Will This Work?

What I would do is connect the cable modem to a router, connect the router to an Ethernet hub, and connect your Mac and PC ethernet cables to the hub. This way, regardless of what protocols your router supports, your Mac and PC can share files and access the internet at the same time. This is how I have my home network set up, and it works pretty well (with the exception of wireless, but that's a topic for another thread).

 

If the router has a built in switch (which most do) then no extra hub is needed. If your router has only one ethernet connection (kind of doubt it) then go with the previous advice.

In other words, yes it will work.

 

Actually, most routers now have a built in switch for exactly this purpose.


EDIT: Doh, beaten to the punch!


-jeff

 

A couple of notes that may be important:

1) Do make sure you get a router (most of the consumer-level ones will be 4-port) and not simply a hub.

Why? Your ISP probably only gives you 1 IP address (either through DHCP or static) and so you couldn't get an IP address for both computers. Of course, many ISPs will gladly charge you through the nose for the extra address.

2) When configuring your hub, you may have to do one of two things to make it appear to be your PC that was originally connected to your cable modem. This would be MAC (not to be confused with Mac) address cloning or client name.

Why? Sometimes when setting up clients on broadband, the PC will be given a client ID that is used to verify access to the ISP's router. If you throw your own router between your PC and your ISP, your ISP may think there is something wrong and not give you an IP address. This may also be done via MAC address, which is a unique ID for your computer's NIC (network interface card). Most routers can do both of these with no problem.

You may not have to do either of these, but if you install the router and don't get an address, then check these two things first.

Some routers to consider would be those from Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear .