> So, you would put the router/switch in your wiring closet, where I > assume your DSL line also terminates. Then plug in the line from the > DSL modem to the router input. I assume your wired house will have > Cat. 5 jacks near your computers. Plug the ethernet ports on your > computers into their nearby jacks. And connect the other end of > those jacks in your wiring closet to the switch ports on router and > you should be hooked up hardware-wise.
That is a pretty good rundown of the things you oughta be worrying about if you are rewiring your house right now. Sounds like you're using good CAT5 so what you need to do is plan for everything to come together at one single physical location. By "everything" that means all of your ethernet lines and a telephone line (keep the electrical power in mind too, you'll need to power your router/switch.) Further, you want to have all of this stuff in an out of the way spot. . .in a closet, in the basement, etc. . .because once it is set up you'll never need to look at it again. > After that, I believe there's a little configuring to do on your > computers and of the router. My understanding is that most of these > routers have a web browser sort of interface for configuring them. > That bit I don't know how to do, but it should be easy to figure out > by reading documentation, asking others, and asking your DSL service. I got a NetGear router/switch. . .Linksys, SMC, Asante. . .they will all work. They are also all priced pretty competitively so if you find a sale or other deal on one go for it. Actually, other than providing support for AppleTalk networking, which you really don't need since you can use AppleTalk over TCP/IP, and which would add a lot to the sticker price, there is really nothing that could be done to make them more or less Mac compatible. Everyone uses the same standards and protocols. What you are looking to do is the default configuration that a home "broadband router" is designed to do. You will unpack it from the box, plug it in, plug the ethernet end of a working DSL modem into the DSL jack on the router, and it will establish the connection to your service provider automatically. You then plug one end of an ethernet line into one of the switch ports on the router and the other end into your Mac. Under the TCP/IP control panel set it to use the ethernet interface and set it to obtain its settings from a DHCP server. Close TCP/IP control panel. You may need to reboot, but probably not. Verify that you have ethernet connectivity. Repeat as necessary for all of your machines. And finally, and this is a key step if you've ever done DSL directly to your Mac, take the software CD containing the MacPoET software, and microwave it on High for 2-3 seconds because you are never going to need that crap again. (Actually you may want to hold onto it to show your grandkids or something. But one step I did forget is to remove everything called MacPoET from your Extensions folder.) -Greg -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | Service & Replacement Parts [EMAIL PROTECTED] | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> SuperMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/supermacs/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/supermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
