newbie ? concerning starband

Hi,
Is it possible to put two computers online using a switch if the connection
is via Starband? I did it with direcpc and now another wireless connection
but my friend in Texas has Starband and they(Starband) tell her that she can
not put more than one computer on with a router or a switch, that the modem
will only support one IP address, etc. I think they are fibbing big. <g>
If anyone has done this, please tell me how. She is trying to use a netgear
5 port switch. It has a cross over cable going from the Starband modem to
the Netgear switch and straight cables going from the switch to each
computer. That is the configuration that I use and it works beautifully.
Does she have to assign IP addresses or choose Obtain automatically? Any
advice appreciated!
jean

jean

"jean" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hi,
> Is it possible to put two computers online using a switch if the
connection
> is via Starband? I did it with direcpc and now another wireless
connection
> but my friend in Texas has Starband and they(Starband) tell her that she
can
> not put more than one computer on with a router or a switch, that the
modem
> will only support one IP address, etc. I think they are fibbing big. <g>

If the dumbass Starband personnel she spoke with knew anything about
broadband routers, they would have known that all you need is one IP address
assigned by the modem in the first place. The router takes care of sharing
the connection, and the modem thinks it's connected to just one machine.


> If anyone has done this, please tell me how. She is trying to use a
netgear
> 5 port switch. It has a cross over cable going from the Starband modem to
> the Netgear switch and straight cables going from the switch to each
> computer. That is the configuration that I use and it works beautifully.
> Does she have to assign IP addresses or choose Obtain automatically? Any
> advice appreciated!

She should take the modem, and connect it to a broadband router's "WAN"
port, and then connect the switch via it's uplink port to the router's "LAN"
port, and then connect the computers as normal to the switch. Or, she could
dispense with the switch altogether, and buy a router with a built-in switch
(a 4 port for example) and then hook up to 4 computers directly to the
router. The router will take the assigned IP address from the modem.
Depending on the Starband configuration, she may need to set the router to a
fixed IP address, or set it to DHCP (dynamic IP assigment), then set the LAN
configuration to DHCP, and the router will in turn assign IPs as necessary
to all the computers on the local network. Make sure each computer's network
settings are configured for dynamic IP assignment. That's the easiest way to
go.