New home network

[Josetann]

Ok, a lot of you know about my wife\'s 2 computers in the house rule.  Well, right now I somehow managed to get 4 in, and she seems to only be pressuring me into getting rid of one of them. So maybe I get to keep the other!  Yay!

So now I\'m interested on setting up a good home network.  Right now I\'ve got two computers running win98 (about to go back to win2k on my main one, system resources start out around 80% and drop to 20% quickly, gives problems once it hits 5%) that are networked via two netgear NIC\'s with a crossover cable.  I want to add a third, preferably with linux and being the main host.

I know that it\'d be best to get a switch, and hook each one up via that.  But a network switch would cost a lot of money (money I could use for a voodoo3, for example).  My main question is, would I encounter any problems I haven\'t thought of by just having two network cards in the linux computer, and then link it to both computers via a crossover cable?

I know that this should allow me to have all three computers on the internet simultaneously (the linux computer would be the one physically connected), but would my win98 computers be able to see each other ok?  I tried configuring samba before with no luck, I assume that I\'d have to have it running to have the win98 machines communicate, correct?  Would there be a problem, even with samba properly configured?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

just set the routes up right. it\'ll work ok. switches are cheap atm, you just need a 5 port one: arlotto are good, i have one and they kick ass.

[justanyone]

Joseph:

I\'ve got a good setup.  I\'ve got a cable modem and wanted to both be secure and share bandwidth.

My mother\'s old 486 box is my firewall/DHCP box.  It\'s running a 1-floppy free mini version of Linux called Freesco (http://www.freesco.com).  That stands for \'free Cisco\' because the programmers were too cheap for $50K of cisco routers.  Anyway, You need: (1) old box with 1 floppy drive (no HD needed) and 2 ethernet cards, (2) a hub or switch (switches are faster for copying files between boxes while downloading), and (3) ethernet cables to hold them all together.

Note:  Installation is very simple, but you need to run through the configuration program that comes with the network cards and set them up to use an IRQ and base address that you know (you\'ll need it in the freesco setup).  That\'s the only thing that\'s not obvious.

It\'s simple, it shares bandwidth nicely, and it\'s free.  I like it.

Just FYI.
-- Kevin Rice
[email protected]
http://www.Justanyone.com

[Anonymous]

DLink makes some good low cost 8 port switches for about $70.  They have lifetime warranties too http://images.thetechguide.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'\' />

You can find clones of these DLink switches on www.pricewatch.com, but they don\'t have the lifetime warranty.  The clones cost about $50-60 each.

[Tom Minerd]

Go get a hub for about $25.00. You cannot use crossover cable to connect 3 computers. Just get yourself a good 5 or 8 port 10/100 hub. Prices have really come down on these.

[Josetann]

Actually you could use crossover cable to connect three PC\'s, you\'d just need two nics in two of them.  I don\'t think it\'d be worth the trouble, and I\'ve had a good 8-port switch for quite a while now.

*Edit* left out a word

[YTZ]

Here\'s a couple of links you need to read:

http://lrp.c0wz.com/dox/LRP-Hub-HowTo_EN.txt

http://lrp.c0wz.com/dox/bridge.txt

What you want is a bridge that will allow (on Layer 2) for all the computers you want to be able to talk.  The Linux box would act as a pass-through for all the traffic between the two machines.

However, I do recommend that you take the advice of the many brilliant individuals and GET a hub or a switch.  The cost is not much and you could get a lot more for your money with a hub/switch than you will out of a Voodoo 3 (ICK!).

P.S.  Before you buy a Voodoo 3, I\'ve got some ocean-front property to sell you in Arizona.  REAL cheap too.  :-P

[Josetann]

I have a switch now, and also a voodoo5.  Got it when they were first out for $300 (was the lowest price).

Just wish 3dfx didn\'t go out of business, they had a great card.

[Anonymous Coward]

The cheaper NICs go for around $20 while a 5 port hub is about $35. the dual NIC solution will quickly eat up more time and frustration than the extra $15. Then when it comes time to add that fourth device to yer LAN...

[Anonymous]

GO BACK IN TIME MATE

GET SOME OLD BNC 10BASE-T I THINK ITS KNOWN AS TYPE CARDS COUPLE OF TERMINATORS, SOME COAX AND YOUR NETED WITH AS MANY PC\'S AS YOU WANT


I.E NO NEED FOR A HUB/SWITCH