Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Hi All....

Here is a step by step guide to setting up shared access to your broadband service from NTL.....

If any parts of the guide confuse you or you are unsure about any aspect of the setup please post and we will be happy to help you.

Step 1.

Power down all your equiptment. That includes the set top box / Stand alone cable modem, router and all computers. Next connect the cable modem / set top box to the routers wan port. The wan port should be clearly marked on the router. The type of cable you need to use depends on the modem you have. Check the back of your set top box for the cable type.

Step 2.

Connect the computers or playstation's to the routers ports. Most routers have 4 ports on them. The cables between the router and the clients must be normal cat5/6 network cable. Do not use cross over cables as this can cause problems with comunication.

Step 3.

When all the cables have been conected you are ready to power up all of your equiptment. First you need to power up the cable modem or set top box. It is very important that you let the cable modem/set top box settle down before proceeding. You now need to power up the router. The router will take a few minutes to settle down. The wan light ( if present ) should now be lit. You are now ready to power up your computer. Only power up the one computer for now. Once you have configured one computer you will find it easy to set up the rest. Once the pc has booted into windows you need to check the ip address of the computer. Do this by clicking on the start button and then clicking on run. In the box that apears type command.com and press enter. A black box will now apear with a flashing cursor on it. Now type ipconfig and press enter. Several lines of information will apear, one of these will have IP Address next to it. This number should start with 192 on most routers. If you have any other number please post for assistance.

Step 4.

Setting up the router - most routers are set up from the factory with some basic settings that will give you access to the internet. You may need to change some of these settings. Consult the user guide for the router for full setup details. The options for routers are so vast that they can not be covered on this guide. Please RTFM first then post for help.

Step 5.

There is no step 5 - You are done. Sit back and enjoy your broadband on any computer you have connected or blast bad guys on your ps2.....

Some things to remember :-

You have a finite amount of bandwidth on the cable modem and router. This means that you should not expect full speed downloads if another computer is downloading ect.

If you are using a wireless network on the router then please ensure that you apply the security settings in your user guide once you have the wireless computers working. Nearby users with wireless cards can use your connection and monitor trafic if security is not used. WEP, Mac Filtering and SSID withholding can help make your network secure from all but the most determined naughty people :)

I hope this guide is helpfull to you - If you have any questions please dont hesitate to post them after you read the user guide enclosed with the product.

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Who's been a busy boy then?

Very useful as always stu

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

I thought that the SACM could detect and switch so it did not matter if a crossover or straight cable was used between WAN and SACM.

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

It can sometimes. The router at the other end needs to support mdx - I spec'd different cable fo the two in case the user does not have a router that is compatible.

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

nice one m8 , how about it is made a sticky , mods :)

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

With pleasure-nice one Stu. :tu:

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Thanks Neil....

I am trying to work on another guide covering connecting everything together on the ps2 service using 2 ip add's and a switch instead of a router...... I dont know hoe this part works that well. I understand that you have to register for the service to get the two IP's but do you need to register the mac address's with NTL before you connect the hardware ?

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Not quite: set-top boxes requires a cross-over cable only if they say so beside the RJ45 socket. If they do not say they require a cross-over cable, then they require a straight-through ethernet cable for connecting to a PC or to the WAN port of a router.

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Thanks Robin...

I will get that amended on the guide.

BTW - Any ideas on the multiple IP registration procedure ?

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Done. :)

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Thanks Caspar :)

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Stu
All this you are doing (inc. the other threads) are super stuff, although I have a headach from reading it all and trying to understand. What I would like is some advice. I have a 2Ghz main PC and a 0.5Ghz 'slave' connected via wire and they operate well to access the web/ mail etc via ntl STB. No problems with the system during use over the last 18 months or so. However, I have just bought a laptop (3ghz all-singing-all dancing thing made by Gericom). This had good reviews [Computer Active] and although a bit on the bulky side that is not an issue for me. The thing is the laptop has a wireless LAN PCMCIA card. In your view what is the best way to 'connect' the thing to the internet alongside the other machines? I presume I have to "add" something to the main PC that will link to the wireless card? I have not previously 'met' a machine with a wirelass LAN card. Many thanks.

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

hi chaps both my friend and i have the same router he has cloned his mac address i have not is their any need to do this and if so should it be the modem mac add or the nic mac address boy this get's confuseing cheers for any help

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Snodvan... Can you post details of what you want to do ? I take it you want to use internet connection sharing ?

Jonboy.... If the connection is working then there is no need to mac clone... Pls clarify !

Re: Broadband Sharing - A Step By Step Guide
 

Stu
What I want to be able to do is
a. Sit at home and use the laptop to connect to the Net via IE and sometimes to deal with mail via Outlook (I use Outlook rather than OE). At home the main access would be to the Net because I would normally access Email on the base machine so that all the files are in the folders for the one account. I would normally be in the office area so a wire connection would be reasonable. There is still a spare slot on the main PC that connects to the STB. However, if there is an option to "roam" with the thing within the house ie use it in another room, then that would be wonderful.

A lot of the use of the laptop away from home will be mundane ie to run Powerpoint presentations to people, access my information files (many of which are in historic Outlook files) and to write Word reports - and to download video and still from the camcorder/ camera.

b. Be away from home with the laptop and be able to pick up Email (main requirement) or access the Net. I have done the Email "thing" before when I used the company laptop + triband cellphone. This worked even from some strange parts of the world. I still have the phone but now I have to pay the bill!! Access was of course real slow using a cellphone. I read about an ever increasing number of wireless accsss 'hotspots' within UK but sods law says thay will not be where I want them, espcially out of UK. I have no idea at all how you access the net at such places or what sort of connection speed is attainable. I have a lot to learn.

Regards