Routers And Such

[Kylie]

I'm trying to get my Internet, which already runs to my room and my house mate's room, to supply the Internet to my two consoles and my new PC (when I get it in a week or two). My router now is too far from my room, and all of my cables run through the wall, so I need some sort of switch or router. I tried a router first. It gave me all kinds of NAT problems on my PS3 and wouldn't let me connect to people on my 360. I spent a day and a half trying to forward ports and adding stuff to the DMZ, but none of it made much of a difference. I took it back yesterday and got a switch. That slows down everything even when I only have one thing on, which makes no sense, but I went ahead and ordered another router last night... Anyway, I'm just venting; I don't want any advice. I've gotten lots already, and it's frustrating because no one has told me to do the same thing. I feel like I'm completely on my own with this. >_>

[SabZero]

All you needed was a network hub.

Routers segment the network using subnet masks, and are too much for waht you want to do - bridge more distance. If I understood that correctly. Though Ethernet cables can be up to 100 meters, so yeah.
Ethernet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet)
Ethernet over twisted pair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10BASE-T)

[amtalx]

Network hubs are great when the devices behind it aren't static and there's not much traffic going through it (conference rooms in my office buildings have switches or hubs). Having 2 consoles and PC will shred the hub, particularly for games where you have a consistent bandwidth stream being used. A hub would triple inbound traffic and cause all sorts of issues. You really need switched traffic if you are going to have multiple devices.

[Solstis]

Network hubs are great when the devices behind it aren't static and there's not much traffic going through it (conference rooms in my office buildings have switches or hubs). Having 2 consoles and PC will shred the hub, particularly for games where you have a consistent bandwidth stream being used. A hub would triple inbound traffic and cause all sorts of issues. You really need switched traffic if you are going to have multiple devices.

Hubs are terrible for anything that requires constant and efficient communication.

Cable Modem -> Router -> Switch -> Device = the basic home setup, ignoring that some cable modems can act as switches and routers.

The reasons for the switch not working probably (if physically connected) has something to do with protocol incompatibility. Does the router you're attaching the switch to have an IP address on/for the out interface (think consumer models do that automatically, but I'd check). Have you tried connecting a PC to the switch and pinging the cable modem, or, heck, google.com?

[Kylie]

The reasons for the switch not working probably (if physically connected) has something to do with protocol incompatibility. Does the router you're attaching the switch to have an IP address on/for the out interface (think consumer models do that automatically, but I'd check). Have you tried connecting a PC to the switch and pinging the cable modem, or, heck, google.com?I'll check. When the router I'm getting comes in, I'm going to try replacing my old router with it and try the switch where it is now too. They'll both be the same brand, so we'll see if that works better. I'm also going to just try the switch, both routers, etc. I don't care what I end up with as long as it works.

[Unit D79]

wires are a bitch arent they? thats why i went wireless. sure you get some NAT connectivity issues but its a rare thing and a moot issue when most games automatically connect you to a game you can connect to.

[Kylie]

Well, the router I ordered last night is wired and wireless. ;o

[SStrikerR]

Please, PLEASE tell me it isn't a D-Link.

[Kylie]

My old router is a DI-604, which gives me NAT type 2 (good) if my PS3 is connected directly to it, but the one I ordered is a Linksys that a lot of people have recommended. The switch is also a Linksys, and the router I took back is a Belkin.

[Unit D79]

do you know about the wireless receiver for the xbox?

[amtalx]

do you know about the wireless receiver for the xbox?

Its $100 to create a bottleneck. D: Good luck streaming HD video over that.

[Unit D79]

hey i use it, and my downloads load at pretty much the same rate.
hell, it only took me a half hour to download all of oblivions content with it (minus horse armor)

[amtalx]

Downloads from XBL should be fine, as wireless would only bottleneck your connection if you are sitting on an extremely fast line. However, if you have a media server or anything that streams traffic locally, wireless doesn't have enough throughput to handle HD video.

[Solstis]

Downloads from XBL should be fine, as wireless would only bottleneck your connection if you are sitting on an extremely fast line. However, if you have a media server or anything that streams traffic locally, wireless doesn't have enough throughput to handle HD video.

Not to mention all the intermittent sliding and freezing during game-play from packet loss or what-have-you.

[Kylie]

I got my new router today. Set it up, and I got NAT type 2 without doing anything. o_O

I'll need to fool around some more, but I think my problem's solved.