Networking help/question...

[tsantsa]

Ok, I have never networked my systems before so I don't even know what to expect....

My buddy just gave me a Linksys Etherfast router.(BEFSR41 ver2) I figure I would like to connect it to my systems, which are as follows...2 pc's and 1 xbox. One PC is my main pc that I use for most everything. The other is an extra storage or video conversion pc (or whatever miscellaneous task I want it to do.) and the xbox is a modded xbox.

What I want to do (since I have no idea what to expect) is allow main PC and xbox net access. The other pc can have it too, but not necessary. I also want to xbox and task pc to be able to share files of all type with my main pc when necessary.

Is the router I have going to do this for me? I also dont have the original cd that came with it..will it be necessary? I have already dl'd the pdf docs from the Linksys site and have read a little about setting everything up.

2 MAIN things I wanted from here really: #1...I just wanted to run by my expectations (or lack thereof) by the xperts here at the good ole forums. I imagine many of you's guys know a thing or four about this.

#2. I have Comcast cable internet. I had heard that they don't allow you to network your systems unless you register you stuff with them AND pay a surcharge for giving the router it's own IP...Is this true? Does anyone here have comcast and can verify or deny that this is true?

I wanted to ask this stuff before i got to connecting it all and to find out it's not going to work!

As always, thanks a ton.

[redwudz]

I don't know about Comcast, but my cable company has no idea how many computers I have hooked up. That is the primary reason I use a router. The cable company sees your router as a computer and whatever is behind the router firewall is not visible to them. Don't tell them, either. The router sets up new addresses for each of your computers. If you have XP, the setup isn't that difficult. No software is needed for the router. Mine has an internet address and I open the controls from IE explorer. Setup may be a little difficult, but you only need to do it once and from then it's done. All computers will have full internet access and you should be able to have them all talk to each other.

[Jayhawk]

#1...I just wanted to run by my expectations (or lack thereof) by the xperts here at the good ole forums. I imagine many of you's guys know a thing or four about this.

A good idea although everyone's setup is a little different. Still, basic networking is basic networking.

#2. I have Comcast cable internet. I had heard that they don't allow you to network your systems unless you register you stuff with them AND pay a surcharge for giving the router it's own IP...Is this true? Does anyone here have comcast and can verify or deny that this is true?

I can't speak specifically about Comcast but I have setup networks on Time-Warner, Sunflower, SBC DSL, and Everest and they are all basically the same. redwudz is correct in that the IP providor cannot "see" beyond the router. The only thing that would alert them to multiple PC's would be high volumes of traffic like if you set up an office full of computers.

The Linksys BEFSR41 comes setup for basic networking and really shouldn't require much (if any) configuration. Assuming you up and working on your main PC do the following steps:

With everything off, take your cable line off your Concast cable modem and screw it into the Linksys. Unplug your Ethernet cable from the cable modem and plug it into the Linksys. Turn on the the Linksys and the cable modem. After initialization check all the lights for communication. Turn on your PC. If you can hit the internet your pretty much home-free as far as Comcast goes. Then start working on your backup PC. You should not have to reboot the cable modem or the Linksys to do the others.

[mujahid7ia]

Routers usually have a setup wizard...

NAT - Network Address Translation hides the fact that more than one computer is using that WAN Ip address

[tsantsa]

Thanks a bunch fellers.

I finally found some info regarding comcast and using routers. Apparently they have a plan that does incur a $5 dollar a month charge for having a router. But the way I understand it is that you call them and they come and set it up. So it may just be rental fee. I don't know really though...

I am going to go ahead and try to set it all up though...maybe tonite, maybe tomorrow...I'll post results. (just to show you guys what a noob can f*ck up! )

However I do have one last question: on the back where you connect all of your cables there are (obviously) 4 router connections. 1 WAN, which I assume I connect my cable modem to, correct? There is a connection called Uplink. I don't know what it is for. I read through the pdf guides that I got from the Linksys site and can't find anything about it...What is the Uplink connection for?

[tsantsa]

Ok, the 2 comps and the xbox have net access...

But i cant get the comps to talk to each other. And i cant ftp over to the modded xbox...I have a dynamic IP i found out but no idea what to do from there...

[redwudz]

OK, now you're to the part that I said was a little difficult. It's fairly easy to connect all your machines to the internet. Now you have to get into 'file sharing'. I'm not much help there, but it is mostly within the OS's that you set that up. Dynamic IP is OK, mine only wants it that way. I 'have' networked printers and a Mac into my system once, but I don't remember all the particulars. Check the helpers in your OS; at least XP has quite a bit of info on the methods of networking. When you figure it out, write it down. That's what I didn't do, so I don't remember it all. You mentioned a uplink. Probably similar to what I have, something you don't really need. Mine is a modem plug for uplink, probably for a more complex system. Don't think you need it for anything important. The other fellows here can probably give you the next steps, such as networking between the PC's and putting a printer on the LAN to share. You've done good so far. Don't give up.

[tsantsa]

K, after much reading and reading. i think I have it! Since I am a noob to networking I didnt know how to check what my router assigns as IP addys and where they are assigned. I did alot of reading on xbox scene and figured some things out...

To get my xbox to talk to my comp all I had to do was set it up in my firewall by allowing the ip access...this after much trouble finding what IP it was assigned!

And to do file sharing, it was almost the same thing...just little mapping of network drives and !oula files are a spreadin about!

Thanks guys...If some of you are having the same trouble I was please drop a line here and I'll tell you about my setup in more detail and we can see if it helps you out...Not going to do it just yet though! I have a cold and need sleep...Actually I think I have a touch of the flu...being sick might be why I couldn't figure this out now that I think of it!

[Jayhawk]

Great stuff, I love a success story and it proves what this forum can do for people. You have probaly figured this out already but the easiest way to find out what IP address a machine has is to go into Command Prompt and type IPCONFIG /ALL. IPCONFIG ? for the other parameters.

[tsantsa]

The big hangup was finding out what IP the xbox was assigned so that I could ftp over to it when needed...

That had to be done using the linksys manager and using a little deductive reasoning. 8)