A 8-computer network?

[mediaboy]

Looking to spend some money on a network router and buy the appropiate cables.


router (if it is indeed a router) needs to have more than 6 ports... preferably 8, but I can live with less... or rather... I can force people to live with less (the wonders of organising these things.. no one can complain!)

cables need to at least 5m long, preferably more than that, as we (me and my friends) may be playing across a massive house... massive being two floors and rooms being at pretty much the furthest points away from each other (guessing 10-20m... although as having not measured it, am not sure)

5m is safe however, as I can set up a network in the study and just whack anyone that screenlooks.... or kill them. Whatever is easier at the time.


Other questions include:

How hard is it to set up a wireless network? All computers are either XP or Vista... if that makes a huge difference.

Approximately how long will it take to set up this LAN network? would two hours be safe enough? (setting up cables, routers and getting computers set up... 6-8 computers, one router) I think it should, but the larget LAN network I ever set up was 3 computers, and that was over a smaller distance (I think we used 3 1m cables ) so I could easily move from comp to comp to make sure that everyone could see everyone


Is there any software which makes this easier? I heard that Netbuey has been good in the past, but unsure of compatibility with Vista.

And I don't need internet to do this do I? I can just use the router to have a network and no internet



If this is in the wrong forum, please will someone move it to the correct one?

Thanks,
mediaboy.

[Moby-Dick]

its in the right forum

you are going to need a switch as well as a router to get the numbers of ports you want. as long as DHCP is set up correctly on the router you'll be fine.

[peterb]

Most 'domestic' riouters have at most 4 ports, so you will need a switch as well. Switches generally come as 5 port or 8 port - you will need an 8 port if all your users are ging to be wired in - one port will go tto the router, 7 to the users and the eighth user will go to the router (so you will need a 4 port router anyway. If you want your local lan to run at gigabit speeds, you'll need a 16 port switch (about £70) with one port going to the router. It won't speed up internet connections, but it will make inter computer connections faster (assuming they all have Gigabit network cards - if that is important to you. An 8 port 10/100 switch will be of the order or £20 to £25. Netgear, Linksys are two well known brands that come to mind - there are others.

Wireles is pretty easy to set up, but you do need to take some precautions. Was you have got it working in a basic mode, you should apply some encryption. The most basic is WEP, but if all your computers and routers support it, use WPA. Wireless users will almost certainly suffer from slower connection speeds and or poorer quality connections, particularly if they are some distance away from the base station.

You can spend anything from £40 to £200 on a router depending on the facilities you require. Common and einexpensive models can be had from Netgear, Linksys, or if you move up market, Draytek. But there are many more.

You vcan buy pre-terminated cables from lots of sources, cablemonkey, cablecity etc. You want cat5 or cat5e.

This is only a brief intro (its late and I have had a long day!) - you may need to do a bit of Googling to refine your requirements and identify some suitable kit, but do post back if you need some more specific help!

Mnay retailers - (I'm not going to post links to them all

DSL warehouse (ADSL modems | Broadband Cable/DSL router | Wireless Networking | VoIP)
San (Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK)
CCL (CCL Computers - Awarded Best Online Retailer 2007 & 2006 for Laptops, Desktops & Computer Hardware)
Ebuyer
overclockersUK
broadband buyer (Broadbandbuyer.co.uk | Wireless Networking, Wireless Router, ADSL Router, NAS, VoIP and Broadband Hardware Experts)
Cable City (CableCity.co.uk )
Cable Monkey ( Cat5e, Cat 6 & Fibre Networking Products available online at Cablemonkey)

Google is your friend!

[mediaboy]

Nice and simple post peter

Being serious, thanks...

I wasn't aware that distance affected wireless connections (having EXTREMELY little experience with them) and yes.. it would have been an issue. Encryption (and so on) wouldn't have been a problem... because the approximate lifespan on this network is something like 24 hours, and the approximate distance to the next nearest house (from where this thing is going to be set up) is approximately 2 miles.... and not many networks will reach that far will they?

Gigabit network cards can still run at lower speeds right? It's just a maximum speed that it can go to.... Yet again - before I throw myself out of a 12th storey window headfirst (yes.. this is an option...) and go splat; will a 10/100 connection be alright for LAN gaming?

Like I've already said (up on this post a bit.. for those that skimread) this is going to be a 24 hour thing (at most.. more likely to be 12-16) that would be repeated every so often (2-6 weeks inbetween at best guess) for me and some friends to kill each other on various games. Naturally... if we all need gigabit network cards, then I can probably get them, but I need to know whether or not I DO need them

It's another £50 that I'd have to spend (I certainly have a gigabit network card, but unsure about everyone else...)



Also, having talked to people at various points today I've come down to a mediocre 4-6 computers, as opposed to 8... with a few people dropping out to overprotective parents not letting them out at night. Completely understandable though... it's not as if we're going to be doing anything particulary peaceful...

Luckily for the parent's of the host, we're not all bringing our sound systems (mostly 5.1 or higher... due to onboard soundcards allowing this much) so there's not going to be 30 or 40 speakers letting loose a minor earthquake at 2 in the morning.

Does this overly affect what I do? If there is only 4, can I drop the switch and just have a router? If there's 6 can I just find a 8-port router? Or do I have to find a 8-port switch no matter what


EDIT: Just realised my switches/routers are upside down.
Reverse them yourself! I can't be bothered to walk through my thread and change them all

[kmac]

Given that there's fewer of you, will it still be across two rooms requiring the wireless LAN?

If its just 4-6 people in one room then all you need is a 6 port switch with everyone wired up to it.

Gigabit LANs allow those without gigbit cards to communicate at slower speeds so you shouldn't have to get gigabit cards for everyone.

The wireless solution will give you the biggest headache especially over 20m. I would get a decent router with Wireless N and for those connecting wirelessly they will have to get Wireless N PCI client cards ( Or USB client adaptors) to make use of the faster N protocol.

[peterb]

Many people use 100/10 Mb/s LANS for gaming, but a gigabit switch will work at 100/10 - so you could buy a Gigabit swich for a bit of future proofing and upgrade the NICs as required. Most recent mobos with built in LAN are gigabit - a gibgabit NIC costs about £15 or so.

With 4 of you, you couild just use the built in switch in the router - but only 4 computers of course (unless the others still connect wirelessly. Even with good signals, those on a wireless connection are likely to be at a disadvantage.

HTH

[Vimeous]

Gotta love what you're planning, many of us love these mini-LAN events, there more regular the better!

I'd like to add a little to the great advice above if I may, sorry if I go a little simple on this one.

You need:

A device to give all the PC's on your network an address.
A switch in each room you intend to game in.
A method of getting your network between the two rooms.
Enough sockets in your switches to plug everything in.

I'll discuss the 8 PC, 2 rooms bit first in case you do manage it in the end.

In room 1 you can have a single device that is a router (provides addresses via DHCP), 4-port switch (to plug the PC's into) and wireless transmitter (to connect other devices).

If all the PC's in room 2 have wireless cards you could connect to the room 1 network using them. However range and wall thickness effect signal strength not to mention the cost of wireless cards if they're not already available.

I suggest you try and connect the rooms either by:

1. A very long cable. Might sound daft but if it's only once every 2-3 weeks it may not be an issue. It's also the cheapest and faster connection.
2. Home-plug style adaptors in each room. One pair of adaptors allows you to use the power sockets as a network and avoid hassles with wireless. It's also supposed to be faster than most wireless networks (N.B. I've never tried it).
3. A Wireless Bridge. A small device that creates a single link between the wireless transmitter in room 1 then plugs into a wired switch in room 2 (I use this). The most complicated to setup however.

Options 1 and 2 require an extra network socket in each rooms switch to attach the linking cable. Not an issue in room 2 (if you have a 5-port switch there) but the router in room 1 will need more careful research or the addition of a switch. Option 3 needs the extra socket in room 2 only.

10/100/1000 - Which do you need?
I use 1000 in my room 2. However remember if you use a wireless link then communications between the 2 rooms will drop to 54 or less. As 10/100/1000 switch are backwards compatible there is no concern regarding your friends PC's as long as they have a network socket (many older PC's don't).
Most modern PC's have gigabit LAN so the extra outlay for gigabit switches vs 10/100 versions might be worth it if you intend to use it loads and especially if you run a cable between the 2 rooms.

If you intend to use an integrated internet modem (ADSL/Cable), router and switch this may limit you to a 10/100 device as no modem/routers I know of have a gigabit switch built-in. So if you decide you want a full gigabit network you'll need an extra gigabit switch in room 1.

Suggested Solutions:
2 Rooms Wired
1x Modem/Router
2x 5-port 10/100/1000 Switch

2 Rooms Wireless
1x Modem/Router/802.11g Wireless Transmitter/4-port 10/100 Switch
1x 802.11g Wireless Bridge/4-port 10/100 Switch

1 Room Wired
1x Modem/Router/4-port 10/100 Switch

Remember you do not need to use the modem if you don't want and same goes for routers with wireless. It can always be switched off.

Example Hardware

ADSL Modem/Router/802.11n Wireless Transmitter/4-port 10/100 Switch - Buffalo WBMR-G54
Cable Modem/Router/802.11n Wireless Transmitter/4-port 10/100 Switch - Buffalo WHR-HP-G54
802.11g Wireless Bridge/4-port 10/100 Switch - Buffalo WLI-TX4-G54HP
10/100 Switch - Linksys SD205
10/100/1000 Switch - Linksys SD2005

[johnylog]

A very common problem with Windows explorer is reported on all Windows help forums. I've seen people complaining about problem with long path files deletion.
Some common problems with Windows Explorer people talk about:
- Doesn't allow deleting files with long path names
- Pops up error while deleting unwanted files or unnecessary files
- Errors like: Access denied, sharing violation, source in use etc.

I've found a very simple but smart solution for all these above mentioned common problems. A very simple but powerful tool to overcome these problems. Everyone who plays with the files must have this tool. Its compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows.

deletelongfile.com