Broadband networking setup

[benwa02]

Question about setting up a network with broadband. I am very good with computers but have no experience with broadband so excuse my lack of knowledge. I will be getting broadband soon along with a PM [as soon as they update].

?-- Is it possible to have a PC and a Mac both hooked up to Comcast broadband? I am sure there is some of you that do this but I am just making sure. Any problems/tips/parts I would need?

Also would I be able to have the PC send a printjob to the Mac's printer?

Thanks for any help.

 

[chv400]

i'm pretty sure that having a PC and MAC on boradband wont be a problem i have SBC and there are 2 PCs and 3 mac on it. The only thing you may need is a ethernet switch so that all the comps can get a connection to the router. I'm not sure about the printer5 thing as There is an HP office Jet in my house and it has an ethernet port on it so all the print jobs just go to that.

 

[blodwyn]

Question about setting up a network with broadband. I am very good with computers but have no experience with broadband so excuse my lack of knowledge. I will be getting broadband soon along with a PM [as soon as they update].

?-- Is it possible to have a PC and a Mac both hooked up to Comcast broadband? I am sure there is some of you that do this but I am just making sure. Any problems/tips/parts I would need?

Also would I be able to have the PC send a printjob to the Mac's printer?

Thanks for any help.

You can happily mix Macs, PCs running Windows, and PCs running Linux on the same network, all of which can share the Comcast broadband connection. All you need to enable this is a broadband router. You don't need a switch and a router, just a router will do (unless you have too many computers for the number of ports on the back of the router). You plug the router into the cable modem you will get, and then connect your Mac and PC into the router, either with ethernet cables or by wireless (if it's a wireless router). The router does all the work handling the connections from the multiple systems to the Comcast connection. Haven't tried printing from PC to a Mac, but I'd be amazed if you couldn't do this.

 

[benwa02]

Isnt the cable modem already in the computer or is that different than the Network Interface card?

The Mac and PC will be in different levels of the house. So I guess my only way is wireless than, right(I wouldnt want to run wires up and down the house)? I thought I heard that wireless internet connections take a performance hit compared to wired ones. Any truth in that statement?

Could I just have a wireless connection for the PC and a wired one to the Mac off the same router?

Still no solid answer on the printer sharing question. Im going to the HP site and see what I can dig up but any insight will be appreciated.

 

[blodwyn]

Isnt the cable modem already in the computer or is that different than the Network Interface card?

The Mac and PC will be in different levels of the house. So I guess my only way is wireless than, right(I wouldnt want to run wires up and down the house)? I thought I heard that wireless internet connections take a performance hit compared to wired ones. Any truth in that statement?

Could I just have a wireless connection for the PC and a wired one to the Mac off the same router?

Still no solid answer on the printer sharing question. Im going to the HP site and see what I can dig up but any insight will be appreciated.

The cable modem connects directly to the incoming coaxial cable, and does the conversion from the cable signals to ethernet. The NIC in your computer connects by ethernet cable to the ethernet connector on the cable modem. The trouble is that you can only connect one computer at a time to the cable modem. Buying a router solves this problem, as it allows you to connect more than one computer to it, and it handles all the multiple connections through the cable modem.

You have many choices for routers with both wireless and wired connections. Current wireless routers are usually 54Mbits per second, with most wired ethernets clocking in at 100Mbits per second, so wireless is a little slower. Your cable connection however will be way less than this, probably around 3Mbits per second so you won't see any performance differences accessing the internet from either method.

Just make sure you at least enable WEP encryption on your wireless set up, otherwise your network will be wide open to anyone passng by.

 

[benwa02]

Seems like I found an answer for my printer sharing questions on the HP site:
"HP All-in-One Printers - Mac OS: Unable to Use USB Printer Sharing on a Macintosh"

Alrite I can get a wireless/wired router, good.
Next and last question, do I need a special NIC for the PC that will be using the wireless connection becuase it will be using wireless? There is already an existing 10/100Mb PCI NIC in it. Same question for the Mac if I decide to go wireless there also. Is the stock dual PM ready for this setup or do I need additional hardware to go wireless?

Setup I am thinking about:
Mac<----wired<-----router----->wireless---->PC

Sorry for all the questions I just want my stuff straight to save some headaches. Thanks blodwyn.

 

[AlephNull]

Setup I am thinking about:
Mac<----wired<-----router----->wireless---->PC

Sorry for all the questions I just want my stuff straight to save some headaches. Thanks blodwyn.

What you ar going to need for the PC is one of three things:
1) A USB Wireless Networking adapter. These handy things plug into your PC via USB and pick up nearby wireless networks, minimal setup required (may need some drivers, but the adapter will come with them). Be warned that these will NOT work with the mac. Only a sparing few 802.11b (slow wireless) have macintosh drivers.
2)A PCI wireless adapter. You just install these in a PCI slot on your computer under your wired NIC adapter, and you're set. (Not sure if these work with macs or not... Doubt it.
3)For the mac you would need to buy it with an Airport Extreme Card installed if you wanted it to be wireless, (Airport is just how Apple says 802.11g 54Mb/s wireless)

Hope this helps.

 

[benwa02]

Yes that definately helps.

I have done some more research and talked to Comcast. So this is what I have come up with.

Order Comcast high-speed...Purchase the Airport Extreme Base Station and do a wired connection to the Mac [save me from purchasing the AE card for now]. Purchase a compatible wireless card for the PC since those would be cheap and be done with it.

Am I missing anything, anything at all, or does this sound right?
Does anyone know if Comcast or the AE base station would supply me with the cable to do the wired connection?

Maybe these will be my last questions.
Thanks all.

 

[AlephNull]

I don't have the AE basestation myself, so I am not positive whether or not it comes with an ethernet cord, but I actually reccomend the Linksys WRT54G over the AE. The Linksys is about 70 bucks USD at BestBuy, while the AE is $199 at apple.com. The linksys will work perfectly wired with the mac and connected wirelessly to a PC. I have an identicle setup in my home.
Here is a link to the Linksys router. It is probably a better bet unless you NEED apple hardware.

 

[benwa02]

Awesome thanks.

I actually just spoke with a friend I forgot worked at Bestbuy and he recommended the same thing so that is what Im gonna do. Get the Linksys G router, Motorola Surfboard modem and wireless card for my PC.

That seems final to me.

I just found out that you can go wireless for PS2 and I will def. be buying one of those adapters. Found a Lynksys one on Amazon for $47 which sounds pretty good. Anyone have experience with these suckers?