WinMaster Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Hey all, I am finally gettting cable modem service in my home (took forever to get my mom away from AOL), and I have a quick question. AT&T Broadband only gives me 1 IP address by default. It would cost me an additional $5 a month to hook another machine up to my modem. Now, I already have a network established in my home. I connect my 2 pc's via a switch, not a hub, and also not a router. Now I know that a hub will not work in this situation, however I know that a router does. Since I have a switch on my network and a switch routes data based on MAC addresses, if I plug in my new cable modem to it, will both machines go out to the web? Or do I HAVE to have a router to accomplish this task? Thanks for you input and help, WinMaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StevoFC MVC Posted December 29, 2002 MVC Share Posted December 29, 2002 at&t is set up now so that if you pay $5 more a month you can connect up to 5 computers at once...it's definately worth the $5. I have a switch and have 4 computers connected to it all the time and my ps2 network adapter. the only way at&t will assign you more than one ip is if you get the multiple ip service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizza Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Yeah, you'll need a router in addition to the switch. But I think any home router you purchase today will also include a built in switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimatrixzer0 Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 I use a Linksys Cable/DSL router which has a build in switch,... the router is what has the IP they statically or dynamitcally assign you, and then the router will give your seperate machines a private IP address like 192.168.1.xxx which is the default of the linksys rounter I have. So you dont really have to pay the extra money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Get a router, this way you don't have to pay the 5/m and you can hook up 252 Computers at once :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threetonesun Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 welll, get a router unless you aren't going to keep the cable modem for very long. A router is ~$50, so if your going to have cable for more than 10 months, get one. Plus, you can always sell it if you leave that setup...so maybe only 6 months it will pay itself off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Almost all router's, but I am sure about Linksys give you an easy way to, "clone" the mac address of of the current nic card installed in the computer you now have connected to the modem. That allows you to connect the router between the modem and your computers. All Att will see is that one address and the router will assign address to the other computers you hook to it. If in the rare event you have to contact there tech support, just take the router out of the system and connect the modem into your original computer. In spite of what some of the tech support people might tell you. You are doing nothing wrong and the reason they do not make it against their TOS is that there is no way they could enforce it. As a bonus once you are behind that router it acts as a firewall and although not totally safe from hackers you are way ahead of most of their other users! Just be sure to periodically check for new hardware flash updates, which are child's play to install. ;) Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StevoFC MVC Posted December 29, 2002 MVC Share Posted December 29, 2002 if you would rather share the bandwidth of one ip between every computer go ahead...but if you want fast internet and aren't too cheap for 5 extra dollars a month then get the multiple ip service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderThor Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Yes, I have AT&T Broadband, and I am a subscriber for the multiple IP addresses. And I just use a traditional network Hub for this. Just plug your modem into your uplink and then, in my case I can connect 8 additional computers, but only 5 will work because AT&T only limits 5 computers per account. It def is worth the 5 dollars a month. If you need a router to setup more than 5 computer connections then either A.) Get a better Internet Connection....T1/T3 B.) Too Cheap to find a way to get 5 Bucks a month. Hell work one hour at most burger joints and you'll have your 5 Bucks. C.) If your worried about a firewall, just download a Free one from www.zonealarm.com (Hmmmm Pretty Easy) Anyway, for a typical home network a switch or a hub will do just fine, a switch would be the better choice, but a hub is fine too. I shall post the w00t face now... :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 if you would rather share the bandwidth of one ip between every computer go ahead...but if you want fast internet and aren't too cheap for 5 extra dollars a month then get the multiple ip service. Maybe you ought to check your up and down speeds through a router and with separate addresses before running your mouth to much about cheap! I am running 3 machines through that router and ran the speed test before and after connecting through it with no measurable difference to one machine connected directly to my modem! Never the less I am certain that you know what is best for you and ATT, so as they say, "each to their own with the tools they were given to work with". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderThor Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 if you would rather share the bandwidth of one ip between every computer go ahead...but if you want fast internet and aren't too cheap for 5 extra dollars a month then get the multiple ip service. Maybe you ought to check your up and down speeds through a router and with separate addresses before running your mouth to much about cheap! I am running 3 machines through that router and ran the speed test before and after connecting through it with no measurable difference to one machine connected directly to my modem! Never the less I am certain that you know what is best for you and ATT, so as they say, "each to their own with the tools they were given to work with". Actually StevoFC is correct in this matter. Because in the PGH area they limit broadband connections towards ur cable modem. I know this because I've spoke to a technician when there was a internet outage recently. Because Im sure since your aware after chewing StevoFC out cable modems have what we call a MAC address, and AT&T limits broadband towards the modem......otherwise millions of people would steal the internet, like those who insist they need to have 200+ machines hooked up to one cable modem...... w00t face :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StevoFC MVC Posted December 29, 2002 MVC Share Posted December 29, 2002 if you would rather share the bandwidth of one ip between every computer go ahead...but if you want fast internet and aren't too cheap for 5 extra dollars a month then get the multiple ip service. Maybe you ought to check your up and down speeds through a router and with separate addresses before running your mouth to much about cheap! I am running 3 machines through that router and ran the speed test before and after connecting through it with no measurable difference to one machine connected directly to my modem! Never the less I am certain that you know what is best for you and ATT, so as they say, "each to their own with the tools they were given to work with". yeah actually i did when i had an apartment and 4 of us shared cable internet through a router... i think my uploads while the other were downloading were maybe 5 k/s max and the downloads were rediculous...so i wouldn't say those things before you know what i have tried and not tried. not to mention the fact i would get booted off of things like AIM and other servers constantly. with a switch everyone gets dedicated bandwidth for the network also (200mb/s)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderThor Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 :woot: Rock on Brotha' :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttmanx Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 at&t is set up now so that if you pay $5 more a month you can connect up to 5 computers at once...it's definately worth the $5. I have a switch and have 4 computers connected to it all the time and my ps2 network adapter.the only way at&t will assign you more than one ip is if you get the multiple ip service Awsome, thanks for the info Stevo Im currently using AT&T also but it use to cost $10 for an extra IP I just got off talking with a customer service and she told me it went down to $4.95 for !!!!5!!!! extra IP's . HELL YEAH!!!! Im sick of using the router and have to enable ports for certain applications. Pain in the ASS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Running a might slow tonight due to a splice in the ISP's line that needs work after the holidays! All machine are connected and running now as I test! Not only is Messenger running and staying connected, but it has a cam on it. There are faster options available, but for $35 a month this is fine. Possibly the person who set up your network was a beginner. Just to clear up one more issue, the mac address is not in the modem, but the nic (network interface card ot Ethernet card, if you prefer) installed in your computer. If you doubt that try hooking a different computer, without switching the nic from the original compute, to your modem and see what you get 2002-12-29 01:49:16 EST: 1436 / 124 Your download speed : 1436275 bps, or 1436 kbps. A 175.3 KB/sec transfer rate. Your upload speed : 124571 bps, or 124 kbps. Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier! Enjoy your multiple Ip addresses with ATT and have a nice day. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StevoFC MVC Posted December 29, 2002 MVC Share Posted December 29, 2002 wtf, of course if you test it while only one pc is doing anything (uploading or downloading) it will test high, i'm talking about when all the users are uploading/downloading simultaneously. that has to be one of the most worthless replies to a thread like this i've seen in a long time. i don't think the person who started this thread asked for the exact specs of your internet connection. especially when the test you did is completely irrelevant to what we're talking about now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderThor Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Yea StevoFC, try downloading a bunch of mp3s of movies all at once, then run the test......... Have a nice router day......and if u do look on the back of a modem it does say MAC address......or perhaps Cisco Systems was wrong! :o w00t :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+StevoFC MVC Posted December 29, 2002 MVC Share Posted December 29, 2002 i just ran the tests on dslreports.com on my desktop and laptop at the exact same time... these were the results: Desktop 2002-12-29 02:16:22 EST: 1781 / 219 Your download speed : 1781033 bps, or 1781 kbps. A 217.4 KB/sec transfer rate. Your upload speed : 219925 bps, or 219 kbps. Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier! Laptop 2002-12-29 02:16:23 EST: 1728 / 155 Your download speed : 1728580 bps, or 1728 kbps. A 211 KB/sec transfer rate. Your upload speed : 155666 bps, or 155 kbps. Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier! run that on 2 pc's with a router at the same time...now you have me curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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