Win98 Network w/ Cable 2

[TLH1310]

Hi,
I have 3 computers at home, all running with windows 98SE. The one in my living room has a cable modem set up. Out of curiosity I would like to set up a network and give all the computers access to the cable modem. Since this will be my first attempt at home networking I want input before I get in over my head.

Thanks

 

[bateman23]

It "should" be easy....
I also have 3 PC's running Win98 SE and Win2K - they are sharing an analog modem. That works fine. A friend of mine also tried to set up a network sharing a DSL-connection. He couldn't get it run until today. - Perhaps it's because he uses just Win98SE. I've been reported several times that it works o.k. with Win2K, but doesn't with 98SE. But theoratically it should work.....

bateman23

 

[cdogg]

All you need here is an investment of $100-$120 for a router that has a built-in 4-port hub. This would give all pc's "firewall" protection and make it extremely easy to share the connection. I recommend going with a LinkSys router, but opinions will vary...

 

[cdogg]

Oh yeah BTW, the operating system installed won't affect the ability to share the cable modem. Windows 98SE is just fine. You don't need to upgrade to Win2K.

 

[jlfiller]

I use a Dlink router for mine -- works great and was easy to set up. JL Filler,Wilton Public Schools, Wilton CT

 

[paulwood]

Using a router is one option, it does depend on the provider though as to how easy it is. Another option is to run a software proxy server such as the one from AnalogX

http://www.analogx.com

on the computer the modem is attached to. If the cable modem runs via a network card then this computer will need a further network card to communicate with the other computers. The advantage with this is that you don't have to worry about the mac address of the network card, which is how the cable company recognises the connection at their end. You can get routers that will 'pretend' to be the network card to fool the cable company computers.

A good resource for here in the UK is The Cable Modem Centre

http://www.cable-modems.co.uk/

or more generally

http://www.cable-modems.org/

depends where you live

 

[TLH1310]

CDogg,
Just to confirm I will need a router, I was thinking along the line of installing firewall software to the "Primary" computer then adding a second NIC with a hub going to the other comps. (trying to keep it inexpensive)

Thanks everyone for your input.

Terry

 

[cdogg]

Yes, using a hub and an extra NIC is a good option as well. As a matter of fact, some cable companies aren't as concerned with sharing IP addresses as they once were. Some will offer extra IP addresses "without" charging you a dime.

The advantage of a router in this situation is that it will act as an independent DHCP server and assign IP addresses to each networked pc. So, you wouldn't need to worry about getting extra IP's (accounts) from the cable company. Also, a hardware firewall is always more secure than a software one. But, sometimes price is a higher priority than security...