ways to do this, so i suppose a secondary question would be “how do i set up a LAN?”.
3.) the nice computer has a fairly small hard drive of about twelve Gig, but the older refitted one, has a simply huge 50 Gig one. we’d like to be able to send files to the old one from the new one, both as archiving and to clear space on the nice one for files that need to be immediately and quickly accessed, like games.
4.) we’d like to have both computers online at the same time, though it would be abominably slow on a 56.6k. we do plan to get DSL as soon as it is available though, and switch to cable when our DISH network account runs down in july. this is the least important of the four requests, but it would just be nice.
well, anyway, that’s it. i did search, but for stuff like this it seems a per-case-basis is needed.
If you’re going to go cable modem at some point in the near future do not get a basic hub but get a hub/router combo and two 10/100 ethernet NICs. Price difference between hub and router/hub combo is moderate and you don’t have to re-buy the router for true connection sharing.
I recommend the Linksys Etherfast DSL Router- $75-90 after rebates. As a far as connections go simply install the ethernet cards and set up a common workgroup, install the TCP-IP and associated networking drivers (installing the NIC cards should do this automatically) and set sharing, password access and permissions between the networked PCs in Win 98 control panel and you're good to go. For gameplay and only two PCs You could just cheap out with a 6.00 twisted patch cable and two NICs but would be well… wrong.
I have three PCs on a home network sharing information between them and a cable modem connection. Works great and the Linksys router has a built in firewall!
As far as internet connection sharing with a single phone line you can do this after networking with Win98/ME’s built connection sharing applet.
Control Panel > Windows Setup >Internet Connect Sharing will create the install floppy disk for this after you are networked if you wish. I have never used ICS with a router, only in my old hub only days so I don’t know if the router’s built in protections will choke on this dialup address sharing (I don’t think it would but I’m not sure).
1, 2, & 3 can be easily and cheaply done with a simple peer-to-peer network. Get a NIC card for the second computer, and a length of crossover cable. (Crossover cable is network cable that is wired to connect two computers without using a hub or a switch. If the person at the computer store looks blank when you ask for it, find someone else. Crossover and regular patch cable look the same, but they aren’t.) Windows should install the software components when you install the NIC. You’ll need to name each computer (you can do this by right-clicking on Network Neighborhood and selecting Properties), and you’ll need to share each hard drive. (Right-click the hard drive icon in My Computer or Explorer and select Sharing) Once your network is in place, you will want a firewall to keep everyone else out of your newly shared drives. ZoneAlarm is free, easy to use, and works as well or better than those you pay hundreds of dollars for.
Number 4 is a little more complicated. For now, I’d just go the crossover cable route, and not try to share an internet connection until you get DSL. When you do, you’ll need either a second NIC in one machine, or preferably, a hub. The DSL people can help you with that when the time comes.
:to astro:
that looks absolutely great; $110 and two hours with a screwdriver and the system settings get us up and running.
though, i must ask a few quick questions…
that thing says it needs a DSL/Cable connection to work. as i noted, we don’t have either yet, and might not for a while; the new main switchers for the region aren’t done yet, and cable’s out of the picture for now because we have a two-year contract with DISH sattelite services that won’t run out until july.
so, will this set up interfere with either computer dialing in? or will it make no difference and just make things almost plug-'n-play when we get broadband?
beyond that, i have an incedental question… that miniature hardware firewall, how does that compare to ZoneAlarm (what i now use)? i ask because i’ve heard that some firewalls are just such crap that they let things like subSe7en go waltzing on through like the wall isn’t there. i’d probably keep ZoneAlarm running anyway, but i’d still like to know if the front line is keeping firm…
:to VeraGemini, only seen on preview:
that looks even better. it’s simple, and looks even easier to set up than astro’s suggestion. i should probably rewrite that last paragraph up there, but it answers your question too.
The Linksys’s hardware firewall is generally well regarded enough to be used in mission critical corporate network nodes but this quesiton would be better answered by Anthracite or others with more network firewall experience.
Re cost I don’t know what your basic down and dirty basic tier cable costs but I pay 18.00 a month for basic cable and this allows me to have the 40.00 month internet cable and it’s only $ 45.00 a month without basic cable service so you may be able to get cable internet without signing up for cable TV. It’s about 2.5 times as much as your basic dialup ISP and it’s ssssssssooooooooo
much faster. It’s worth the extra dollar a day difference.
No, it shouldn’t matter.
If you want to do it cheap (requires Win98 SE or higher), put 2 nics in your main pc. Hook one to the other PC via a crossover cable, the other to your DSL modem. Then use windows ICS to configure it. This isnt nearly as nice as getting the router/hub though. With the router/hub the main computer doesnt have to be on, you can add other PCs any time you want, and it will probablly be much more reliable.
so, the hardware in that hub is super, which is great. if i still have to use dialup for a while, then i’m probably gonna leave ZoneAlarm up ('cause the signal won’t be passing through the box), but that cable-without-cable idea sounds like the best and most workable idea there is. i think that’s the best way to go.
i guess i better go talk with everyone else and throw out some of there ideas you’ve got.
astro, i think we’re gonna go with your idea. it looks like the most expandable, and the safest, of what i’ve seen here.
i have one question about it’s setup, though…
do you need two of the same kind of network card when you do this? because, the nice computer already has a “3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI” in it. if i have to buy two of the linksys devices i will, but i’d rather cut costs wherever possible, as long as that doesn’t mean it’s going to screw up the system.
and my last question, about how the printers will work through this…
we have two printers, one very slow color InkJet and a large B&W high speed LaserJet. we’d like to be able to use both, so i want to ask if we would just plug one into each computer and have them be shared, or would they both stem off of the hub?
Re printers you have to set the printers to be “shared” on the net in the printer setup box so the other PC’s will “see” them as available printers. You will still need to install the applicable printer drivers in each PC for the shared printers they are accessing. For printers without built in network interfaces the PC unit they are attached to via parallel or USB cable will need to be on and attached to the network for the printer to accessed across the network. You can buy network interface print servers for $100-$125 or less that will attach the printer directly to the network so any PC can access the printer regardless whether the other PC is on or not.
Some printer testing and self maintenance functions are not accessible via the network and need to be accessed via the directly connected PC.
great. that also puts more weight behind my requests to have the printers connected directly to the systems via printer cables, rather than taking up one of our rather limited leftover USB slots.
thanks for all the help; you might see a “i got my home network up!” thread in MPSIMS in just a couple weeks!
You won’t run out of USB ports. USB connections are expandable/shareable. For ~$30 you buy a USB hub such as those made by Belkin. It plugs into the USB port on the computer. It has 4 or more USB ports on it. I put mine on the desk so it is easy to plug in items like a camera.
Unless you are buying a “kit” (typically bundled with 2 nic cards and the router/hub and 2 -4 cables) you will need some ethernet cables of appropriate lengths to go from the nic cards to the hub. That’s the only additional item I can think of.
I’m too lazy to move this right now, but just wanted to mention that the OP does not seem to be framed as a “General Question” to me. This kind of thing would probably be better placed in the IMHO forum. - Jill
I fased the similar problem as you so i went with a cheapest solution.
I hooked up two computers with crossover cable. I set up my Win 2000 mashine as a host which dials in through the phoneline. I then set up my other win98 mashine as client and the thing work after some initial trouble.
There are problems with this kinda setup and i am paying for it. On Win2000 it dont automaticaly set up the ip to be static for LAN so when i go and use a different LAN with my laptop it erases the set up and i have to enter static ip address for the host computer everytime.
I would suggest upgrading to XP since it does all the setup automaticaly
Since all the appropriate players are here right now, let me just add a big thanks to the gang who continually keep answering these questions.
I’ve been setting up pretty much this same setup and have used to a large extent the previous-- and current-- threads on this topic as a guide to help me along.
Everything’s running smooth. Thanks! (I didn’t want to bump an old thread of mine to simply say thanks).
Finally, or additionally, saepiroth, you should really read that thread linked to by astro thoroughly… especially the part about ZoneAlarm and outbound traffic.
While the hardware firewall works great at stopping, or reducing, random pings and probes and whatnot’s, it simply won’t stop outbound traffic. For me, that’s as big of an issue as having someone hack into my computer. I simply don’t want any applications I own or use phoning in or otherwise accessing the net without my consent. Unless I tell an app I want it to get something off the net, or use it as a transport, it has no business getting things or sending things on its own.
Again, that’s a big deal to me and I only add that because the quote from Anthracite above doesn’t give the whole story behind the matter. The thread that it’s taken from goes on into further detail on the issue and is explained quite well. So, be sure to check it out.
which will tell you:
how to set up a network
how to make cables
how a router works and how to set it up
how a software firewall (e.g., ZoneAlarm) compares with a hardware firewall
and has a forum for questions on this and other topics