Building a LAN

[Guardian]

I am thinking about linking up my 2 pcs with a LAN, what I need is some advice....

I want it to be as fast as possible for transferring files accross, playing games and also want to share the internet connection or at least the modem acces between machines.

The main one is an overclocked athlon on the K7m MB and the other is a non overclocked celeron.

What I need is card reccemendations and possibly even the best place to buy in the UK?

Also may want to add another athlon to the LAN from time to tim when my mate gets his built.

thanks

[Jammrock]

mmmmmm...the joys of LAN parties....

Okay, there are a bunch of options you can use. I will suggest 2:

1) If you are only going to hook up 2 computers and NEVER any more than 2 at your house/apartment then all you need are 2 10/100 Ethernet NIC's (Network Interface Card) and a cross-over cable. Any old NIC will do. I personally like LinkSYS, because they are a good brand name NIC and very inexpensive. A cross-over cable has the Tx (transmit) and Rx (receive) lines crossed on one end, thus when one computer sends, it arrives on the Rx on the other computer. This is going to be your least expensive option, by a long shot! Make sure you have TCP/IP, IPX and NetBUEI installed for the NIC and away you go. The down side, you can only use this technic with 2 computers, no more. So if you plan on having people over for a LAN party, better hope someone has a hub.

2) The hub technic. Get 2 10/100 Ethernet NIC's and a 10/100 Ethernet hub OR switch. If you have the cash GET A SWITCH!!! Hubs share the max bandwidth with each other (so if you have a 10 port hub with 10 people on it, then you have 10 Mb/s of bandwidth per port). A switch will give a full-duplex line per port (so if you have a 10 port switch with computers on it, each computer has 200 Mb/s, 100 up and 100 down, of bandwidth to use). My friends and I used to have a 10 port hub, if some of us were playing games and others were transfering files lag would kick in and the file transfer would crawl. With our new switch on the other hand, we can do 3 different things at once with no lag or slow downs, it's great. The down side, cost. A good 5-port switch will run you $100 USD+. If you want to go this route, check out this deal (it is the one I bought):

http://www.buy.com/comp/product.asp?SKU=10123566

This kit comes with 2 NIC's, a 5-port 10/100 SWITCH, 2 15' CAT5 cables, Internet sharing sftware and Decent 3, all for $115 USD (plus shipping). It is a steal, trust me!

Jammrock

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PIII 450@something higher, 256 MB RAM, 35 GB on 2 WD Expert drives, Abit Hot Rod UDMA 66 controller, CL 6x DVD, G400 32 MB DH, SB Live! w/ Digital I/O, LinkSys Etherfast 10/100, DSI 56k modem, Addtronics 6896A Case w/ a crap load of fans and Dynmat noise dampening in it, MAG DX715T monitor.

Hi, my name is Jammrock. I'm a computer phreak and an EverSmack addict.

[Buuri]

Hmm.. why does he need 3 different protocols running?
In my opinion only TCP/IP is needed and the other will just waste your network resources by polling for peers.

_
B

[everettes]

Because he'll probably still want internet access.

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Reach me on MS Messenger as everettes@hotmail.com
PIII550, Intel SE440BX-2, 3 x 128 Kingston PC100CAS2 ECC, 2940U2W, Seagate Cheetah, Voodoo3 3000, G400-32 SH, Plextor 8\20, Plextor 40Max, Pioneer 303s, SBLive!, MS FFPro, Altec Lansing ACS-48, Sony CDP 520GS

[Brian R.]

OK, I bought the lan setup Jammrock recommended. I've been looking for a system like this for a while, but I didn't know what I was looking for exactly. (Jammrock, Thanks for the recommendation).

I hope the instructions are clear. I am not considered an expert in setting up lan software.

[ALBPM]

There are a couple of good guides at Thresh's for setting up the LAN and the Windows networking stuff.

I agree with Buuri, all you really need is the TCP/IP protocol. Keep it simple!!!

www.firingsquad.com/guides/lan/

www.firingsquad.com/guides/windowsnet/

Paul

[Guyver]

TCP/IP only.

2 reasons.

IPX/SPX - broadcast intensive - only needed for older DOS based net games.

Netbeui - broadcast intensive - even older games.

TCP/IP - very little overhead, simple to manage (when staying within the same subnet), and most all new games support it. There's even wrappers like Kali for IPX/SPX games to use TCP/IP...

Guyver

[Brian R.]

Thanks for the advice and the references. My computers are in two different rooms, so before I set up the lan, I'll have to go to a show and pick up some long cable. Also, I'll have to start considering what upgrades to install on the secondary computer. Right now, it's pretty barebones with only a Soundblaster Live and a Millenium G200 16 MB. Maybe I'll give it one of my Voodoo2 cards and run both the computers at 800x600.

Will TCP/IP allow internet sharing?

???????????????????????????????????????????

Now, the question is...who is going to frag me from the other computer? My wife is totally not interested and my daughter is only 3 years old (she has her own MAC for education software).

[This message has been edited by Brian R. (edited 02 December 1999).]

[Greebe]

Guardian, Brian R, I'm using nothing but pure TCP/IP and sharin internet access on three systems using NAT32 on a single V.90 dialup. Works great and costs only $25.

[merchant2112]

i also use only tcip and net proxy for internet shareing. works great.

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my system has arived. all together and if i new about the usb bug in 98 with this board i would have been fiished a lot sooner.

msi 6167 mobo k7 500 wk41 now at 650.(not overclocked its a real 650 they underclcoked.) 256 meg ram ,addtronics case w 250watt sp power supply, matrox g400, maxtor diammax 2500+ 10gig hd,10x aopen slot dvd, 3com 10/100 nic and 56k ext modem, xitel p storm sound card. lots of controlers joystick throttle rudder raceing wheel, and 19in monitor, usb logitech mouse.

i found the fix for the mouse hang problem.

[Brian R.]

Between TCP/IP, NAT32, and Net proxy. What is necessary? I can guess TCP/IP is required for sharing internet access. What about the others? Do they only facilitate access or are they necessary for it to occur? I was under the impression Win98 supported internet sharing directly within a lan.

[Buuri]

TCP/IP is the protocol that computers use in communicating. A good analogy would a human language.
So TCP/IP doesn't know a thing about sharing the access.

NAT32 however is a special piece of software ment for sharing the connection between a number of machines.

In my understanding this can be done with Win98 SE without any special tools, and I know that NT can do that. (well, I'm not sure about modems but NT can be used to route LAN traffic with 2 NICs in the machine)

_
B

[Jammrock]

Now, now people, trust Uncle Jammrock on the 3 protocol thing:

1) TCPI/IP - No TCP/IP, no Internet. TCP/IP may be nice, but it is actually the most resource intensive protocol of them all.

2) IPX/SPX - Whether you like it or not, this little protocol is used for A LOT of Win9x games on *LAN's*. RTS games, Diablo style games, turn based and others only use IPX/SPX for LAN gaming. It is smaller, uses less overhead AND requires zero configuration on the user end (in Win9x) besides installing the protocol. So if you only play FPS games on the LAN, you can ignore this one until such time that you need it.

3) NetBUEI - This protocol is the smallest, easiest to use and FASTEST protocol you can use for a SMALL LAN. And since you are not putting more than 5 people on the switch, NetBUEI will move data much faster that the other 2. Trust me, I've run the tests!

How I have my protocols configured:

TCP/IP is installed for both DUN (Dial-Up Networking) and the NIC. This lets me play FPS games on the LAN and use the net. On the Properties for TCP/IP on the NIC (leave the DUN properties alone unless told otherwise by your ISP) all you need to enter is an IP Address and the Sub-Net Mask. The IP address can be any number, but it MUST BE UNIQUE FOR EACH COMPUTER. The numbers for each position can range from 0-255. The Sub-Net mask MUST BE THE SAME ON EVERY COMPUTER!!!!! The most commonly used number for a home LAN is 255.255.255.0.

IPX/SPX is installed for the NIC only. Remove it for the DUN. Leave the defaults alone and you are good to go.

NetBUEI is installed for the NIC only. Leave all default setting alone, but one. Go to Properties -> Advanced (I think it is the Advanced tab) and check the box on the bottom to make it the Default Protocol. This means that NetBUEI will be used on the LAN unless a specific program asks for a different protocol. Anything that uses DUN though will automatically use TCP/IP as the default, since that is the only protocol installed for DUN.

Been running this config for a while and have had no troubles. Runs really fast and I never need to mess with reinstalling crap.

Jammrock

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PIII 450@something higher, 256 MB RAM, 35 GB on 2 WD Expert drives, Abit Hot Rod UDMA 66 controller, CL 6x DVD, G400 32 MB DH, SB Live! w/ Digital I/O, LinkSys Etherfast 10/100, DSI 56k modem, Addtronics 6896A Case w/ a crap load of fans and Dynmat noise dampening in it, MAG DX715T monitor.

Hi, my name is Jammrock. I'm a computer phreak and an EverSmack addict.

[arbymo]

nice thread guys ..
I heared that if u only have 2 PC's and one modem, u can adjust the configuration for the tcp/ip protocol so that u don't need a 3rd party S/W to share the internet connection ( no proxy or similiar S/W )
anyone knows how to do that ?

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Giga Byte 6BXE, celeron300A@450, 128 Ram
G200 8M SD, driver 5.25, Bios 1.6

[Guardian]

Thanks for all the help,

What about about the cost and make of the cards, is it best to go with a name?

I have been seen some OEM 100mbit pci cards for around $15 a piece - I presume you pay for good manuals etc but once they are set up and running then who needs good manuals?