Question about home network.

[The_monk]

Hi all, first post so please be gentle.

 

I'm about to set up a home network, i'm fairly computer literate, however i have some questions.

 

Basiclly i will be using a wired connection.

 

It will run two pc's and two playstation 3's, but not always at the same time.

 

The intention is to run two cat 5 cables from the router into another room.

 

and the same from the router to pc1/ps3 1.

 

The use of both pc's and ps3's will be online/network gaming.

 

Questions.

 

Should i use crossover or direct link cat 5's

 

Are there routers available to let you use unlimited bandwidth instead of just 100mbs

 

is this the best option for doing this.

 

should i be looking at a home server option ? ( expensive i know)

 

Any help much appreciated.

[snow]

Hi monk, welcome to the forum

 

You've got the right idea there; a single cable from the router to each device will connect everything up nicely.

 

If your router supports wireless you could also use that to avoid the clutter of cables, but personally I prefere cables for both stability and speed. If you are gaming online, then a cable will give you the best connection for the job.

 

Should i use crossover or direct link cat 5's

To connect devices to a home router you use stright-through cables, or 'ordinary Cat 5'.

 

Crossover cables are only needed to connect two devices of the same kind (roughly speaking), such as two network cards, or two routers.

 

Are there routers available to let you use unlimited bandwidth instead of just 100mbs

I seriously wish there was! :D

 

100Mbps is the maximum transmission rate of fast ethernet, which almost every device supports these days. Gigabit ethernet can transfer data at 1000Mbps, but the devices that support it can be much more expensive. Fast ethernet at 100Mpbs will be more than adequate for your needs.

 

Your internet connection will probably be something around 10Mps, or slower, so you only get the benefit of all 100Mpbs when you transfere files between the computers on your network. All outgoing traffic to the internet is ultimately limited by your internet connection speed.

 

should i be looking at a home server option ? ( expensive i know)

If all you want to do is connect the devices and give them internet access, then you don't need to worry about this. A home server is used for other things, such as streaming multimedia to your devices, storing files, etc.

[The_monk]

Thanks.

 

All questions answered perfectly.

[snow]

You're very welcome.

 

Any other questions, just post away.