question for your network experts

[Ashton Crusher]

My sister has computers in two different rooms right now. They are on
cable and upstairs they have the cable modem and a router. The
upstairs computer and downstairs computer are hooked up by ethernet
cables to the router. She doesn't want to have to run a second cable
down from upstairs to put a second downstairs computer on the
"network". Can the downstairs cable be hooked up to a switch (or
should it be another router) and then from that switch (or router) can
she then connect the two downstairs computer to that? Assuming you
can do this, is the whole thing just plug in the stuff and go or is
there some kind of setup that's needed with this new switch (or
router)?

[Paul Wylie]

Ashton Crusher <***@nowhere.net> wrote:
[...]

Post by Ashton Crusher
Can the downstairs cable be hooked up to a switch (or
should it be another router) and then from that switch (or router) can
she then connect the two downstairs computer to that? Assuming you
can do this, is the whole thing just plug in the stuff and go or is
there some kind of setup that's needed with this new switch (or
router)?

You don't say whether the PCs are connected to a switch that's connected
to the cablemodem, directly to two ports on the cablemodem (is there even
a cablemodem with two such ports?), or to a cable/DSL "Broadband router"
which is connected to the cablemodem.

Since the other two options are less likely, I'm going to guess the two
PCs are connected a cable/DSL broadband router (such as a Linksys or
Netgear). In this case, it's no problem at all for you to connect the
downstairs PCs to a cheap switch or hub and connect that switch/hub to the
long cable coming downstairs. It's transparent to everyone involved and
four port switches are $30 or less these days.

--Paul
** Note "removemunged" in email address and remove to reply. **

[Ashton Crusher]

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 16:02:05 +0000 (UTC), Paul Wylie

Post by Paul Wylie
[...]

Post by Ashton Crusher
Can the downstairs cable be hooked up to a switch (or
should it be another router) and then from that switch (or router) can
she then connect the two downstairs computer to that? Assuming you
can do this, is the whole thing just plug in the stuff and go or is
there some kind of setup that's needed with this new switch (or
router)?

You don't say whether the PCs are connected to a switch that's connected
to the cablemodem, directly to two ports on the cablemodem (is there even
a cablemodem with two such ports?), or to a cable/DSL "Broadband router"
which is connected to the cablemodem.
Since the other two options are less likely, I'm going to guess the two
PCs are connected a cable/DSL broadband router (such as a Linksys or
Netgear). In this case, it's no problem at all for you to connect the
downstairs PCs to a cheap switch or hub and connect that switch/hub to the
long cable coming downstairs. It's transparent to everyone involved and
four port switches are $30 or less these days.
--Paul
** Note "removemunged" in email address and remove to reply. **

Thanks, I'm sure it's the setup you assumed, the most common one.