A question about Xbox live

[halo102]

Hi, im probably going to be attempting to set up a network for my boyfriend sometime soon. They have 2 Xboxes in the house and the want them both to be on Xbox live. Does that mean they have to have 2 xbox live accounts? or is it one account per household?

The main reason for the network is to share the Internet between 3 PCs, one Laptop and 2 xboxes so i am likely to need a router (attached to the only Internet line box thing located on the ground floor) and a switch for the macheines upstairs. Can you attach an xbox to a normal ethernet switch or router? Are there any special cables I need to buy? I have heard of this being done before.

All comments greatly apreciated!

 

[folken]

When you sign up for xbox live it installs something on the xbox to allow you to play online. I don't think that install can be put on more than 1 xbox even if you are in the same house. I don't own one to know for sure but knowing microsoft that is probably the case.

An xbox is just a modified PC. It connects to a network just like a PC does. I assume that since you don't have a router all your computers probably have static IPs? or are you running a DHCP server on a computer? Having a DHCP server running makes xbox networking a whole lot easier. You can give an xbox a static IP it just isn't quite as easy as a PC.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

Well at the moment there is no network at all. Theyve just moved into a new house and iv said ill build them one so when they get broadband they can share it between the PCs/laptop/xboxes as there is only going to be 1 Internet access point. Also that means when I go to uni and move in with him my PC will get broadband too ;-) .

How do you set up a DHCP server? will it need special software and/or a dedicated PC that needs to be on all the time? Next time I see them il warn them they may need more then 1 xbox live account and to be sure they ask when they sign up.

 

[folken]

Ah, If you don't have any network at all right now just buy a little home router. Most routers have 4-5 port switches on them. That will leave the laptop on wireless (does it have wireless) but that should be fine.
I recommend the Linksys WRT54G. If you need them all to be wired the Linksys BEFSR81 has an 8 port switch.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

Im going to try to find out what network connections the laptop has this weekend.I probably will get a router, then run a cable from it to a switch upstairs for all the machines upstairs. If I buy a 4 port router and a 4 port switch there should be just enough ports to go around.

Iv just found out they are getting cable Internet not ADSL as I had previously thought. Are there any massive differences between cable and ADSL that I should know about? I found the Linksys Etherfast Cable/dsl 4-port Router on ebuyer.com and it looks like it will do the job. Do I just plug in the modem provided by the ISP?

p.s thanks for all the help, you're a star!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by halo102 on 02/10/05 04:32 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[folken]

As far as the router is concerned the only diff between dsl and cable is that dsl needs a login and cable just needs to be plugged in. Cable is different everywhere but from my experience download speeds are usually over what they are rated but the latencies are fairly high in games (My area has COX cable service and the routing system sucks). It is also shared bandwitdth so if there are lots of people around you with cable yours will be slower. If you don't already have cable TV the internet charges will probably be very high.
DSL has dedicated bandwidth, download speeds are exactly what they are rated, latencies are extremely low, and it is generally cheaper. DSL has a very low range though, cable might be the only option.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

Well cable is what theyve gone for, it does look like the best deal, 1MB with no download limit and xbox live compatible for £25 a month (£20 for the 1st 3 months). They had a look around a couldnt seem to find anyone better. The guy comes over to put it in today, complete with modem. My only concern is if its a USB modem will I have to find a cable router that accepts USB? because I dont think iv seen one yet, either way im gona find out tonight.

Telewest's website doesnt give you a list of supported routers, they just say "you can build a network at your own discretion" which isnt very helpful.

On another note im building a PC for the first time and its not going so well, but thats going to have to be a new thread, lol.

 

[folken]

Did/Do you have an option of getting a regular ethernet modem?
There are a couple usb routers out there but their compatability is very limited. If all you can get is a usb modem you might be stuck making one of your PCs into the router for your network.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

There seems to be an ethernet port on the back of the modem aswell as the usb port, presumably the ethernet port is to connect to a router?

 

[folken]

Yep, that means you are good to go with any router.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

great, thanks for the help. I expect i'll be back when I get a router, plug it in and the whole thing catches on fire or something!

 

[folken]

The only possible thing I can forsee is when you hook an aditional switch up to the router. Make sure to use the "uplink" port on either the router or the switch (not both) for the ethernet connection between them. If neither of them have an "uplink" port don't worry about it, that means they are auto sensing and you can use any port you want.
Don't bother with any sort of network wizards on your PCs. You should be good to go internet and network wise as soon as you plug them into the router or switch (when the switch is connected to the router).

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

Ok ill be sure to check for the port. Hopefully ill set the router up to be the DHCP server then ill just tell the PC's to get their IP addresses from there. I have a really bad habit, if a wizard pops up I feel compelled to run it, gonna have to stop that. At the moment we are both skint so ill probably be attempting to build this next month sometime when we have money to but the router, switch, cable, etc. Thanks for all the help!

 

[folken]

The router will more than likely have a dhcp server and all over necissary services running. All you have to do is plug it in
They have made little home routers as painless as possible.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

Hi, im back!
I know its been a while, i'll be pretty lucky if you're still watching this thread but if you've got the time iv got a couple more questions.

If I set up DHCP on the router and then connect a switch to that router then 2 PCs to that switch will the router be able to see the PCs beyond the switch and give them their dynamic IP addresses? Also if I set up DHCP can I do port forwarding for applications like MSN messenger? Im going to go research how you set up port forwarding now because I dont know much about it.

All help greatly appreciated!

 

[folken]

The router will have a dhcp server running by default. All home routers are plug and play. Just hook em up and you are good to go
Port forwarding is a function of any router. You will see it in the webconfig for your router. Just look up the apropriate ports for the service/program you need ports forwarded for and input all the necissary info.

One small note though, I must highly recommend not forwarding ports for msn or other instant messengers. They usually want you to forward 1024-65535. That is basically every usable port you could possibly forward. That pretty much completely exposes your computer to the internet and removes the whole idea of a router/firewall. It don't know why they do that, it is very stupid.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[halo102]

i'll probably not dabble with port forwarding then, if normal msn chatting and downloading patches for games will work with out it? Because thats pretty much all they want the internet for (apart from the xbox live later on)

 

[folken]

Messengers will work without ports being forwarded to them. You will probably just not be able to use their mic and/or video chat. File transfers (in the messenger) "might" still work.
Any sort of web browsing or downloading from the web does not require ports being forwarded.

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Folken on 02/25/05 08:05 AM.</EM></FONT></P>