networking/broadband set up help

If your base station has a LAN port, then simply buy a 4-port 10/100 switch and connect the switch to the LAN port of the AEBS. Then connect all other computers to the switch.

If your base station does not have a LAN port, then the cheapest and easiest option would be to get another router.

I'd go phone jack -> modem -> AEBS -> 4 port switch. The AEBS has firewall capabilities you will lose out on in you put the switch first, plus I don't think a switch can hand out IP adresses. That's the realm of a router. And AFAIK, you don't want one router downstream from another, that's why you only need a switch.

Normal networking cables only. Crossover is only used when there is no switch/base station between the computers, ie. the computers are directly connected to each other.

First off, you're going to need a router, not a switch. If you get a decent one (I recommend SMC and Netgear) with four ports, you can run your friend and yourself off of the Airport base station on one port of the switch, and then hardline the other two with standard CAT-5 cable.

Your ISP will likely be providing you with the necessary modem to decode broadband signal, and that should have an Ethernet port on it. Run the line from the modem to the WAN port of the router. Follow the router's instructions (most are plug-and-play) if there are any problems.

I used to share a cable line with a roommate, with my iBook using the SMC's wireless and the eMac hardlined, with his XP box hardlined. It worked just fine.

thatwendigo said:

First off, you're going to need a router, not a switch. If you get a decent one (I recommend SMC and Netgear) with four ports, you can run your friend and yourself off of the Airport base station on one port of the switch, and then hardline the other two with standard CAT-5 cable.

Your ISP will likely be providing you with the necessary modem to decode broadband signal, and that should have an Ethernet port on it. Run the line from the modem to the WAN port of the router. Follow the router's instructions (most are plug-and-play) if there are any problems.

I used to share a cable line with a roommate, with my iBook using the SMC's wireless and the eMac hardlined, with his XP box hardlined. It worked just fine.

Click to expand...

The AEBS already serves as a router and a DHCP server, so why buy another? That would give you two routers and two DHCP servers on the same subnet. That's overkill, and can cause network problems, especially since they can't be configured to be backups of one another.

A cheap 4 port switch can be had for $20-30, while a new router is going for $80-100.

Simply put, it would connect as mactastic stated. Of course, this only works if your AEBS has the LAN jack. If your AEBS has no LAN jack, you will need a router.

tomf87 said:

Of course, this only works if your AEBS has the LAN jack. If your AEBS has no LAN jack, you will need a router.

Click to expand...

My understanding is that all Airports have at least one LAN port. The older base stations (before they went EXTREME) had two LAN jacks, the new AEBS only has one. I guess Apple figured it would be cheaper and better for their form factor to only offer the one port. Plus that helps move Airport cards I would imagine.

Oh and I should expand a little on what I said earlier about the crossover cables (and this is slightly off topic, but perhaps useful). You only really need a crossover cable when you are dealing with a direct Apple-to-PC connection, or an Apple-to-Older Apple connection. All newer macs (and I couldn't tell you the exact cut-off date but it's about 2 years now I think) can automatically switch via software the two wires that a crossover cable does physically. That means if you are ever dealing with two newish macs without a router for any reason a standard ethernet cable will work. For all other computer-to-computer direct connections you will need a crossover cable.

Oh and one other thing, you might want to consider investing in a gigabit switch if any of you guys have a gigabit ethernet card. It's a hell of a lot faster than 10/100.

russed said:

right i'm confused! i am good with computers and everything but networking has always got me! so what set up do i go for? i have the ae base station with 1 wan port and 1 lan port. once one set up has been decided upon advice on which hardware bought would be useful. i would want semi decent quality gear but nothing too expensive - say upto like £60 but less would be preferable.

thanks for all of your help, as i said im not stupid but a dummys guide would be useful!

Click to expand...

This is what you need to do...
Visio is a bit rubish, but this should show you what you need.

russed said:

right that is cool and helps, another question then.

so do i plug the modem into the wan and then the switch into the lan port?

Click to expand...

Exactly! Right on the money. In addition, there will be no configuration of the switch that is required. The only thing that you might have to do is push the Uplink (or sometimes called MDI-X) button on the switch. Once you get it, if you need any help, let us know.

Good job on the diagram, Danrose!