Two computers one cable modem

[RolledOverlord]

My cable modem only has one cat5 jack, one power jack and one coax jack.

Sooo, I was wondering...is there a way (without doing the router route) to hook up my two computers, using a cat5 switch or hub or wha?

See, the buggy part in this setup is when I switch from my Intel based computer to the AMD based machine.

Sometimes, the AMD thingy just doesnt get the message that it should be connected to the internet and the modem keeps resetting. BUT, other times it runs fine! Sheesh!

So, I think the problem is in the unplugging and plugging of the cat5 cable.

My two computers are essentially a study in redundancy. Each has 6 hard drives...2 with Windows 7, 2 with Ubuntu 1010 and 1104, one with XP pro and one with XP Media Center.

And at least once a week I go through that update hassle, so I need both systems hooked to the Net! You know what I mean?

I have a decent modem. (Motorola SB6120 Surfboard Extreme) and when Finally hooked up to the Internet, I can do anything I want, without hiccups!

So basically, the bottom line is...How can I get two Cat5 cables hooked up to the Modem at the same time, so each machine is always connected...so I dont have to go through the modem resetting boggle, when I switch?

BTW...This is a legitimate question. Normally, I should be able to be able to figure this out myself. This one has me stumped, though.

ed

 

[Saga Lout]

You could try a cable splitter - search for one on e-Bay. The router is the better option though and e-Bay will also have those very cheaply.

Another option would be to put an extra NIC in one machine and cable that to the other - or use a wireless dongle in each to let them trade informmation. Then set them up for one to share the other's Internet connection.

 

[Guest]

Unless you pay for 2 IP addresses, you need a router to connect both PCs. Cable modems "remember" the MAC address of the first device they connect to and will not connect to a second device without being power cycled. Just get yourself one of those router thingys.

 

[hang-the-9]

Modems will only assign you one IP address, get a Router.

 

[meuchel]

or get a second nic for one of the machines and use ICS (kinda a sucky choice and requires both computers to be on to access the net on the slave machine, but it is a cheap solution as a cheap nic is around $10)