On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 19:04:53 +1300, Craig <>
wrote:
>On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:43:08 GMT, (Matthew Poole)
>wrote:
>
>>In article <>, Craig <> wrote:
>>>Can a four-port ADSL router also act as a hub to allow networking of
>>>the PC's connected to it, whilst also acting as an ADSL router?
>>>
>>*SNIP*
>>
>>It's an ADSL router with a four-port switch (almost certainly a switch),
>>so you just plug the computers in and, voila, you have a switched
>>network.
>>
>>The router can probably act as a DHCP server also, so if you enable that
>>you will then be able to plug computers into the network and they will
>>be given IP addresses and all the other information necessary to make
>>use of the DSL connection as well as talk to each other.
>
>Thanks to the three people who contributed a reply to my query. Yes
>DHCP was already enabled.
>
>One thing though, when I ran through the steps of the Windows XP
>Network Setup Wizard, telling it I was using ADSL and that each PC
>connected to the ADSL hub, it came up with the following warning:
>
>"The network configuration is not recommended because more than one
>computer connects directly to the Internet. There is no reliable way
>to share files between computers while protecting your computer from
>Internet security threats.
>
>Microsoft recommends a network in which all computers connect to the
>Internet through a single computer or through a residential gateway.
>
>This wizard will enable the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) on this
>computer. ICF will protect this computer from Internet security
>threats, but it might also prevent this computer from sharing files
>with others computers on your network."
>
>So, I'm really still confused, it seems a four port ADSL modem can
>have four PC's connected to it, and share files; but according to
>Microsoft it's unsafe to do so without exposing your files to the
>Internet.
>
>Can anyone comment on this? On the face of it, it seems I need to
>connect all PC's firstly to a seperate ethernet hub, and then have a
>single connection from the hub to the ADSL router.
It's not actually an "ADSL Hub" Craig, it is an ADSL router with a
built-in hub.... they're two separate devices in one box. Is also a
5port hub, the router is connected to an internal hub port.
You also mention it as an ADSL Modem.... that's different than an ADSL
Router. Anything with a built-in hub & which has a DHCP server is
amost certainly a router rather than a modem so you don't need to use
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) ICS is just a software router that
one uses in the absence of a hardware router.
If DHCP is enabled on the router then you don't need to use the XP
wizard on any of your machines... they should connect automatically.
DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. What it does is
automatically configure a workstation with all the network settings
that it requires, including IP address, gateway & DNS server.
There's two steps involved - getting the PCs to use the router as the
gateway to the internet, and getting the router to connect to your
ISP. DHCP does the first part for you. Most ADSL routers with DHCP
have it enabled by default. If your PC is configured to get an IP
address automatically, which is the default setting for XP, then it
will get its IP and internet settings from the routers DHCP server
when XP starts up.
To set the router up to connect to the internet you fire up your web
browser and enter the IP addess of the router in the address bar. (The
routers IP address is in the user guide) You'll see the router's
configuration page, enter user name & password for your ISP & you're
away...with most of the common routers anyway.
Some routers have a setup program that does all the internet/ISP stuff
for you. If yours is like that then you run that & all your PCs should
connect to the internet automatically via DHCP settings. You can
cancel out of the IE wizard if it starts up, just tick the box that
says 'don't ask me again'. If you've already set up ICS then you may
need to run the wizard again & set everything back to defaults.
As far as security goes, you're safe enough behind a router. To enable
multiple PCs to share a single internet connection the router uses
network address translation, NAT for short. The only device seen on
the internet is the router, your PCs are not open to the world because
the router effectively hides them. NAT makes a pretty good firewall
until it's pinholed, you've no concerns there (except for the usual
email-borne worms & viruses) Do however change the default admin
password on the router, and (preferably) disable remote administration
if it's enabled on the router.
Hopefully I haven't confused you more
Cheers
Gavin
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