TheRebelMind
MIS
Forgive me if this topic has been covered before somewhere in the forums. I read through them for a few hours and saw many similar situations with related suggestions, but nothing exactly like what I needed to know...so I figured that I should ask.
Also, forgive me if I seem long-winded...I feel that its better for me to lay out the complete situation in my initial post of the new thread (even if it makes for a longer read), rather than only giving you guys a fraction of the details and making you ask me for each additional piece of the story, and then await my response in order to help me. This way makes it easier for anyone kind enough to take the time to offer me some assistance.
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*MY SITUATION:
I have an XBox (with an XBox Live subscription) sitting alone in a bedroom (We'll call this room "Bedroom")...no PC's or other networked devices in that room. No internet access or anything of consequence (just a TV, DVD player, cable TV converter, DVR, etc)
In the other room, which is my home office (we'll call this room "Office"), I have my only PC, which is directly connected to my ISP via a 5Mbps cable modem.
Apart from the one PC in the office, its cable modem, and the XBox in the bedroom, there are no other PC's, video game systems, hubs, switches, routers, bridges or anything else related to networking in my apartment...although, Id like a solution that allows for additional machines in each of the two rooms (at least) since I frequently build & test other PC's in my office, and plan on purchasing more video gaming systems in the near future.
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*WHAT I'D LIKE
Obviously, I would like to share the PC's cable modem internet connection (now in the office) with the XBox in the Bedroom...
*STIPULATIONS
...without running 100ft of Cat5 between Bedroom & Office...
...without having the last-booted of the two machines bump the first-booted off the ISP by stealing its DHCP lease like when youre just using a dumb hub (i.e. need NAT with internal private IP scheme for simultaneous multiple addresses)...
...with as little interference as possible with my PC's raw internet functionality (I'd rather handle firewalls/service security/port management/etc on my PC via software), speed, or internet applications (BitTorrent, P2P, IRC, Remote Desktop, etc)...
...with very little new day-to-day management overhead for the router, affected internet applications, or wireless functionality/security/settings (set it & forget it until I need to add a machine or make other intentional changes...zero maintenance)...
...without having any money to spend on 3rd party firmware (seas'...etc)...most preferably without any firmware changes...if absolutely unavoidable, any firmware would have to be reliable, simple to apply/use and free/open source/GNU...despite whether or not the paid firmware is worth it, I simply cannot afford anything else right now
...and...
...It would be highly preferable to haveh my PC in the Office connected to the wireless router (assuming that wireless is my chosen method since I already have aquired the wireless hardware below) VIA CAT5 to an Ethernet port, and my XBox making the wireless "jump" to the Office rather than vice versa...That way, my PC can manage the router using its wired connection regardless of wireless setting changes, availability, interference, or whatever)...this is negotiable ONLY IF I can find a way that would realize my prior stipulation - allow me a zero-maintenance "set it & forget it" router & network, which would be stable enough to not need a wired ethernet connection from PC to router...but if I am going to be troubleshooting or making management changes to the router, then I would like the PC to be connected to the router via Cat5 & not wireless.
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*NETWORK HARDWARE THAT I NOW HAVE:
-Netgear WG111v5 USB Wireless G NIC (bundled with WGR614)
-Netgear WGR614v5 Wireless G Broadband Router
-Linksys WRT54Gv3 Wireless G Broadband Router
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*CONFIGURATION THAT I HAVE TRIED & OPTED AGAINST:
Before buying any of the networking hardware, I had a brilliant scheme to keep from having to buy an over-priced "gaming bridge" or regular bridge (approx $90 for G, $70 for B) in addition to a wireless router to put in my Office between my PC and my Cable modem, I would simply buy a significantly cheaper USB or PCI wireless NIC for my PC (in addition to the wireless router) and have my PC make the wireless jump for a $40 wireless NIC instead of having my XBox make the wireless jump for twice that much. I'd simply move my cable modem to my XBox in the Bedroom and place the router there instead of at my PC in the Office. My XBox could connect locally via Cat5, my PC via Wireless G, and everything would be cool.
Except I didnt count on a few small inconveniences about this setup...
1-The interference, ghosts and lines that appeared in my cable TV's picture - caused by having to place a splitter (an appropriate one for this purpose of cable modems & cable TV's, aquired from the cable company/ISP) on the single cable jack that my Digital Video Recorder and cable converter (which sit with my XBox) would now have to share with my cable modem
2-Not having physical access to my cable modem from my PC for the frequent power-cycling and LED watching that can sometimes plague my ISP (having to run my fat ass way down the hall to my Bedroom or begging my girlfriend to go "press the red button on the second black box from the left" each time wasnt cool)
3-Not being able to fully manage my router from my PC's web browser since my PC's connection was only a wireless one (I find that certian changes to configuration and security were hard to do without a Cat5 connection, especially wirelesss-related changes)
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to make a long, long story short, I was also having alot of problems with internet apps like BitTorrent bringing down my router and cable internet connection completely, requiring frequent expletive-filled trips down the hall for power cycling both cable modem and router (of course, I only discovered this AFTER having wire-tied, wire-labeled, and otherwise arranged all of this stuff perfectly)
Since I had troubleshot everything to no avail and Netgear's tech support are agents of the dark side outsourced to a company in India who wash their hands of you if the issue is anything less culpable than fire and sparks shooting from the ethernet ports of the Netgear product, I decided to take the whole thing down till I had enough time/cash to dedicate to fixing it correctly. I put my cable-modem back on my PC directly and left my XBox Live 1 year subscription waste away for the past 3 months, and my Netgear Wireless router and NIC to go unused.
When I picked up the mission again this month, I found that I was stuck with the Netgear wireless G NIC/router combo, and could only exchange it for the same exact replacement product (in the case of hardware failure), so the thought of trading it in for something more suitable for my (new) needs of making the XBox wireless and the PC wired to the router (as opposed to the opposite setup that I had planned) was impossible.
I had heard so many good things about the Linksys WRT54G that I ran out and purchased one, in the hoped of starting fresh and making the "wireless PC/XBox Cat5 to router to cablemodem" method a reality with this more reliable router replacing the Netgear router.
However, although I much prefer the Linksys WRT54G to the Netgear after having played with it, Im finding alot of the same issues and inconveniences which made me want to switch to a new plan of "PC to Router to modem via Cat5" and "XBox to wireless bridge to router via wireless" rather than the opposite. Even with the Linksys being better than the Netgear router, I would still prefer having the router/ISP connection with my PC as opposed to being with my XBox...unless, like I said before, theres a way to eliminate the issues and inconveniences that I mentioned in my final stipulation despite having the router/modem with my XBox via cat5 and my PC via wireless.
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*AVAILABLE RESOURCES AS OF RIGHT NOW
I cant afford to spend hardly anything else on this project...it's getting to where it wouldve been cheaper and much more elegant to have a completely seperate, second internet cable modem (with a year's-worth of it's monthly bill) in the XBox bedroom.
I am stuck as the owner of the Netgear wireless NIC & router...Obviously, I dont HAVE to use either/both of these parts if the final solution doesnt require it, but it would be nice to not see a perfectly functional piece of 3-month-old hardware (or two pieces) just collecting dust...but whatever works, works.
The Linksys (as luck would have it) I purchased just a couple of days ago in a local superstore (the largest retailer in the world...starts with a "Wal" and ends with a "mart") who's return policy is pretty simple...30 days, full refun, hardly any questions asked)...so I could return the Linksys WRT54G wireless G router if need be...but I really like it and trust it much more than I do the Netgear...if I had to have only one router, I wish it could be the WRT54G...but I may need to return it for a refund and use the Netgear as my one and only router if I need any other hardware to make this happen, cuz I need that $60 it cost me back to buy whatever hardware that I may need.
That $60 (plus tax) refund that I could get for the Linksys router is basically the only money I have at my disposal right now. I almost had to return it for a refund yesterday cuz I needed the money for gas till my next payday, just to give you an idea of how my financial situation is at this moment. Believe me when I say that I can afford any more hardware for a couple of weeks unless it involves returning the Linksys and using that $60 (and costs equal to or less than $60, obviously)
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whew...i think thats about it...if there are any questions that this long-ass post didnt already cover, just ask away...
I really really appreciate any and all suggestions from anyone here.
Thanks in advance,
TheRebelMind