I wish to network four computers together. I have a BT Voyager 220V router (1USB and 1 ETHERNET), those two are successfully networked together. To add the others should I buy a Network Hub? What does a Network Hub do? What inputs and outputs does it have?
2007-07-04 05:02:14 · 4 answers · asked by iisjman07 4 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
to clear things up some for you a Network Hub is a device that for all intensive purposes accepts signals from devices that are connected to it. then it forwards the signal out to all the other ports on the Hub. so you could think of it as a Bucket with holes in it. when you put water into the bucket the water will exit through the wholes. as such with a Hub you will be sharing the Internet connection with each device. with a switch and all the computers will have a dedicated 100 Mbs to the Internet connection. where as the with the hub all computers will have to share 100 Mbs. though the Internet connection may vary until the signal/message will be the above mentioned speeds
2007-07-04 05:24:36 · answer #1 · answered by katanaesme02 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the computers are not too far away go ahead and go wireless. Buy a wireless router and some adapters for the other 2 computers. But what a hub does, it allows you to connect more than 1 computer to a router or modem. For example, if you have a modem, it only has 1 ethernet connection, so wat you do is you connect the hub to that one port and then connect cables to the 4/8/16 ports of the hub and that way you can network all of those computers together.
2007-07-04 05:51:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a network switch, not a hub. Hubs are dinosaurs by comparison. Most modern switches are auto MDI-MDIX (look for that on the list of features on the box) so you don't need to do anything special to connect any open port to the Ethernet port on your router. Then just connect the other machines to open ports on the switch.
Switches come in all sizes, from 4 ports to 48. To connect 4 machines you'll need at least a 5 port switch -- one port for each machine and one for the connection to the router.
2007-07-04 05:09:01 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Hubs simply "boost" signals. Like an amplifier. A switch can actually manage your traffic an intelligently send your network traffic to appropriate places on the LAN.
2007-07-04 06:26:11 · answer #4 · answered by F'sho 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋