creating a 2 computer network

[mrtristan]

I'm planning on building a PVR computer sometime in the next couple of months, which will be one room away from my desktop. I want to connect the two via a cat5 cable.

In order for the two to 'see' each other, do I need to setup a network, or will they automatically connect? I'm using XP Pro, SP2 on my desktop and I'm not sure if I'm going to go with Media Center Edition for the PVR.

I'm decent with building computers, but I'm absolutely horrible with networking. Something as simple as setting up a wireless router gives me fits.

Thanks.

[Faustus]

Will they be sharing an internet connection like cable or DSL? If so you'll want like a netgear router or something of the link (AVOID DLINK!!)

If your not sharing internet between them then just a cross over cable might work.

[waheed]

I think you can also share internet with 2 computers just using a crossover cable (i managed to do so a while back).

Only problem is the main computer (with the net connection) must be on and connected to the internet for the other computer to access the net.

But I would still advise getting a router if you are going to use internet on both computers, benefit on using wireless comes into play.

[Faustus]

I think you can also share internet with 2 computers just using a crossover cable (i managed to do so a while back).

Only problem is the main computer (with the net connection) must be on and connected to the internet for the other computer to access the net.

But I would still advise getting a router if you are going to use internet on both computers, benefit on using wireless comes into play.

Exactly, it CAN be done but honestly even if you DONT want to share internet I don't suggest a cross over cable as I've found them to be pains in the ass.

So if you want broadband shared get a router.
If you don't want broadband shared I'd suggest a hub.

[thevoelk]

A crossover cable is fairly easy. You'll need two NICs in your main pc, if you have a broadband connection. Connect the crossover cable from your PVR in the other room to your second NIC. Set the Default Gateway of the NIC in your PVR to the IP address of your second NIC in your main desktop. It's probably best to use Private IP addressing by the way. The IP address of your first NIC in your main computer will probably be given to you by your Cable/DSL modem.

As they mentioned, the downside is the main computer has to be on to access the net, which is probably going to be often since I'm guessing you'll want to schedule recordings. Also, depending on the distance from one room to another, it may be cheaper to get a wirelss router. If you're like me and basically stuck with DSL, Verizon gives a modem/wireless router all-in-one-POS unti to new subscribers.

[mrtristan]

The computer by the tv is actually closer to the router, so I don't plan on sharing the connection through the two. I'll plug the pvr straight into the router.

My desktop is wireless, so I figured the easiest way to connect the two would be to directly connect them with an ethernet cable.

[rallynavvie]

(AVOID DLINK!!)

Meh, my D-Link wireless router has been working fine for years. Their old, cheap, wired routers weren't very good though.

If your current desktop is wireless and it's connected fine just leave it as is. Do as you said and connect your PVR to your router with a patch (a normal network cable, not a crossover cable). You probably have DHCP set up on your router to assign IP addresses to your computers so you really don't need to do anything else.

And what's wrong with DSL? I'm "stuck" with it here but I'd certainly take my 3Mb/2Mb connection over cable's crappy upload speeds and faster download speeds. I spend a lot of time sending things between work and home so I a good upload is just as important as download speeds for me. 2Mb would also make me pretty popular on the P2P networks I'm guessing

[mrtristan]

Is there an advantage to connecting through the router, versus connecting the two computers directly?

I have my current internet setup like this.

Cable modem>linksys router>linksys wireless access point>desktop.

I'm planning on connecting the new computer like this.

Cable modem>linksys router>pvr.

I had some trouble trying to network the computers at my old house when mixing between the ones connected to the router and wireless hub, so I thought I would just connect the two directly.

My desktop has two unused ethernet ports and I have an extra nic card or two lying around, in case the pvr comes with one or less.

Sorry if I sound extremely ignorant. It's because I am, when it comes to networking.

[TooLFooL]

i'd just plug them both into the router and run networking wizard. it's made for this kind of thing.

advantages to using the router:
both computers are internet capable - even if you dont use it, it can utilize automatic online updates.
it's more standard - as you add expand your network, everything will work together.
security - the router will assign each computer an 'internal' ip address, helping to protect from internet attacks.
newtons law - later on down the road you won't end up beating yourself over the head as you finally decide to try and master this networking thing. you'll be ready to kill somebody after many hours of aggrivation and the reason being? that one cable you used! it's that f@*%ing crossover cable you had and forgot about!