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Subject: cable modem Posted by: Perm Dude - Dude [030792616] Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 16:49 I'm going to switch all my computers here (3) to a cable internet service now that they've finally run the lines to the house. I only have one cable modem so I need to get two more. Any suggested on where I can pick up a couple of cheap cable modems? pd | |||||||
| 1 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 16:53 | Why do you want 3 cable modems? Why not 1 cable modem and a router? | ||||||
| 2 | Perm Dude Dude ID: 030792616 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 16:56 |
Each room already has a cable outlet. There's no need, at this time, to set them up as a network. [Although I might plan ahead and do it at this time--I don't know what's involved. Would performance suffer with three comps on one modem?] | ||||||
| 3 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 16:58 | Have you looked into what kind of cost it'll be to have your home grab 3 IPs instead of just 1? Most companies charge extra for extra IPs. | ||||||
| 4 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 17:01 | As to your second question, unless you're doing some serious bandwidth-hogging on one or more of your computers, you'll never notice a difference. I certainly don't in our house, and we've got 3 computers on our home network. | ||||||
| 5 | WiddleAvi ID: 24081811 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 17:47 | Like Sludge said. I can't imagine you wanting 3 cable modems. 1 Cable modem with a router makes alot more sense. | ||||||
| 6 | GoatLocker Sustainer ID: 060151121 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 18:36 |
A wireless router and wireless nics should be much better and cheaper than having 3 cable modems. And since they look at the MAC on each cable modem, I'm pretty sure you would have to have an individual account for each cable modem. Way too expensive. Go the way of the router. If you need help, let us know and I'm sure we can point you in the right direction. Cliff | ||||||
| 7 | Great One ID: 150113019 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 19:00 | I just got a router and can't get the damn thing to work. | ||||||
| 8 | Cosmo's Cod Piece ID: 481152817 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 19:18 |
PD: Get a router, it'll be more hassle than its worth otherwise. I have Comcast and they charge $5 per month per additional IP address. Over a year, you'd pay off a router and then some after rebates. I'd also recommend leasing the cable modem. They will use your purchased cable modem as a crutch to not provide you with tech support. They'll blame your modem and not their service which is precisely what they did with my router (even though it was brand-spanking new and proven to not be the cause after the fact) and what they did with my friends self-purchased cable modem. I also run three computers; 2 desktops and a laptop, and I do not have any difference in performance when they're all going. An added benefit to the router is the ability to share a printer and files which is something you might want to look at anyway. Whatever you do, don't buy three cable modems. If and when you buy a router and if it gives you heck (new ones shouldn't, I had my new one up and running in a half hour, the print server was a different issue alltogether), post something here and I'm sure we'll help. | ||||||
| 9 | Perm Dude Dude ID: 030792616 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 20:38 | Sounds like a router's the way to go, then. Putting aside the third computer (which I might ditch anyway), what's needed to set up a home network with a cable modem? | ||||||
| 10 | Mike D Sustainer ID: 041831612 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 21:56 | You can go wired if they are in the same room or ethernet wires can be run between the two; wireless, which is obvious; or powerline, which is less common but also effective (and used in combo with a wired setup by this gurupie). | ||||||
| 11 | WiddleAvi ID: 24081811 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 22:26 | Great One - a)Do you have Cable or DSL ?? (when the modem is connected directly to your computer do you need a username/password or are you always automaticlly online ?? | ||||||
| 12 | biliruben ID: 190491720 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 22:27 |
Howstuffworks does a very good job of walking you through it, but all you really need is a modem and a router. I had a little trouble with a proxy server issue with Comcast, but a single phone call to one of their tecs (fortunatly she was good) got it solved. Of course, she made me promise I would never call her again. Really.  | ||||||
| 13 | Perm Dude Dude ID: 030792616 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 22:46 | Hmmm. Looks do-able, with a little time & effort. Now, does anyone know where I can get a cheap router? | ||||||
| 14 | loki Dude ID: 4211201420 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 22:54 | PD- I hope that your internet provider is not Comcast in your part of NJ. I have so much trouble with Comcast's cable modem service that I am changing to Verizon DSL. Verizon DSL has a one month free trial period, and I hope that its service will prove to be more reliable than that of Comcast. | ||||||
| 15 | slosh23 ID: 317242216 Mon, Feb 21, 2005, 22:58 | The BestBuy ad from this weekend was advertising a NetGear router after rebates for $9.99. | ||||||
| 16 | Mike D Sustainer ID: 041831612 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 01:39 | I often read that you should use the same brand for networking (for all the pieces)....not sure if that matters or if it is myth. I prefer Linksys over the others and all my pieces are theirs. | ||||||
| 17 | R9 Leader ID: 02624472 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 01:49 |
I also have a Linksys router, haven't gone wireless yet though. We have 3 computers hooked up to it and even with my friend and I intenet gaming on two computers and someone else downloading on the 3rd, we notice no appreciable difference in performance. I can second CCP too on buying the modem. Once a new model comes out, tech support will treat you like a 2nd class citizen. I bought mine anyway since its cheaper in the long run and I know how to troubleshoot networks fairly well, but there have been times I wish I had access to decent tech support... | ||||||
| 18 | Cosmo's Cod Piece ID: 481152817 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 06:13 |
PD: "Now, does anyone know where I can get a cheap router?" Are you going wired or wireless? When I buy new computer gear, I usually ask my questions at CompUSA and then buy it at Best Buy. I would recommend looking at both stores, CompUSA has a better selection in this particular area and their employees are more knowledgable. Mike D. is right, stick with the same brand for the router and print server if you're getting one. What operating systems do the three computers use? If everything is XP, then you're golden, otherwise if you've got one that is 98/95, you may be in for a ride. | ||||||
| 19 | Perm Dude Dude ID: 030792616 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 08:51 |
Both are XP. Wireless looks to be the way to go, I think, since (if I add a comp later) it would be either all the way across the house or downstairs, and I don't feel like running wires that far. Thanks for all the advice, fellas. | ||||||
| 20 | Mike D Sustainer ID: 41831612 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 08:58 | Linksys has tons of info on their site. This page compares wired, wireless, and even has the link/info on Powerline. | ||||||
| 21 | Sludge ID: 7826417 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 11:06 |
PD - If you're going wireless, be sure to read up on WEP and wireless security. But for what it's worth, it's very easy to do a home network nowadays. It's literally just a matter of plugging in wires. | ||||||
| 22 | Astade Donor ID: 214361313 Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 23:38 | PD, don't mean to complicate matters further but you may want to investigate a VPN router. They tend to be a litter bit more expensive but give you the ability to secure your connection (using hardware as opposed to software) while also giving you remote access. I don't know if that is something you may want, but when initially purchasing a router, it's good to take it into consideration. Let us know what hardware you choose, what questions you have, and how it works for you. :) | ||||||
| 23 | Perm Dude Dude ID: 030792616 Wed, Feb 23, 2005, 00:56 |
Thanks. Still looking over all the information. My father-in-law is an industrial counterespionage expert, and so his advice in looking at only the 802.11g for wireless is golden. I'm pretty much (though not entirely) sold on the wireless aspect (especially with a later laptop probably being added to the mix). A little more reading, then buying, then swearing, then setting it up... | ||||||
| 24 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Wed, Feb 23, 2005, 10:58 |
For what it's worth, here's the hardware that I chose for my wireless network: Router NIC for laptop NIC for desktop One other computer is connected to the router via network cable. Seriously, the only work involved was reading a bit about WEP. I then ran assorted cables and wires from the router to the wall, cable modem and main computer. I then opened a web browser on the main computer and typed 192.168.1.1 into the address field to adjust the settings on the router. That consisted of setting the SSID (network name), WEP settings (128 bit, thank you very much... choose a phrase to generate the key), and telling the router not to broadcast the SSID. Then I installed a few drivers from CD for the laptop and computer with the USB NIC, plugged in the NICs, and entered the SSID and WEP settings. In a nutshell, that's all there was to it. | ||||||
| 25 | GoatLocker Sustainer ID: 060151121 Wed, Feb 23, 2005, 13:18 |
Ditto what Sludge said. Piece of cake. Works fine. Cliff | ||||||
| 26 | biliruben ID: 500432513 Wed, Feb 23, 2005, 14:04 |
The other thing that needs to be considered when deciding between wired and wireless is speed. I chose to drill a hole through a wall and go wired rather than take the significant decrease in speed that wireless comes with. I've heard only about 3X dial-up with wireless DSL. Am I wrong on this? I am very happy with my lightning-fast wired cable connections. | ||||||
| 27 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Wed, Feb 23, 2005, 15:12 |
biliruben - I haven't clocked it, but I know for sure that my speeds exceed that. When ftping large files between computers inside my home (which I do quite often), I have no problem with the speeds I see. Perhaps I will transfer some tonight (I've been needing to back up our pics of the kids anyway) and report back with the speeds. | ||||||
| 29 | xpdurmind Sustainer ID: 319471922 Thu, Feb 24, 2005, 01:55 |
PD, My sister uses HPNA: 2Wire gateways use home phoneline technology (HPNA) to create a high-speed local network using the existing telephone wiring in your home or small office. basically you can use any phone jack to plug in your computer on the network. If your ISP offers it, it has the most flexibility including wireless. It works for cable even though the website mentions only dsl. 2wire | ||||||
| 30 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Thu, Feb 24, 2005, 12:47 | Transfer rates were steady between 7 and 9 Mbps. Using the rough (but incorrect) assumptions that a 56K modem has a speed of 56,000 bits per second (good luck getting that) and that a megabit is 1,000,000 bits, that's between 125 and 160 times faster. | ||||||
| 31 | biliruben ID: 500432513 Thu, Feb 24, 2005, 14:54 |
Wow. Nice. I think my friends must be getting a low-end DSL service (QWEST 29.95/mo) that is likely a large portion of the reason for tricycle-like speeds. I had assumed the wireless transmission rate was largely responsible, but I guess I was wrong. BTW, why are you using FTP? Can't you simply share disk drives in XP, or is that not as easy with a wireless as it is with a wired network? | ||||||
| 32 | Sludge ID: 54692111 Thu, Feb 24, 2005, 16:04 |
bili - It's no different than with a wired network. The reason I don't do it is for an extra layer of security. The only resource I share out is the printer, and I live with the mild annoyance of having to ftp from machine to machine. (Although someone could easily argue that having an ftp server set up on one of the machines cancels out the extra security of not sharing out the drive.) | ||||||
| 33 | Cosmo's Cod Piece ID: 481152817 Sat, Feb 26, 2005, 19:16 | PD: Any news on the cable modem front? | ||||||
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