Networking Help
 

My sister and me are moving back to my parent's for the summer before she goes to grad school and I go back to college and we're trying to figure out a way for all three of us to be easily hooked up to the internet.

As it stands we can't use a router because it would require cables going through the house and that's not good for us.

We use Comcast Cable in ternet.

Does anyone know if it's possible to plug a cable modem into the cable connections in my room and then hook that through to my computer, but also be able to do that in two other rooms in the house using two other cable modems?

I'm not en tirely sure the best way to go about setting up internet for everyone in my house.

Yes you can use more than one cable modem, but you need a separate account from your provider for each, that is expensive, the best way is to run wires, through the attic, but if that’s not an option, wireless is the only alternative, if you do go with wireless, make sure you encrypt the network, with a strong WPA or WPA2 encryption. There are some products that allow you to run the network through the electrical outlets, but they are terrible, as well as the ones that allow you to run it over the existing phone line in the house.

Wireless (802.11b/g) has a range of 115 meters, but that’s optimal conditions, most likely you’ll see around 30 meters inside your house. You would be best served by placing a wireless router in the centermost room with the cable modem, and then installing wireless cards in the other computers.

Personally I have wires going everywhere, every room in my house has a wired connection (except the bathrooms) it’s easy to run wires and a lot cheaper than building a wireless network from scratch. Drywall is easy to patch up when you remove it, and the cables can be run along the floorboards to minimize there visibility. Wireless is by nature insecure, there is not encryption that can’t be broken. The only reliable solution is to run wires.

If you do go with a wireless setup, first thing change the default password on the router, then change the SSID to something other than the standard SSID. Then add encryption to the wireless, there are several types of encryption, WEP is worthless, WPA and WPA2 are both breakable, but it takes longer, if all your devices support WPA2 use that, otherwise go with WPA and use a long password. Then start connecting the computers to it. Don’t worry about MAC filtering, it’s worthless, anyone that can get through the encryption will not be stopped by MAC filtering.

If you need any help with the wireless, PM me, I make a living off setting these things up, also if you need tips on running wires.

~dil

and I just read your signature, that’s fucking awesome

Are there decent external wireless modems out there? If I were going to use a wireless set up I would have to use that since I have no PCI slots to put in a modem.

Edit - Glad you liked the signature. It cracks me up.

There are some USB adapters

Linksys has a nice one, it only supports WPA, but as long as you have a complexes enough key, it will take weeks to break it. I would recommend thinking about getting some short USB extensions to be able to position the wireless receiver somewhere you can get good reception.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124062
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124187

As for a wireless router

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124010

I’ve been very please with linksys over the years.

I suppose that's what I'll have to do. Comcast will network the house for us for 150 so I think that's what I'll do. That would be easiest. Thanks for the help.

I'll second the wireless option. A reasonable compact LinkSys router/Wireless access point is $20 at staples right now. Wireless cards and USB adapters can be had for about the same price, and you may find them useful when you get to school.

For a temporary installation like yours cables would be overkill.

when i moved into my moms for 2 months a few years ago, befor my bead was setup, i had a 100 foot ethernet cable running across the house to join the network. taped down in the tile and tucked under the carpet.

gah $150? jesus thats pricy... i should raise my rates.

Some moms don't go along with creativivity. :)

I'm always telling myself that. Unless it's wired. I wouldn't mess with an attic or crawlspace and multiple runs for $150 unless someone was in for a larger job. Blea, crawlspaces.

Well, it's temporary up to the poitn that I'd be coming back to it every summer for 3 more years, so it would be a useful plan at the moment.

Last summer I set up a small wired system between two computers and it was just a huge pain in the ass to deal with. I'd rather some one set it all up and worry about it instead of me.

A while back I was working for a woman who had an unusual small office building (I'm pretty sure it's a big converted house), who shared the place with a small law firm's branch office. They decided to split the verizon bill and share internet. Of course they had no clue how to do this, so they managed to find me of all poor schmucks. After misery with verizon, I got them set up with a nice wireless network.

A few months later I'm called back - this lawyer is moving his office to another room in the building. So my task is to move the damn computer? Go figure :) Either way, it turns out as I had expected - wireless struggles through two walls. So the woman then wanted me to wire up the basement and get ethernet over there. Suddenly I'd gone from simple tech to network jesus to electrician and wiring expert :)

Despite my daily calls to her, I haven't been back since, so I assume they're getting along just fine :)

The going rate where I live is $150 a RUN! For commercial installs, anyway. I needed 7 runs. A friend of mine did it cheaper, but he was going under the building, and it was really nasty and slow going. Yes, I paid him well.

I had problems with wireless, because my office is long and thin. Cables solved it, unless, as happened to a friend of mine, rats decide to gnaw on them.

I’d rather have a rat bite my cable than a 'rat' on my network; especially if I’m setting this up for a layer, doctor, etc.

A lot of people don't like Dlink but my DI624 works very well with DWL G520 (wireless usb) and a couple of cheap Airlink/TrendNet 802.11G. Router was about $60 and the USB adapters cost $15 to $25. Basically I have one PC connected to the cable modem/router and three other PC/notebook on the wireless network.