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Networking Advice From
the PracticallyNetworked Forums
Up for discussion and debate this week is how
to control each computer's bandwidth on a network, WiFi routers and wired print
servers, plus some excellent advice on sharing your Internet connection using
ICS or a broadband router.
The
Practically Networked Forums Spotlight highlights several of the most
active or interesting topics from the more than 25,000 posts in the
Practically Networked forums. From here you can follow the links to each
discussion of interest to offer your own advice, or to ask your own question to our
forum members.
Practically Networked Forum Statistics
For October 02, 2007
Threads: 7,973
Posts: 26,951
Registered Members: 10,733
Our Last
Count -
September 17, 2007
Threads: 7,956
Posts: 26,848
Registered Members: 10,680
Forum member and_woox has a small network controlled by a Dlink router.
Some computers seem to be hogging the bandwidth and they how to go about
controlling the amount of bandwidth each computer connected to the router will
get.
and_woox
I have a small network at work that
is controlled by my Dlink router (Internet cable) and I'm having
some computers on the network hogging a good amount of resource.
My question is: how I can control how much bandwidth each
computer connected to the router will get?
This has been a tough problem for me
because I really have to give some priority to computers that
are connected to the headquarters.
Thank you.
dolby07
Are you looking for bandwidth shaping?
I've been researching it for a while and have found some fairly
affordable options, although I haven't tried them for myself yet.
Netequalizer has gotten some good reviews and is about 2K.
Here's a thread I started a while back.
TBone0106
If it's possible to set up a proxy
server, I believe CCProxy will do that for you. It's free for up to
three users, including the proxy box; got to pay for more than that.
I've used it and it works well, VERY stable. I ran it on WinMe, and
it gave me no problems at all. I put the box together from parts I
had just lying around. Just Google 'ccproxy.' I used it mainly for
parental control, since it allows blacklisting, white listing, time
constraints and so on. But it will also allot bandwidth, I believe.
Practically Networked Forums > Practically
Networked > Routers/Hardware Thread: WiFi router and print server
ANSWERED /
UNRESOLVED
Forum member sender is considering a
wireless router for a third PC that is located in a room away from the
other systems, and is looking at the Linksys WRT54G, which does not have a USB
port. The question: How can sender make use of the wired router's print server
function?
sender
Wired router usually comes with a print
server, but only a few wireless router has USB port for printer. I
am thinking of buying a wireless router for my third PC, which is in
another room. The first two PCs and the printer are in the same room
connected to a wired 4-port router, and in turn to the DSL modem.
The wireless router I am considering is Linksys WRT54G which does
not have a USB port. How can I make use of the wired router's print
server function? OR must I buy a wireless router with such function?
sybilon32
Linksys WRT54G is a really good wireless
router and it has good reviews from customers, but it has no USB
port that isn't suitable for your situation. And it's also not easy
to make use of the wired router's print server function.
I think you should get a wireless router with USB port. D-Link
DI-624S Wireless Router with 2 USB Port may be a good choice for
you. This is the router specs
are here.
Here is the
deal I found in case it helps any of you.
meorah
I'd go with a WAP, but it might be out
of your price range if you're considering the wrt54g. You can always
use the wrt54g as a WAP, just plug it into one of the free ports on
the wired router and put it on a different network. It might cause
discovery problems as far as seeing the other computers or the
printer on the network if the route tables aren't manually
confirmed, but you'll have no problem with internet connectivity and
you'll get another 4 ports of expansion.
That being said, if you can afford it and don't need the extra 4
ports, get a WAP and keep the wireless on the same network as the
wired.
cszeto
Actually, the WAPs (Wireless Access
Points) are comparable in cost to the wireless routers. The some of
the trade-offs is as identified by meorah, but the more important
one for some is the simpler setup and manufacturer support for folks
who are less networking/technically inclined. Any wireless NAT
router can be "misconfigured" to function as a wireless access
point, but the configuration is typically not supported by the
manufacturer.
Internet connection sharing is always a hot
topic, and in this PracticallyNetworked discussion you'll find some excellent
advice on using ICS (Internet Connection Sharing). Forum member Sooner Al
provides tips on how to share an Internet connection between PCs using ICS and
another popular option - using a broadband router.
hellknight
I have this pc connected to the internet
via a cable modem. The cable modem is connected to my NIC via a utp
cable. I wanted to share this cable connection with another computer
in my house. Please guide me in simple steps how to perform this!
Thanks!
Sooner Al
A real cheap way is to use ICS which is
built-in to XP and Vista.
My preferred solution is to go out
and purchase a broadband router. Here are examples of both wired and
wireless broadband routers from various manufacturers.
1. You don't need the ICS computer powered on in order for the
second PC to access the internet.
2. The built-in NAT firewall function of the router adds protection
to your network.
3. Easy to setup and use.
Sooner
Al
Quote: Originally Posted by
hellknight
"If I use the broadband router, how would I make the setup. I
mean the cable modem would be connected to the router via a LAN
cable? then the router would connect to both the computers? Is
this how it will be done? And yea, will both the computer get a
separate IP?"
The cable modem would connect to the
router using the WAN port on the router. Each PC gets a separate
local IP generally handed out by the router DHCP server or you can
configure each PC with a static IP. Here is my current home LAN as a
point of reference. They share a common public IP, ie. the IP
assigned by my ISP.
Quote: Originally Posted by
hellknight
"Actually what I want do - I just to be able to play online game
with both my PCs. I wanted to know if there is any other way to
besides getting a router? Cant i just install 2 LAN cards on
this PC and connect 1 LAN to the cable modem, and other LAN card
to the other PC?"
That's what you do if you use ICS. In
that case you need a cross-over cable and the appropriate NICs as
you describe. I can't speak to playing online games with either
method, ie. ICS or a router, other than to say you may have issues
because of the addressing and port forwarding. How many public IP
addresses do you get from your ISP? Some folks get more than one at
no additional charge, while others (including myself) can get
additional IPs if I pay more money. If you get additional IPs then
you could use a switch between the cable modem and your PCs. Gaming
should then work, I think. Hopefully some gamers can comment
further.
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