Q. Can I "uncap" my Cable or xDSL modem?

A. No.

Q. I have two or more computers and a cable modem, now I want to have all
working together and able to access the Internet. What do I need?

A. Get a router. Get one of these: Linksys BEFSR41, Netgear RT314, DLink DI-704 or
a SMC SMC7004ABR. Or you can choose to build your own router by using FreeSCO
or Linux (more below).

Q. What is the difference between a Hub, Switch and Router?

A. Hub - Also known as a Repeater.

A LAN device which allows the computers connected to it to talk to each other. All
the computers share the same bandwidth. Switched technology replaced the
repeater concept.

Switch - Also known as a Bridge.

A LAN device which allows those computers connected to it through a network to

talk to each other. Each computer connected to the switch has its own dedicated
bandwidth. Thus for a 100BaseT (100 Mbps) Switch and 4 computers, each
computer gets its own personal 100 Mbps to the switch.

Router - Also known as a Gateway.

A networking device that is used to connect different networks (LAN & WAN)
together (example: home network to the Internet). Most SOHO (Small office / home
office) routers use NAT (Network Address Translation) to hide internal private
addresses from the public Internet, but routers are used more commonly to simply
route traffic.

Q. What is NAT and do I need to use it?

A. NAT stands for Network Address Translation. The basic purpose of NAT is to
multiplex traffic from the internal network and present it to the Internet as if it was
coming from a single computer having only one IP address. Because IP addresses
are a scarce resource, most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will only allocate one
address to a single customer forcing you to use NAT.

Q. I have just two computers that I want to network together and I don't want to buy
a hub or switch; isn't there a special cable I can use?

A. You can use a crossover cable. A Crossover cable is used between "Like-Devices".
For example, when connecting a hub to a switch, NIC to NIC or Router to Switch,
you will use a crossover cable. A crossover cable simply reverses the Transmit and
Receiver pairs of the UTP. When connecting a NIC to a Hub, Switch or Router, you
will use a straight through cable.

Q. I'm thinking of setting up a small wireless network. I just want to network a few
computers. Do I really need an expensive Access Point?

A. Generally you can run what is called "Ad-Hoc Mode" on the Radio Cards and do
not require an Access Point. An ad-hoc wireless LAN is good for a small workgroup
scale SOHO operation. Ad-Hoc networks with more than 2 nodes can have strange
hidden problems where "A" may see "B" & "C" but "B" cannot see "C".

Q. How do you share an xDSL or cable connection across multiple computers

without spending too much money?

A. If you have an old computer (386 or better) lying around, use it with
this:http://www.freesco.org and a good hub or switch depending of how much
money you can spend. FreeSCO is a Linux build tailored for routing and NAT, which
can be run from a floppy disk. The web page explains everything you need to know
about setup.

Q: I'm afraid of Linux can I use a Windows based router?

A: Yes, though it is not recommended, http://www.sygate.com has a routing product

though it costs little money but does work.

Q: I have tried FreeSCO and don't like it, it doesn't support my hardware or I feel
like I'm missing something.

A: Try "Clark Connect", it is based off of Red-Hat 7.0 (soon to be 7.1) version. Check
out http://www.clarkconnect.org
Q. Where can I get a good firewall?

A. A router running NAT is in essence, a firewall. Since the internal addresses are
hidden from the Internet you generally don't have to worry about hackers getting in.
But, keep in mind that many routers allow you to create static bindings to internal
address for use with certain services such as FTP, HTTP, and many game servers.
Using these static bindings creates holes in the firewall. You many want to use a
software-based firewall such as Zone Labs "ZoneAlarm Pro".

Q. I just installed my home network, what IP address should I use?

A. You generally want to use an address range that is not going to conflict with
anything on the Internet. Generally home network users will use the 192.168.0.1 -
192.168.0.254 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. There are three IP network
addresses reserved for private networks. The addresses are 10.0.0.0/8,
172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16. They can be used by anyone setting up internal
IP networks, such as a lab or home LAN behind a NAT router or proxy server. It is
always safe to use these ranges because routers on the Internet will never forward
packets coming from these addresses. These addresses are defined in RFC 1918.

Q: I'm running/have a firewall, home router or ICS. How can I set up a web, ftp, mail
server, quake, Half-life or UT server on my home internal network so that people on
the internet can see it??

A: You must open ports on your firewall or forward ports on your router to the
internal address of the server on your home network. So if you are running a web
server on internal IP 192.168.1.69 you would forward external port 80 on your
firewall/router to 192.168.1.69 port 80. You can do this through most home router's
advanced administration (RTFM). For ICS it's a little tricky but MS tells you how to do
it here. Here is a web page that lists the ports for commonly used applications.

Q: I have a dynamic ip address and I would like to have a domain name. Is this
possible?

A: Yes. This is commonly called dynamic DNS. All of the below listed sites offer
dynamic DNS service. You will need to download a program that periodically checks
your WAN IP address and if your WAN IP has changed, the program will update the
domain name to point to your current IP. This program can usually be downloaded
from the same web site that offers you the dynamic dns service.

www.no-ip.com

www.dyndns.org

www.myip.org

www.cjb.net

www.dns2go.com

Q. I just installed my network but my computers can't see each other in Network
Neighborhood.

A. For computers to see each other in Network Neighborhood, you should have the
protocol TCP/IP installed. In addition to TCP/IP, make sure that NetBIOS is enabled.
NetBIOS is the protocol that small flat networks can use for computer browsing and
file sharing. If you are using Windows95/98/ME make sure that you enabled file
sharing. Another thing to look at is the workgroup name. If they are different, you
can simply search for the computer by name or IP address. In larger networks, you
will generally use a WINS (Windows Information Network Server) for all computer
browsing.

Q. How to I make sure that NetBIOS is enabled?

A. In Windows 98, as long as you have TCP/IP, Client for Microsoft Networks and File
and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks installed, NetBIOS is installed by default.
Verify in the TCP/IP Bindings properties that both the Client for Microsoft Networks
and File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks are checked. In Windows 2000,
when TCP/IP is installed, you need to double click on the TCP/IP properties and hit
the advanced button. Now go to the WINS tab. At the bottom you will check "Enable
NetBIOS over TCP/IP"

Q. I have a computer with Windows 2000 Pro that has a share folder but every time
I try and access the share folder it asks me for a password but nothing seems to
work.

A. You can try two things; either create an account just for sharing or use the guest
account. The guest account is disabled by default.
To enable the guest account, try this:

Start --> Settings -->Control Panel -->Users and Passwords -->Advanced TAB
-->Advanced User Management (Hit the Advanced button) -->Double click on the
Users folder -->Double click on guest --> Deselect the "account is disabled" check
box.

Keep in mind that unless you have a good firewall, enabling the guest account is
NOT recommended.

CABLING

Q. What are the different types of cable for LANs?

A. There are three common types of UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable that are
used in LANs:

Category 3 UTP , also known as phone cable or Cat3. Cat3 cable is only designed for
Ethernet speeds up to 10Mbps. Category 3 cable can be successfully run for a
distance up to 100 meters (328 feet)

Category 5 UTP, also known as Cat5 is the most common Ethernet cable used today
in modern networks. Cat5 cable looks similar to Cat3 but its electrical properties are
different. Cat5 can support speeds from 10Mbps up to 1000 Mbps. Standard Cat5
cable is not recommended for 1000BaseT distances over 25 feet.

Category 5E UTP, the latest cable standard is known as Cat5e (Enhanced). Cat5e is
an upgraded version of Cat5 cable. Cat5e provides fast network transmission speed
from 10Mbps up to 1000 Mbps. If you are building your home network for the first
time and Cat 5e is available in your area, you may want to install CAT5e on your
network to insure the best possible transmission speed of your home or office
network.
If you need a cable longer than 100 feet you can either install a coupler to join two
lengths of cable together, or purchase cable in bulk and install your own RJ-45
connectors. When using a coupler, purchase couplers clearly marked for use with
your type of UTP network cable only.

When installing UTP cable, care must be taken not to tear or damage the cable
either by cutting or bending it. It should also be kept away from sources of EMI such
as electrical motors, florescent lighting, radio transmitters and other sources of
electrical noise. If you must pass across any power wires, do it at a 90 degree angle
only.

Q: I want to crimp network connectors myself. What is the correct order for a
straight connector and a crossover?

A: Here is a picture with the correct order to help you :

And for those who cannot see this picture, the correct order for a straight connector
is :

1- white/orange

2-orange

3-white/green

4-blue

5-white/blue

6-green

7-white/brown

8-brown

A crossover cable is :
1- white/green

2-green

3-white/orange

4-blue

5-white/blue

6-orange

7-white/brown

8-brown

Don't forget that for a crossover cable to work, one end must be straight and the
other crossover. If both ends are crossover, the cable will work like a straight cable.