Our desktop has 3 LAN ports. One of these ports is now connected to DSL modem. Is it possible to connect my laptop to one of the remaining two ports so that it can access the internet too?
2006-08-18 04:33:22 · 5 answers · asked by EARTH 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
Quite likely. Go to an electronics store that sells cables, and look for a "crossover" ethernet cable. It links the transmit of one and to the receive of the other end, and is specifically designed for connecting two devices without a hub or switch in between.
You can also try making your own, if you have the cable and some crimpers:
http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Howto/network/cable/cable5.htm
Whether you can actually share internet, well that depends. Assuming you're using Windows, you can try Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), however be warned that your mileage may vary. It's actually quite a terrible product, and basically the only reason most people use it is because it's bundled with windows and it just happened to work for them.
I do wonder though, with the cheap prices for a soho router these days, why you don't just go shell out $30 or so for a router?
2006-08-18 04:41:24 · answer #1 · answered by fwaggle 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most certainly. You first just need to enable INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING on your lan connection that has the cable modem connected. The next thing you need to do is just plug other computers up to your extra LAN ports on the desktop. You said you had 3 total lan ports, and one is in use by the cable modem, so you should have two free ports to connect up to two different PC's.
* Note - since you will be pluggin a PC directly into another PC and not going through a router, you may have to use a CROSSOVER network cable. They don't usually cost much more than regular lan cables. If you do get a router or a hub / switch later on, then you can replace the crossover cables with regular straight through cables.
2006-08-18 04:44:50 · answer #2 · answered by Information Scavenger 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you have to hook it directly into the desktop with a crossover cable then set up the network between the 2 computers. Then you will need to set up a proxy server on the desktop so the laptop can access the Internet. AnalogX has a good proxy server...and it's very simple to set up.
2006-08-18 04:40:08 · answer #3 · answered by Yoi_55 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes of course that is possible, but this would mean that ur computer with the 3 lan ports functions as a router/switch, meaning it has to be turned on, when it is turned off the other computers won't have internet....
2006-08-18 04:40:43 · answer #4 · answered by grooverider 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no its not.
2006-08-18 16:07:27 · answer #5 · answered by ryan484lav 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋