My flatmate has an ASDL internet connection in his room. I was hoping to pick up a computer soon and get connected myself. As I understand it I could get a router or a hub and split the line with that. Is that correct? If so which should I use, a router or a hub? If it is possible could someone please give me a rough idea of what it would cost and what it is I would have to do to set this up?
…or is this impossible and I’ll have to call the internet provider to get another line installed in my room and have to pay the monthly charges for the second line?
You want a router, not a hub. A hub won’t let you share connections, if you can have more than one connection at once you’ll be ok with a hub. If the ISP only lets you connect once, you need a router to share that one connection.
My ISP gives me 12 dynamic IP addresses, if you have that type of service, you are fine with a HUB. But I would suggest a router. Setup might be a little more difficult, but you can feel comfortable behind the firewall those devices typically come with.
I saw a US Robotics wireless router on sale for $990 NT in a small store in Gungwhan (sp?). It was downstairs in the small place on Bada Rd, next too the TV station. (If you can find it from those directions I will give you a cookie!). This is a great deal.
Kip
thanks for the input. I’ll find out about the # of connections allowed. If i can get away with a hub i’ll try that. otherwise i’llbe looking for a router.
thanks for the info chicken but i’m down in Kaohsiung and probably won’t be in taipei anytime soon.
If you both have wireless you can set up a shared connection in XP, but I would not recommend it if you are doing anything other than simple stuff like browsing, email, etc.
It’s cheap to upgrade the line from 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps or even 8 Mbps (it was for me). You might want to look into upgrading if it’s only a couple hundred dollars a month and you can share it.
Definitely go for the router. The small price savings for buying a hub isn’t worth it. I was in 3C not long and hubs cost NT$550 while routers were NT$1000. A router gives you a built-in firewall too, an important security consideration.
I’ve just got the modem that was supplied with a wire to the telephone connection and 2 connections to the 2 computers.
Works no trouble. I do remember we had to talk to the provider and there was a bit of fuss when we first set up. I don’t know the details due to language problems.
thanks again for the advice.
my flatmate is hooked up to chung hua telecom adsl in kaohsiung. i have not been able to find out if they offer multiple ip addresses. either way i should probably go with a router. saw an english one for $900. prbly pick up that.
It’s quite possible if you buy a second network card for the host computer, and just as easy to set up. The ADSL modem is connected to the first network card and your hub connects to the second card. Any other computers that want internet access just connect to the hub. Windows XP and its fancy-pants network setup wizard will set everything up on the host computer automagically and the whole thing would cost a few hundred NT. Caveat emptor: the host PC needs to be switched on for any other PCs to access ADSL.
My ADSL modem has one RJ-11 port (input from telephone line) and four RJ-45 ports (outputs to computers), so it can be connected to up to four computers without the need for a hub or “switch” (switching hub).
I got my ADSL modem from the telephone company (Zhonghua Telecom). It’s the black kind, made by Tecom. If you have the same kind of ADSL modem, then you don’t need a hub or switch.
Well, a router would still be better though because routers have firewalls, but hubs and switches don’t have firewalls.
But if you only wanted a hub or switch, then that would be unnecessary if there are two or more RJ-45 output ports on your modem.