What's a good Hub when using DSL???

[Tekk]

I just ordered my DSL today (YAAAAAAAY!) and I have two other computers that I want to network with the DSL. I just don't know which hub would be a good one to use. I was thinking I should get the same brand Hub as my network card (Netgear) but maybe there is something better? And what capabilities should I be wanting in this Hub? Don't know too much about the Hubs so any help will do!

THANKS!
And it will be great to finally join the ranks of broadband users! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[SDT]

It depends...
What are you going to use the hub for? Do you have multiple PC's that you want to network? If that is the case then have a look at this... http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?prid=20&grid=5
I use this product and I highly recommend it as it is a hub/switch/firewall all in one. I have not found anything else in the price range that compares.

If you only have one pc then you don't require a hub as you can use the output (CAT5 RJ45 cable) from the cable / xdsl modem to go directly to your nic. You should also consider a firewall like Zone Alarm to protect your system from crackers.

SDT

ok now that I reread the post (duh!) I see that you have more than one machine that you want to network so have a look at the Linksys router noted in the url.

[This message has been edited by SDT (edited 06-23-2000).]

[Tekk]

Thanks for the link. That thing seems pretty **** good to me. About programs like ZoneAlarm and stuff, I saw another post that mentioned something by the name of BID and Jammer. Are those firewall programs as well? Just wondering...

Thanks for the info again!

[Target]

If you don't go with the Linksys product, I can highly recommend any of the Netgear hubs...they are awesome for the money.

As for BID (Black Ice Defender) and Jammer, yes, they are other firewall/port blocker applications.

[SDT]

Yer welcome. I use Zone Alarm for a couple of reasons.
1) The price is right (free)

2) I like the way that it monitors the traffic going out of your pc as well as the inbound traffic. This is important because it allows you to see if you have spyware on your machine.

I had Black Ice (still have the license) but it proved a little unstable in my win95 environment (BSODs). That was a couple of generations ago so they may have fixed the problem. I can't speak to jammer as I have never used it.

ps YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE YOUR BROADBAND CONNECTION!

SDT

[socalgal]

Hi Tekk

Sounds like some good advice above. Have fun with your DSL - I love mine here http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Beamed this thread over to Networking.

[Tekk]

I thank you for your replies and I understand the basics now, but I am wondering if I need a "router" or just a "hub". The router can obviously do more and has more functions but is the price difference justified by all those functions? And target, I have looked at the Netgear website and looked at the many different ones they have, which one do you recommend that has good options and is not rediculously expensive.

Well, Im slowly understanding hubs and I thank those who have responded to my post. Again, I thank you for the info.

Tekk

[SDT]

You can use an inexpensive hub, however there are some drawbacks.

If you want all of your systems to be able access the internet through your dsl connection then you will need to "rent" an ip address from your dsl supplier for every machine. Your dsl supplier would want you to go this route. Obviously there are long term cost implications.

Alternately you could set up your primary system with win98, win2k, linux or application software to enable IP masking / sharing for your "in house" network. Your "server" system has to be up and running for any of your system to access the internet as it is the one that "owns" the ip address from the dsl supplier.

If you are using a hub rather than a firewall/router then you will need firewall software on each machine to protect it from hackers & crackers. You should have this anyway.

I have not set up ip sharing software... I understand that it can be a bit of a pain but I can't comment from first hand experience. I had (still have gathering dust) an inexpensive hub which I used until I bought the linksys router. I have 2 ip addresses and didn't need to worry about ip sharing (when I wanted to use my third machine I just unplugged one of the others). I liked the router idea because of the simplicity of setup. I'm sure that others who are sharing their ip address using software will tell you that it is simple to set up also, however as with any software that you are relying on it will require some time for tuning and maintenance.

When I compared apples to apples 100mb hub to the linksys router I felt the extra cost was justified by the extra functionality.

The other costs that you need to keep in mind are nic's for each machine and good quality Cat5 cable.

SDT