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t_hah · Jan 1, 2003, 12:48 PM

Hi all, Happy New Year!
I am thinking about doing some upgrading in my home "network system". Currently I have a cable modem, and a roommate. He would like to use my connection as well with his computer, so i thought maybe I could get a router. I looked around and saw the Linksys Dual band, 4 port wireless router, switch. It sounded really good. Now keep in mind that I am not an expert in this. What I would like to do is hook this up to my cable modem, and then hook my roommate up to it and myself. I have OSX on my Ti, and he is using Win98 I think. I would love to use Wireless network at home with my Powerbook, and my roomie would be able to just hook up to the router as well using cables.
Is there any reason why this would not work? Is it easy to set this router up, or should i maybe stay away from it? Any experiences with such setup, anyone?
Thank you,

t

winky · Jan 1, 2003, 01:40 PM

D-Link routers; cheap, easy, efficient, and in the words of Ron Popiel "set it and forget it."

TheMosco · Jan 1, 2003, 02:09 PM

if you are going to be using the wireless part, you probably dont need the dual band version since airport only supports 802.11b and not 802.11a. that is unless you want to use a pc card 801.11a card if you can find one that has mac drivers.

b allows for up to 11Mbps and while a supports up to 54 Mbps. a probably isn't good for a laptop because i heard it drains the battery alot more than b.

Person Man · Jan 1, 2003, 02:17 PM

I have a Netgear RP614 router (Web-safe, includes incoming firewall). It works great with my Cable Modem, and the connection can be used with up to 4 computers.

You can set it to report the MAC address of your computer for those cable companies that require you to report one MAC address and refuse other machines hooked up to it. Also, since it uses NAT it looks like only one computer is hooked to the cable (for those cable companies that frown on you splitting one connection among computers)

For the record, Road Runner doesn't seem to mind you using their system with a Router and sharing one connection with more than one computer.

Arkham_c · Jan 1, 2003, 03:13 PM

I have a LinkSys BEFW11S4, which is a 4-port 10/100 switch plus 802.11b wireless (Airport compatible). I use it to connect my two PCs and my G4 via CAT5 and Ethernet (802.3), and then use the wireless to connect with my AirPort-equippee iBook.

Ths router is $114 minus a $15 rebate (net $99) at Best Buy right now.

I have a friend who has the equivalent NetGear. He likes it pretty well, but its port forwarding capabilities don't let you specify TCP or UDP (a forward always forwards both), whereas the LinkSys will forward each separately.

[APi]TheMan · Jan 1, 2003, 03:36 PM

I have a LinkSys 1-port 10/100 router... works well in combination with my 10-port hub, cable modem, and Belkin wireless access point.

lankynathan · Jan 1, 2003, 03:39 PM

cheers

I'm using a D-Link 614+ here with a mixture of wired and wireless clients (actually typing this from the living room couch sans wires

) and it works great.

VPN pass thru, port forwarding, etc. Very happy with the device (from an IT guy).

I think I picked it up for about $200 CDN.

happy new year

nathan

snerdini · Jan 1, 2003, 04:05 PM

I had a Linksys 4-port switch/Cable router, and it worked pretty well; just got a Netgear wireless router and loving it!

Apfhex · Jan 1, 2003, 05:56 PM

I'm using the Linksys Wireless/4-port router (BEFW11S4 ver. 2) to share our ADSL connection with my PowerBook VIA AirPort, and 3 other PCs plugged in. It works perfectly, setup was easy.

t_hah · Jan 1, 2003, 06:26 PM

Someone mentioned that some Internet providers do not want you to share your connection. I am not sure what are the requirements for my provider, but I think this might be inportnat for me in the future (since I might be moving around quite a bit).

How can I tell which routers have that feature, so that they "hide" all connected computers behind them and let the provider see only one? Does the linksys router have this as well? I read it above Person Man mentioned that NAT kind of means this. SO if a router uses NAt does that automatically mean that it hides the number of users? Of course I am trying to oversimplify this, but I do not want to get in a discussion too deep.

Also...another person mentioned that his router works with his cable modem. Are there cases when the router does not work with the modem?

How easy are these routers to set up? Do I kind of just define my current IP address to it and it does the rest? I am not quite sure how to set one up.

Thank you for all the help and answers to everyone!

t

Ron Goodman · Jan 1, 2003, 06:27 PM

We have a Negear wireless--works like a charm for a network of three Macs and a Personal Laserwriter 320.

tooki · Jan 1, 2003, 07:31 PM

All small home "routers" are basically little NAT boxes. NAT does in fact make it appear (at least, without detailed scrutiny) that only one computer is connected. Bear in mind that most broadband providers don't actively search for this; instead, they make it so that their systems won't work with more than one computer. A NAT box then counts as the one computer, and passes along the connection to all your computers.

tooki

TheIceMan · Jan 1, 2003, 07:59 PM

t_hah: Check out
Netgear MR814 Wireless Router. It is inexpensive and works well. I've been using it to network my MAC and my PC. It's great!

Freeflyer · Jan 2, 2003, 06:53 AM

I've been using a netgear FM114P since just before I got my new powerbook.

Dead easy to install and set up. Once the book arrived, I turned it on, it saw the router and was online in about 15 seconds.

Pretty much foolproof, lots of security options and a damn good firewall to boot.

Works with my old pc, new powerbook, laserjet and pc laptop.

couldn't ask for more. Oh and paid $70 less than the compusa price by hunting online ($145). Bargain.

Cheers,

Justin.

Back up 15 and punt · Jan 2, 2003, 07:26 AM

Check out the following websites for router reviews.

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/

http://www.firewallguide.com/hardware.htm

t_hah · Jan 2, 2003, 01:47 PM

Thank you very much for everyone the ideas. after looking around on some other sites reviewing routers I went with the NetGear FM114P. I saw way too many negativity about the Linksys router, and even though it looks much better than the Netgear product...the Netgear seems to be higher quality.

Thank you again for all the inputs,

t

Toyin · Jan 2, 2003, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by t_hah:
Thank you very much for everyone the ideas. after looking around on some other sites reviewing routers I went with the NetGear FM114P. I saw way too many negativity about the Linksys router, and even though it looks much better than the Netgear product...the Netgear seems to be higher quality.

Thank you again for all the inputs,

t

t_hah, I'm actually about to buy my 1st laptop and am interested in a wireless router. Where did you read a comparison about the 2 routers?

t_hah · Jan 2, 2003, 04:09 PM

Originally posted by Toyin:
t_hah, I'm actually about to buy my 1st laptop and am interested in a wireless router. Where did you read a comparison about the 2 routers?

Hello, I followed the links in "Back up 15.." post. There were some reviews, and that is how I compared the two. Read the user feedbacks, those were the most valuable for me on the sites.

t

ndtechie05 · Jan 2, 2003, 09:16 PM

D-Link DI-614+ baby! Works like a charm, web configured, works great with airport plus wired computers, sitting from chair watching "the andy griffth show" right now typing this, lol, theres nothing better on TV.

-Brett