[davidmelvin]

i'm looking for some help getting three macs together on a small network and being able to use a cable modem with all three.

currently i have a desktop G4 connected to a cable modem (ntl) and want to add two laptops to it (one G3, one G4).

all machines are running OSX. can't do it wirelessly as my airport base station is broken, and the desktop G4 doesn't have an airport card.

i do have a linksys ethernet hub with 5 ports. am i right in thinking an ADSL router between the cable modem and the hub will do, and then the three machines in to the hub?

will this allow internet access on all three machines and file sharing between the three? can all three machines access the internet at the same time, sharing the bandwidth?

also, how do i set up individual folders that can be shared and lock all other folders? is this possible?

thanks

[aaanorton]

Most- if not all- routers these days have add'l ports on them, so you probably won't even need the hub, which is good, since switches are preferred over hubs. It sounds like you've got Airport cards is the laptops. In this case I recommend a good, cheap wireless router that will allow wired and wireless connections. Get the Netgear MR 814 from buy.com for 38 bucks. This will do EVERYTHING you described AND completely replace your ABS. For this price you can hardly go wrong. In addition, this is a full-featured unit that is one of the best available.

[davidmelvin]

Originally posted by aaanorton:
Most- if not all- routers these days have add'l ports on them, so you probably won't even need the hub, which is good, since switches are preferred over hubs.

ok, that sounds great. is it easy to set up the wireless connections? and what's the difference between a hub and a switch? oh, and how do i get the cable modem to recognise the router as a replacement to the current machine?

[cms]

Originally posted by davidmelvin:
ok, that sounds great. is it easy to set up the wireless connections? and what's the difference between a hub and a switch? oh, and how do i get the cable modem to recognise the router as a replacement to the current machine?

It's very easy indeed to set up the wireless connections. You will first need to configure your router via a web browser interface. Very straightforward. Most include step by step instructions, which basically do it all for you as far as the router is concerned. For your Macs to connect wirelessly, just set Airport (under Networking preferences) on each client machine to connect via DHCP. The router will assign each computer with individual IP addresses.

I am an NTL subscriber. You do not have to register individual MAC addresses directly with NTL, as you do with Blueyonder for example, but simply have to reset your cable modem if you want to connect via ethernet to a different machine.

I have a wireless router, and to get your cable modem to recognise a device with a different MAC address, you simply shut everything down and switch off your cable modem. If you are using the silver NTL:Home modem you will note that it doesn't have a power switch. Simply unplug it. Leave it off for a couple of minutes and then plug the ethernet cable from the modem into your router. Turn on the cable modem and wait for it to be ready (solid green SYNC and RDY lights). Then connect the ethernet cable to your new router and turn on power to the router.

That's it.

Configure the router by plugging it into the ethernet port on your computer and fire up IE. Follow the instructions in the router manual for accessing the router interface via IE (it's usually something like http://192.168.0.1 or similar) and away you go.....

FYI, I use the D-Link DI 714P+ wireless router and am very very pleased with its range and overall performance. I can connect wirelessly from anywhere in my 3-storey house and even from the bottom of my 100+ foot garden, with a full Airport signal (5 bars). The most machines I have connected at one time to my 1 meg NTL broadband connection was 10. It worked fine on all of them for basic surfing and email with no really noticeable drop in speed.

Post back when you've got your router (or PM me if you want) if you need any further help.