[indigoimac]

So here's what I and our downstairs neighbors want to do, get one dsl line and split it across our collective 6 computers, now here's the problem I don't have the faintest idea how to wire this thing! this is what i was thinking though, DSL modem->their router->cat5 to my router(would this go in the wan connecton and how do i config so it will split the connection again)-> my 4 comps.

Also despite us both having wireless routers neither of us use them, i personally don't because i need the wired for streaming video between the comps, and their is absolutely horrendous interference.

Thanks, indigo

[ghporter]

From what I see, you have it pretty well figured out. The only question I have is what brand and model of router do you have? You see, the way you will make your router do what you want depends on whether or not it supports a particular feature-one that turns off the NAT function of your router.

That's necessary because running a computer through two different NAT processes (your router's and your neighbor's) is a major problem. My Linksys BEFSR41(v3) has a radio button for that, and other models and brands do the same thing with a "router/gateway" option. Like I said, it depends which router you have.

[vmarks]

I would say, don't put the port you plug into on their router into your WAN port- run it into one of the four ports on your router, and then run your ethernet alongside it, effectively making your router a fancy switch. Also, let their router assign addresses and disable dhcp in yours, just to simplify matters.

Doing it your way means that you end up with a public IP on their wan port, local IPs on their four ports, one local IP that goes to your WAN port, and then your router distributes locals to its downstream. You can do it, but I would suggest that if their router is assigning 192.168.1.xxx addresses, that you make your router live in the 192.168.2.xxx range, or even a 10.xxx.xxx.xxx private IP neighborhood, just so that everything is nice and segmented. This is my habit more than necessity, but it does make troubleshooting clear because you know which hardware is supposed to have which kind of IP.

[ghporter]

vmarks, the only problem is that indigoimac says he has four computers to connect on his LAN, and most routers only have four LAN ports-which leaves him one short if he does what you're suggesting. This is why I asked about what router he has-many are now offering various ways to become switches through their firmware, greatly simplifying the topology issue.

I didn't address DHCP or subnets because that would have come after determining whether his router would handle what he needs.

So indigoimac, what router DO you have?

[indigoimac]

I have a D-Link DI-514.
EDIT: Something else that might work could I put all the computers on my router in/on the DMZ? which puts them outside my firewall but still inside theirs

[ghporter]

The DI-514's manuals (I checked all three versions) don't say anything about being able to configure it as a 4+1 switch. You'll need to plug a cable from your neighbor's router into one of the LAN ports on your router, leaving three empty ports for computers. This bypasses the WAN portion of the router, and allows you to use the LAN side as a switch-which is connected to the wireless section, too. If just one of your computers is wireless and won't be doing streaming video, that solves a major issue. Similaraly, if not all four of your computers need streaming video all the time, you can alternate which ones stay plugged in, and do normal surfing and such wirelessly.

As for the rest, simply turning off DHCP in the router solves a number of concerns. This allows your computers to still request addresses, but the requests will get to your neighbor's router which will provide the addresses. By plugging the cable from your neighbor's router into the LAN side of yours, and then turning off the DHCP server in yours, it's now just a switch that lets you share the port your neighbor provides. All the management and admin is done on his router, and you really won't have to worry about network addresses, subnets and the like.

[indigoimac]

Thank You, I Shall now proceed to hail you as Jesus
This is why I love these forums, fast replies from people who know what they're talking about(for the most part) and are willing to say go through a bunch of manuals(thanks for that) and do things for people they don't even know!
Thanks again -indigo

[ghporter]

I won't say "think nothing of it," because it is worth something to you. But the way this works with me is that if a problem someone posts isn't trivial (and watch out if it is-my "Read The Fine Manual" urge is getting harder to control!) then it becomes a challenge. I want to help the poster, but I certainly don't want to do the whole thing for him or her. Someone that's done some research and has hit a brick wall for some reason-whether it's lack of experience, lack of readability in the reference material, or just plain being overwhelmed-has earned some help. A person that just wants me to do all the thinking for him gets pointed more or less in the right direction.

Maybe I shouldn't be spilling all my secrets like this, but getting a nice "thank you" makes a lot of work-not just what I got the thank you for-worthwhile.