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Tech help: Do I need a router?
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Status:
Offline
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Hi guys,
I have a small question abou networking. It's pretty simple but yet I couldn't find anything posted on the subject.
I have a G5 and a PC laptop. I'd like to have them connected to share files and also connected to my cable internet. I figured an ethernet hub or switch would do the job. But I wonder if I need a router (what exactly does it do BTW?) or the so called "access point".
Since I'll be using one machine at a time, I don't worry too much about splitting the downloas speeds in half when both units are using the net. Besides my ISP here in Barcelona said they don't allow routers on home accounts which puzzles me. Can they really know I have a router?
Anyway, any help is appreciated. I need to set up this mini network ASAP because I can't keep unpligging one machine to make the other work.
Thanks
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Madison, WI
Status:
Offline
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If you don't want to unplug machines, your best bet is a router. Besides sharing the Internet connection, you have the added benefit of a basic firewall. I don't know how ISPs operate in Spain, but in the U.S., most of them don't care anymore if you have a router. Some of them even openly support it.
Other than a hardware router, you can set up Internet connection sharing on either computer, but that comes with its own set of problems.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Status:
Offline
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Ya, your best bet is a router. There is no way for them to see if one is connected or not. They may implement MAC address filtering, but most (if not all) current routers can clone and/or spoof a MAC address to get around this.
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Moderator  Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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Yes, they are cheap, do not require drivers and it simplifies a lot.
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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Aug 2002
Status:
Offline
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A router is what you need. A switch or hub will connect computers together in a single network. Your ISP has sold you one address in their network. To use two computers you need to have a router to create a separate network for your house as well as act as a gateway to the ISP's network. The ISP will see your router as the single "computer" they expect, while it is really a gateway to your network. They can figure out fairly easily if you have a router, but I don't know how well they can enforce their policy.
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