Shotgun for Cable Modems?

[Black_Cat]

I used to have the Diamond Supramax Dual 56K modem with Shotgun technology which worked well. I wonder if anyone is working on something like that for cable modems. I suppose it would take 2 cable modems and 2 network cards. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. Very expensive, but possible. Any thoughts?

What?

 

[jihiggs]

xp has a bridge connections option, i dont see why it wouldnt work, it may be up to the isp though. 1 isnt fast enough for you?

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[Black_Cat]

There is no such thing as "fast enough". I was curious to see if anyone had any thoughts or ideas about this. I'm not familiar with Windows XP and the bridge connection you speak of. I'm using Win2K. Does Win2K have this bridge connection? If so, how does it work?

What?

 

[jihiggs]

i dont know if 2k has it, i stumbled upon it in xp so i know its there.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[Black_Cat]

What exactly does it do and how do you configure it?


I can't think of a good signature so I'll use this one.

 

[jihiggs]

it takes both connection and switches the packets between both, in theory it makes your connection 2x as fast. i guess you would set up each cable connection like normal then go through the wizard to bridge them, but im pretty sure your isp has to know about it.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[Black_Cat]

I did some reading on the whole bridge idea. It seems that all this indeed would be possible with the cooperation of my ISP. I would assume the only additional hardware I would need would be the second cable modem and nic. Would it be possible to do this without my ISP knowing I have a second modem? For instance, I have a Linksys 4 port router. A router, of course, masks your IP address which allows a second PC to go online at the same time without knocking the other person off. Also I'm not getting charged by the ISP for a second IP address. Would it be possible to somehow use 2 modems, 2 nics and run it through the router last and still maintain twice the speed? I discussed this with one of Comcast's "help desk" people and his head exploded.

I can't think of a good signature so I'll use this one.

 

[jihiggs]

a second cable modem deffinately, two accounts, im 90% sure. also im pretty sure they would have to run a second line to your house from the box in front of your house. but two ip addresses most deffinately. if you tried to connect both to the router, win xp would have nothing to do with bridging the connections. i dont think the linksys router is advanced enough to switch packets between two wan connections. thus only one wan port, only capable of holding one host name and wan ip address.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[jlanka]

Can you provide a link to this? I can't fathom how this would work over ethernet (ATM)

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[jihiggs]

this has been around for quite some time over dial up. i have never done it nor done any research. i just happend to stumble upon this feature in win xp just before i read black cats post.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[jlanka]

yeah - I can sort of visualize doing it over dial up but having trouble with broadband. Got any links that would help me? Thanks in advance

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Black_Cat]

I think I could get away with just 1 coaxial cable in and then splitting it. I think coaxial cable could handle the bandwidth if I just split it and then ran it into the two cable modems.

I think you're right when it comes to the router. I think I would have to have 2 routers because I would need 2 wan connections. I would then have to connect the one router into the "uplink" port of the other and change one the router's LAN IP address.

Lastly, I think the biggest hurdle would be my ISP. When I originally set up the modem they had asked me for the serial number on the modem itself. Do you know why they would ask for it? Do they have to activate something in order for me to get service?

I can't think of a good signature so I'll use this one.

 

[jihiggs]

"I think I could get away with just 1 coaxial cable in and then splitting it. I think coaxial cable could handle the bandwidth if I just split it and then ran it into the two cable modems."
i would not recomend that. there is an awful lot that goes on with those things, the cable modem is configured with your account info, not user names and password or those kinds of things, but info about the layout of their wan, default routes and stuff. i seriously doubt they would allow two modems to run on one cable run at their central office. you have the router config all wrong. you are not going to get around having to have two nics in the computer, its just not going to work. the serial number they asked for was most likely the mac address of the modem. they will have to know that for the connection to work.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[jihiggs]

http://library.thinkquest.org/C006208/data/network-internetconnections3.php?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0225
scroll down to inverse multiplex

http://www.fatpipeinc.com/fatpipeT1.htm
this is pretty insane

thats what i found with a quick search

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[Black_Cat]

Thanks for all your input, jihiggs. Pardon my ignorance, but I have very limited experience with networks. I do believe I am grasping at straws. It never hurts to use your imagination, though.

I can't think of a good signature so I'll use this one.

 

[jlanka]

Thanks for the links. I see how this works now. This is only really a benefit for multi user lans. If you have just a single user (as most home DSL/Cable installations are) the cost/benefit is negligable, unless you fire up multiple browsers and have multiple requests running simultaneously. Or if you're doing a large FTP download and want to surf at the same time. Or if at home you have multiple users a lot.

But if you're mostly just a single user, it's a waste of money.

It's a cool concept, nonetheless. Especially for office lans.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>