On Aug 10, 2004, at 10:20 PM, Alejandro Desalvo wrote:
Hi, people. May be this is not the very indicated place to post my question,
but I'm sure you will know what I need to know. So here I go... if I'm
breaking some kind of rule please just let me know.
I'm trying to find the way to share internet between 3 computers. 2 of them
are WinXP PC and the other one is a PowerPC 9600/300. Apparently I can do so
using a switch connected to the modem. Now here is the question: as I need
to buy all these things which means I don't own any of them, I want to know
exactly what I need. Do I need a router? what is the difference between
connecting the modem directly to the switch and through a router?
Hope I'm being clear about my question and you can help me.
You need a router. What you are doing is creating your own local area network (LAN), then connecting it ('routing it') to the Internet via your modem. A router connects two networks.
A switch is merely an interconnect between a bunch of computers on a LAN. It does not have the ability to 'route' traffic between networks.
That said, every 'Cable/DSL Router' I've seen actually combines the two devices into one, so that is all you need. So long as it has more than 3 ethernet ports (they come in 4-port, 5-port and 8-port versions commonly) that's all you'll need. In horrible ascii:
[modem]-----[router]====|====|---[comp 3]
| |
[Comp 1]|
|
[Comp 2]If you end up needing more ports, you buy a switch, connect it to one of the ports on the ruter, then the additional computers on the switch.
This is for wired use. There are also wireless routers which have wired ports as well so you can mix wired and wireless devices on your home network and connect to the internet all on one device.
-- Bruce Johnson
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