networking two pcs

[tockworth]

My daughter and her boyfriend are both uni students and in their digs my daughters pc is on the same desk as her boyfriends. My daughters pc is connected to virgin broadband and both pcs have ethernet cards on board.
My question is, there is now times when they need to be online individually on their own pc's would a simple network lead be sufficient to share broadband connection at the same time(as only two pc's are connected) or will they have to go to the expense of a wired router.

 

[2scoops0406]

You need to use ICS assuming an M$ OS

see here for a pretty good step by step approach.

 

[tockworth]

Yes that looks like it would be the solution thanks for the help. XP home is on both pc's. cheers

 

[eggplant]

grab a £50 router, will save much time and effort - plus the other one doesnt need to be on all the time.

 

[JohnD]

I've had a look at the ICS setup instructions... stupid question perhaps... what sort of piece of wire do I need between the PCs?

 

[eggplant]

You need a crossover cable which is basically a piece of CAT5/6 network cable but wired up slightly different on one of the ends. Should cost no more then a couple of quid for a few metres. How is the broadband connected? I assume its on USB (which isnt ideal but will actually work out best in this case) if its going into the network card (Which is the best way by far) then you will need a second network card in that pc.

 

[JohnD]

Like this?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?BEL-102480
and
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-320XR1

 

[eggplant]

Yeah but the prices for the cables is ridiculous, we charge 12p/ft + 25p/end for CAT5 regardless if its crossover or not. Relatek 8139 series network cards we charge £3.99 I think (could be 4.99)
You might not need the network card, as I said earlier it depends on how your broadband connection is setup.
I'd still reccomend a router.

 

[Big_Spark]

I am with Eggplant on this, the machines are far better connected via an ethernet router.

Personally I would go out and buy a Linksys broadband router..they are only about £40 in Maplin, maybe less and they will allow both machines to be connected or turned off. The router keeps the connection alive for you..and they have built in firewalls to give added protection..always nice..

 

[sm1thson]

when i was too tight to buy a router, i used a normal network cable then a short crossver cable coupled at the end, so when i came to my senses and bought a router i could still use the old long network cable. but as everyone has said just buy a router. <£20 from ebuyer.co.uk but i would consider buying a wireless one if there is any chace of getting a laptop in the next year etc to avoid having to upgrade later.

 

[Softus]

ICS is a horrible kludge, can be temperamental, and (as has been said) requires the host PC to be on in order for the secondary one to access the Internet.

It's been said many times, but a simple ADSL modem-cum-router is the better solution.