Multiple broadband wall sockets

[Gii]

Hello,

I am in the midst of moving house and I would like to set-up a broadband connection within my new residence. I have a question regarding installation.

Is it possible to have two broadband wall sockets installed in the same house and on the same Virgin media Broadband account?

For example, would it be possible to have one Broadband wall socket downstairs in the living room, and another broadband wall socket in an upstairs bedroom?

The reason I ask is because we need internet access both downstairs and upstairs, and we would rather not use wireless and ethernet cables.

If Virgin Media do allow installation of two wall sockets, does it cost extra?

Thank you.

[MikeyB]

Hi,

It is possible to have two wall sockets, I've got one downstairs from when I had TV, and one upstairs for the BB, and as they come off the same cable the BB can be plugged into either.

But if you wanted to use the BB at the same time downstairs and upstairs you would need two VM modems which would result in you paying for two BB connections each month.

By far the easiest is wireless, now I have only a laptop I only ever use wireless, and have no problems what so ever with the speed or connection on my 2MB line.

[Nedkelly]

When the installer comes to fit the broadband they will only fit one socket .The one where the broadband is going .They will not fit extra sockets where there will be nothing conneted to .As this would take them longer and it is not allowed .If the house had sockets already in some will make them live for you .:)

[Halcyon]

Basically, if you want to have more than one connection and use the internet in both locations at the same time, you need a router, either a wired router linked by ethernet cable, or a wireless one.

[Gii]

Thanks for the quick replies.

As far as wireless goes...

The computer that is going upstairs doesn't have an ethernet card, but the computer downstairs does. So, if I have the broadband wall socket installed in the upstairs bedroom, would I be able to have the upstairs computer connected via USB and the downstairs connected via wireless?

Also, what does wireless entail? I suppose I would need a router connected the to modem upstairs? And some sort of wireless transceiver on the cpmputer downstairs?

[dragon]

Thanks for the quick replies.

As far as wireless goes...

The computer that is going upstairs doesn't have an ethernet card, but the computer downstairs does. So, if I have the broadband wall socket installed in the upstairs bedroom, would I be able to have the upstairs computer connected via USB and the downstairs connected via wireless?

Also, what does wireless entail? I suppose I would need a router connected the to modem upstairs? And some sort of wireless transceiver on the cpmputer downstairs?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/119343 if you wanted to add a wired Ethernet port to the other computer

If you want wireless with VM cable then
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/103185 Plugs between the VM cable modem and your computer (via eithernet)

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/109708
Allows you to make the other pc wireless without taking the top off....

or

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/63762 if you want an internal card...

You don't have to buy that specific router/wireless card there are Lots of routers/wireless cards to choose from its just that router is liked by quite a few people around here, I've not used it myself since i'm on Adsl.

Likewise theres nothing to say you have to buy from ebuyer either, it was just the first place I thought of that sells it. :)

[Gii]

Thanks. Would there be any problems with the following type of setup:


Internet
|
Cable Modem --- Upstairs Computer (connected directly to modem via USB)
|
Router
|
Downstairs Computer (connected to router via Ethernet cable)



Would that work? Or would having a computer connected via USB to the modem stop the router/downstairs computer from functioning?

[Acathla]

Internet
|
Cable Modem
|
Wireless Router
| |
Downstairs Upstairs
(Ethernet) (USB Wireless)


Downstairs can be wireless as well if you want to buy an additional wireless card.

AFAIK, you can't connect to the CM by USB and Ethernet at the same time.

[Gii]

Thanks, Acathla.

In terms of a wireless setup, is it completely safe these days? I mean, the downstairs computer would be used for online orders, etc. I know wireless can be password protected and such, but is it totally safe?

Also, is a wireless setup as fast and as stable as a wired connection? Would a wireless setup be good for online gaming for example? Or would there be cut-outs and speed loss?

[tweetiepooh]

Not a good solution. You only get one device plugged to the SACM but ethernet cards really are very cheap (<£10) and most are supported internally but most O/S so rarely even need drivers disk. Then both PC's plug to router. Some routers (my old USR one did) have both ethernet and USB ports so that may be a solution if you really don't want to put a NIC in the PC with it missing.

I'd like



SACM -- Firewall/router -- switch -- Firewall/router(wireless) -- switch -- PC's



I can then put a server type device on the middle switch as a DMZ that can provide that service but the wild can't see into my private area.

[Gii]

Internet
|
Cable Modem
|
Router
| |
Downstairs (wireless) Upstairs (ethernet/USB wired)



If I were to have this setup, with the upstairs computer connected to the router via an ethernet/USB cable, and the downstairs connected to the router via a wireless ethernet card, what type of router would I need? Product links are welcome and prefered.

Would this one still be fine for that setup? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/103185

Be aware, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to this stuff, so it is a lot for me to take in. And as such, I didn't understand anything you just said, tweetiepooh.. lol :(

[dragon]

Internet
|
Cable Modem
|
Router
| |
Downstairs (wireless) Upstairs (ethernet/USB wired)



If I were to have this setup, with the upstairs computer connected to the router via an ethernet/USB cable, and the downstairs connected to the router via a wireless ethernet card, what type of router would I need? Product links are welcome and prefered.

Would this one still be fine for that setup? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/103185

Be aware, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to this stuff, so it is a lot for me to take in. And as such, I didn't understand anything you just said, tweetiepooh.. lol :(

That one should work....

If you need a network card for the pc see the link I posted a couple posts back..

If you really don't want to take the case off and want a wired ethernet port in the pc then this may be an option
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/60065

Its a wired network > usb adaptor.

Only thing is how old is the Pc without a network card, since if its older it might be only usb 1.1 and not usb 2.0 which means the speed will be rather limited (i.e if you have the 20mbit VM you won't get all the speed though it)

[Gii]

I actually built the upstairs computer from scratch about four years ago, so it is fairly up to date. It is 2.0

And I've got no problem with opening up the cases and installing ethernet cards.

As far as the hardware goes, I've been researching some of it on Amazon, so I'll show you the links and you can tell me if it all should work together in harmony:

Router: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ETX928/ref=ord_cart_shr/026-2303938-1242822?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Wireless Ethernet Card (downstairs): http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008DOYL/ref=ord_cart_shr/026-2303938-1242822?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Normal Ethernet Card (Upstairs): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Link-DFE-530TX-100Mbps-PCI-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00004SYNX/ref=sr_1_1/026-2303938-1242822?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1194867307829&sr=1-1

As far as the router goes, it definitely has Ethernet ports on the back of it for wired connection?

[dragon]

Yes that router defiantly has Ethernet ports, 4 of them if I'm not mistaken.

Surprised that the computer lacks onboard Ethernet though, most computers do these days.

Mind you my uncle has a althon xp 1600+ I built out of spare parts using an a-bit kt7a motherboard and that lacks an onboard Ethernet port

With regards to network card.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Desktop-Network-Patch-Cable/dp/B000062F5Z/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1194868528&sr=8-5

That one is slightly cheaper but it doesn't really matter which one you get, they both do the same job :)

[danielf]

I actually built the upstairs computer from scratch about four years ago, so it is fairly up to date. It is 2.0

And I've got no problem with opening up the cases and installing ethernet cards.

As far as the hardware goes, I've been researching some of it on Amazon, so I'll show you the links and you can tell me if it all should work together in harmony:

Router: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ETX928/ref=ord_cart_shr/026-2303938-1242822?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Wireless Ethernet Card (downstairs): http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008DOYL/ref=ord_cart_shr/026-2303938-1242822?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Normal Ethernet Card (Upstairs): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Link-DFE-530TX-100Mbps-PCI-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00004SYNX/ref=sr_1_1/026-2303938-1242822?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1194867307829&sr=1-1

As far as the router goes, it definitely has Ethernet ports on the back of it for wired connection?

If you buy that router and wireless card as a bundle (link on the page you posted), you save £2. Every little helps :)

[Gii]

Thanks for all your help guys, I really appreciate it.

I'm going to put an order through on all of that hardware immediately.

Just to confirm though, wireless is safe right? I'd hate to install everything and then find out that my credit details arn't safe.

[Acathla]

wireless is safe as long as you don't use WEP.
WPA is recommended but WPA2 even more so.

[Gii]

wireless is safe as long as you don't use WEP.
WPA is recommended but WPA2 even more so.

Excellent, thanks.

I just did a bit of reading on this and it states that most routers come with WEP, rather than WPA.

Is there a website I can download WPA2 from?

[Acathla]

all new routers should support WEP, WPA and WPA2.

If you plan to get the WRT54GL from Amazon, I can confirm it has support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 as I have one.

From WRT54G User Guide: http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1133202177241&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper
The Wireless Security settings configure the security of your wireless network. There are six wireless security mode options supported by the Router: WPA Personal, WPA Enterprise, WPA2 Personal, WPA2 Enterprise, RADIUS, and WEP. (WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access, which is a security standard stronger than WEP encryption. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, while RADIUS stands for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service.) These six are briefly discussed here. For detailed instructions on configuring wireless security for the Router, refer to “Chapter 2: Wireless Security.”

[dave6x]

Just make sure that the wireless card or dongle you buy also supports WPA, because although my Netgear router supports WPA and WPA2, my PCMCIA card in my laptop only supports WEP!!!

[Acathla]

I checked for you, and the Linksys WMP54G DOES support WPA so your OK.