USB question

[rob grant]

I've got an MSI 6309 mudder' board which only provides the slower USB 1.1. We've got two PIII computers on a Speedtouch ADSL modem. The wife's is plugged into the modem LAN connection, so she gets the full benefit of the ADSL speed. My "old wheezer" uses the USB connection and runs at a slower speed. Short of sneaking her card and cable out of her computer when she's not looking, what's a simple, cheap solution to getting a higher speed for my old rig. I do have a LAN card in one of my PCI slots, but the modem has only one LAN port.

[alex zorrilla]

Typically, USB 1.1 has a higher bandwidth than the typical ADSL connection (12 Mb/s versus 1.5 Mb/s). Are you sure that your connection is slower? If it really is, it may be because the USB connection has a higher CPU overhead than the network card.

[rob grant]

Alex, thanks for the quick response.

The slower machina has a PIII 933 while the faster machine has a PIII 733. I have to admit that I'm not totally sure of the phrase "cpu overhead." I haven't had much to do with LAN connections and cards, but is there a cheap "hub" availiable like with USB that would allow me to plug two computers into a single LAN port on the modem?

[EMCWheels]

You could pick up a Firewall Router (http://www.eyo.com.au/search_results.php?search_term=firewall+router) which would allow you to share the ethernet connection, and provide some extra security for your PCs at the same time.

[PrinceBytore]

If you are using Windows 98 then there is a patch available that will reconfigure your settings so you can take full advantage of the extra bandwidth. 98 is configured for 56k :)

[MeanDean]

That's something that honestly gets overlooked. When I got my DSL connection I was using older windows and couldn't break 256 kbs until I changed some settings. It was really frustrating and I was really pissed off at my ISP for no good reason... though they really should have known what the problem was rather than telling me it was within normal ranges now that I think of it.

[PrinceBytore]

If you need the registry patch for win9x and cable or DSL because the TCP/IP stack isn't set up for broadband. Just download the following file:

http://www.speedguide.net/files/sguide_tweak_9x.zip

Unzip it to c:\ then right-click install on the INF file. Reboot and its done.

[rob grant]

Sorry for not stating it earlier, but I'm using XP Pro.

Thanks for all the replies, I think that firewall router that EMCWheels mentioned sounds like the answer to my problema. I'll send an order to EYO. What do you think would be the best option of all the possibles that EYO lists?
http://www.eyo.com.au/search_results.php?search_term=firewall+router

[MarkNadia]

Personally I have the http://www.eyo.com.au/prod_M-FWG114P_proddesc_Netgear_Wireless-G_ProSafe_Firewall_w_USB_PrintServ._FWG114P.html
which I have had no problems with in the last two years.. I have version one but version 2 is supposed to be better... Still a bit expensive for what you may want.

Are you looking at wireless or wired?

If you want wired for ease maybe try http://www.eyo.com.au/prod_M-DSL-504T_proddesc_D-Link_Router_Modem_DSL-504T_ADSL2_2_Ready_4-Port.html
It has 4 ports for you to cable to and has the ADSL built in

[rob grant]

MarkNadia,

Thanks for the help. Actually, I didn't think it was possible to purchase a router/modem combo at such a resonable price as the example you give from EYO. Sounds tempting. Is anybody using one of these (D-Link DSL-504T)?

[MarkNadia]

I would reccomend looking through www.whirlpool.net.au as they are australia's biggest internet chat...

[timmy]

Rob, the firewall/router is definitely the way to go. You will get protection for your systems, for one thing. Secondly, this is the better alternative to sharing the IP address that your ISP is giving you. (The other alternative is M$ Internet Connection Sharing -- ugh!)

It is true that your USB has a speed capability in excess of what your ISP can deliver. However, I believe that the buffers and accompanying design of the ethernet interfaces will allow you to see a definite increase in speed, especially when it comes to the perception of how fast your windows load and your downloads occur.

Another advantage of the ethernet system is the ability to share computer resources, such as a printer, or hard drives, or files.

there are many other things you can do, also. For instance, all of our mp3 music is on my Wife's Mac, and I can play music from her machine on my iBook. This is NOT a Mac-only advantage, since iTunes is available in a Windows port, too. I took one of my old M571s to a summer internship and used it to watch TV. How glad I was that I had it with iTunes, for there were many students on the dorm LAN who also used iTunes (don't know what kind of platform they had!) and I was able to sample all of their music and get an interesting introduction to music I would not have normally been exposed to. (Note: you cannot copy music with iTunes sharing, you can only play it.)

Anyway, my point is that a LAN allows so much flexibility in the way that you can use multiple systems, you'll wonder how you did without it. USB is nice, but it really isn't meant for networking.

[rob grant]

Timmy, thanks for some excellent advice as usual. I'll just have to sort out which EYO item will work best for me. The D-Link DI-704UP looks like it might do the job.

[alex zorrilla]

It should. The USB print server feature is nice if you have a printer you want to share on the network. Just plug the printer into the router, and you do not have to worry about leaving one of the computers on just so you can use the printer.

[timmy]

Print servers are a great idea! I set up my home lan when still using dial up and used a 5 port Linksys switch. To get the print server, I bought a separate IO Gear unit that I still use and it works flawlessly. However, a separate print server is an expensive way to go.

Later on, I bought an Apple Airport Express to connect the LAN to my sound system -- which lets me stream music from anywhere in the house, wired or wireless. The Airport Express also has a USB print server, which I'll probably use when I get around to getting a color printer.

The Airport Express blows a wireless signal thru the whole house -- thru brick walls and all -- at the 10% power setting, whereas my DLink 614+ wasn't even close to reaching most of the house at full power, despite having two antennas. (The Airport Express is a little cube with no external antenna.)

Anyway, the LAN business is great. Just set your house up like a place of work, and you can add to it all sorts of things, as the need arises.

[rob grant]

Thanks again Alex and Timmy. I'm going to order the D-Link DI-704UP from EYO this weekend. Timmy, you've opened up a whole new area of home PC experimentation for me!

I finally got around to testing the LAN connection with my computer direct to the ADSL modem and it did make all the difference in the world (compared to using the USB).

[rob grant]

Just connected up my new D-Link DI-704UP router that I purchased from EYO.
It was very easy to connect and has vastly improved the internet speed on my second computer. The USB "PrintServer" is a real plus as now we don't need to stuff about printing data from the printerless second computer. Don't know how I got along without it before.

Anyhow, one question: How do these routers work as a firewall? Do I have to set anything up to take advantage of the "Built-In Firewall Protection"?

[alex zorrilla]

I believe the built in firewall comes enabled by default, but I am not sure. Open up your browser to http://192.168.0.1 to access the router's config pages (default login: username=admin, no password) and go to the Advanced tab.

The manual explains how to tweak this for some particular appliacations.

[rob grant]

Thanks Alex. I'll check it out.

[MeanDean]

If you disable your software firewalls then you can see if any ports are seen by a scan. If the router isn't protecting you, it should come up with something when you click on results after the scan here http://www.dslreports.com/scan
Someone please correct me if that is not right.

Also, if you happen to have torrent software on your computer, then you can either turn of your software firwall or allow the software to get through it, and if you can't reach a fast download speed and your tracker won't go green then it's because your router is in the way which would be a good thing.