# repairing an ethernet cable **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2004, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239 "2004-11-17T10:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/41 "2004-12-02T08:42:26Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Yeah, what he said. 🙂 > > **galt** We have a couple routers, but Comcast, our cable provider charges for each IP address. Its only an extra $5.00 a month, but there are just tthe two of us. One computer upstairs, and two down, so there’s no way we can use all three at once anyway. The router only uses one ip address. It then _routes_ the info from the net to the other computers that IT assigns ip addresses of its own. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/42 "2004-12-02T08:44:57Z")
You just set up the router to have the MAC address of the computer that’s hooked to the cable modem. Now, the router has the address from comcast. Then, the router assigns the computers seperate ip addresses. Most commonly: 192.168.0.1 192.168.0.2 192.168.0.3 If you find that you need seperate ip addresses for the apparati that you use, you probably have a hub and not a router. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/43 "2004-12-02T09:01:47Z")
> [@The\_Llama](#): > > The router only uses one ip address. It then _routes_ the info from the net to the other computers that IT assigns ip addresses of its own. That depends on the router and the network configuration. Sharing a single IP address with multiple computers is usually done with NAT and DHCP. Many routers will also allow you to share a pool of IP addresses with multiple computers. If your network provider gives you enough IP addresses, it can dispense with NAT and simply route packets between your local network and the ISP’s network. Using more than one IP address can be useful if you want to run a service on more than one computer. Each IP address can have its own distinct set of port forwarding rules. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/44 "2004-12-02T09:06:00Z")
Um, NAT is network address translation… which is taking information from the internet and sending it to the addresses the router has assigned. All modern routers use NAT and DHCP. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/45 "2004-12-02T09:11:10Z")
Also, I’m pretty sure that only a switch has the capability that you’re talking about, not a router. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/46 "2004-12-02T09:36:42Z")
> [@The\_Llama](#): > > Um, NAT is network address translation… which is taking information from the internet and sending it to the addresses the router has assigned. All modern routers use NAT and DHCP. That isn’t true. While it might be included as part of the software in the router, many networks have no need for NAT or DHCP. DHCP is used to assign IP addresses to computers that do not need static IP addresses, reducing administrative overhead and conserving the number of IP addresses that are used. NAT is a kludge that became popular when many network service providers became unreasonable about assigning blocks of IP addresses to their smaller customers. Many older networks, who got their IP addresses before the so-called shortage of IP addresses, assign static IP addresses to all of their computers, eliminating the need for DHCP or NAT. The core functionality of a router is to route packets between networks. Anything else is an optional feature. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/47 "2004-12-02T11:25:58Z")
You know, after I had a long, drawn out reply written up, I re-read your last post and I realize what you’re saying. I had never set up a home network in the days of ip addresses for everyone(!) and any modern router I have ever dealt with uses NAT and DHCP. However, I was using the terms interchangeably, when I shouldn’t. I just don’t think of the lowly home network router as being the watered down little brother of the big Fujitsu type routers that make the entire internet work. And of course none of those types of routers would need NAT or DHCP. Anyway, you are absolutely right, and I’m sorry for using the wrong terms. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239/48 "2004-12-02T15:54:18Z")
Get yourself (or your hubby for Christmas!) a 4-port Linksys router (BEFSR41 is the old reliable workhorse model). Comcast will never know you have several machines behind it, and it also functions as a basic firewall to keep some malicious traffic off of your home network. Other benefits include being able to move files from machine to machine – e.g., your financial files can be stored on every machine in the house, preventing loss in case of a crash. You can do all of the administrative tasks for the router with a web interface (from any computer in the house that’s connected to your internal LAN), and each computer can use the network regardless of whether the others are turned on. Go for it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-ethernet-cable/275239.md?page=2)