Sharing a Broadband Connection (UK)

[ozrica]

Here in the UK we have a supplier of broadband internet called NTL. They are a satelite TV, telephone and internet company.

Recently that have introduced a set-top box that delivers TV and broadband.

On the back of the box is an RJ45 connection that needs a crossover cable to connect to the NIC of the PC.

This is fine. My question comes when I consider sharing this connection with other PC's.

I know I need a unit such as the SMC Barricade Broadband Router + hub but..........normal connections to this sort of thing is by cat5e (isn't it?).

Does anybody know whether a crosslink cable can allow access through the router (possibly the uplink port?) or do these companies deliberatly make it difficult to share?

Anyone (particularly in the UK who might have tried!) know if it's possible.

I don't want to spend £100 if I'm left with a pretty box that has nowhere to go.

Thanks in advance.

Stuart

[Gollo]

How does the unit connect? pppoe or do they issue an IP address? Either way you shouldn't have a problem. I use the d-link 704 router and it works great with pppoe.

[ozrica]

OK......i'm not to technical when it comes to questions like that but this is the process as I understand it.

When the cross cable is plugged in the connection is live. At the providers end they need the MACK address (Adapter Adress) of your NIC. I get this through winipcfg. Once that has been registered it's done.

The broadband routers have a MACK address (Adapter Address) printed on the back of the unit. You add this to your account through the provider and it works.

But....will a cross linked cable plugged into the router work.

The config would be............

crosslink cable from set-top box to router - does this go in the uplink port or one of the 4 available ordinary ports?

standard cat5e from router to PC1 and PC2.

Theory says both PC's have internet access and can share files across the network!

Thanks for your help.

[Sowulo]

In the early days of personal routers, some linked with a cross-over and some didn't. The simple way to resolve your question is to plug the cable modem into the WAN port with the current crossover cable. If the WAN port link LED lights up you're home free. If it doesn't, try a straight through....

[Gollo]

Most routers have a feature that let's you clone your pc's MAC address so you don't have to reregister with the ISP. My d-link 704 has this option (although I don't have to use it). So what you could do is get the router after you have registered with the isp and try it out. If it works your in business if not then no skin off of your nose just take the unit back. If the router doesn't work there are ways that you could add another nic to your computer and use software like Tiny Softwares Winroute. It all depends but I am almost positive the router will work. If the crossover doesn't work then a straight through should do the trick.

[confus-ed]

Okey dokey, I am an NTL customer and I have a set top decoder box with an rj45 port on the back are we in business? I'll try if you fly so to speak?

Are you telling me I can just plug a cross-over cable in and it'll pop up on my network?

Tell me much more......

All instructions in words of one syllable please.

[Who Me]

[quote]Originally posted by confus-ed:
<strong>Okey dokey, I am an NTL customer and I have a set top decoder box with an rj45 port on the back are we in business? I'll try if you fly so to speak?

Are you telling me I can just plug a cross-over cable in and it'll pop up on my network?

Tell me much more......

All instructions in words of one syllable please.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I haven't got a router but I am an NTL user via STB and i use ICS on XP to connect other PC's and that works great. Cheaper too, only £9 for another NIC. If you still want to use a router, there are news groups on NTL where you can get great help from people that have been through your pain.

[Gollo]

[quote]Originally posted by confus-ed:
<strong>Okey dokey, I am an NTL customer and I have a set top decoder box with an rj45 port on the back are we in business? I'll try if you fly so to speak?

Are you telling me I can just plug a cross-over cable in and it'll pop up on my network?

Tell me much more......

All instructions in words of one syllable please.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Pretty much all's you have to do is plug the thing in and it works. Just follow the install instructions that come with the router. All's you need is the tcp/ip protocol installed on the computer (which I think it's safe to say is installed because you are currently using the service). Then configure the router's dhcp server and it's mode to connect. You might also have to use the Clone MAC feature since your ISP initializes the connection by verifying the MAC address of your registered NIC. After this is all done go into the tcp/ip properties and select the Get IP address automaticly button save and you should be good to go. But like Who Me said I would go to the newsgroup at NTL and ask around for specifics. Cheers.

[ozrica]

Thanks to all who have posted.

The service should go live next week so I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers

Stuart

[ozrica]

OK. We now are up and running with NTL and one of the PC's is flying along.

I added a second NIC to my main PC so the cabling is as follows:

NTL box connected to a 3COM 3C905B NIC with a cross cable in PC1.

PC1's SIS900 NIC is connected to a 3COM 3C905B NIC on PC2 with a cross cable.

I have installed the internet conection sharing wizard (I use W98SE on both machines) on PC1 and loaded the disk it creates on PC2.

But.....I can't get PC2 connected through the broadband NTL connection.

The PC's talk to each other as a network OK though, for file and printer sharing.

I have played arounf with the bindings on each NIC but no combination seems to work.

Who Me (a forum user posting above) has this working under XP so can anyone give me any further advice?

Thanks a lot.

Stuart

[Gollo]

The reason he has this working in xp is because xp has a feature called bridging which links two networks together (in your case your cable modem network and your home network). To do this in win98 you need something like winroute. I've used it and it works very well. Go <a href="http://www.winroute.com" target="_blank">here</a> for more info.

[ozrica]

Gollo, thanks for that. I'll download it and give it a bash.

Cheers

Stuart