Techie question: Do I need a router?

[supernova]

I'm going back to my job today. Yay!

I have the opportunity to work from home two mornings a week. I have a company laptop to use and a DSL connection. I have all the proper software installed.

But for some reason, if I take the ethernet cable out of my home PC and put it in the company PC, the company PC doesn't recognize the connection. I can't pull up any Web page. I can't ping the telecommuniting server.

My question: Is there some setting that I should be using on the company laptop to get it to recognize my home connection? Do I need a router to switch between the two PCs?

[supernova]

1. Anybody??

I really want to know b/c my tech support person thinks it's my DSL connection.

[short bus president]

2. congrats on going back to work!

And it is unlikely you need a router, tho I like to use one at home just for the extra layer of security. I think you probably have your network connection set in a work-specific way. One potential issue would be if the machine uses a static IP address when plugged in at the office, and you use DHCP at home. Nevermind the inherent dumbness of configuring a laptop to use a static IP address... Prolly the best thing to do is to call yer IT folks at work and have them walk you through setting up the connection at home.

Good luck!

[supernova]

4. Thanks! That's what I'm trying to remember

It seems this issue came up when I tried to set up a Net Meeting in a conference room too.

I seem to remember some IP config command, but I'm not exactly sure.

[Orsino]

3. You'll need to assign an IP address to the laptop...

...that matches the address or lies within the range your DSL modem assigns or expects. Your home PC may be set (under Settings--Control Panel--Network and Dial-up Connections--Local Area Connection--Properties--Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)--Properties) to "obtain an IP address automatically," and to "obtain DNS server address automatically." If your laptop's settings are different, make careful note of them, and then change to match those on your home PC.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. You should have a router, yes, even if you have just one computer

The router will have a built-in firewall, better than anything that you can put on your computer itself.

Also, having the router will save you from having to connect and disconnect cables all the time, which after a week or two you will become very tired of. And it will allow you to use your home computer and your work computer at the same time.

As to why the laptop won't recognize the connection, if you ARE going to switch cables, you will also have to have your laptop log in to the modem the same way that your desktop does. You can't just get a connection from the desktop, then switch the cable over to the laptop.

A router will also cure that problem, since the router is the one that logs in to the modem and makes the connection; your computers, then, actually aren't logged into the DSL system, they're just connected to the router which is connected.

This isn't all said with technically perfect language, but I didn't want to drown you.

Yes, get a router. Your life will be infinitely easier, and you can take your resource hogging inefficient firewall software off your computer.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. p.s. - your laptop might also be configured to look only for the network

at your company. Check also with your IT guys that your laptop is set up in a way that you can actually roam around the world with it.

[billyskank]

7. You probably need to power cycle your DSL modem when switching computers

Probably because it remembers the MAC address of the network card. I have to do this with my cable modem and YES, using a router fixes this problem.

Also a router makes an excellent hardware firewall so improves your system security greatly.

[hunter]

8. Better yet, get a wireless router and wireless card for your laptop.

Then you can use the laptop anywhere in your house or yard. Having a wireless card in your laptop is pretty handy anyways if you are ever on the road and stopping at places with free wireless service.

Setting up the system is not trivial, especially setting up the security, but once it's up and running you won't go back to wires.

Be sure and take the speed of your DSL connection into consideration. You don't need a more expensive Super-G 108Mbps wireless router if your DSL connection is much, much slower than that.

Slower routers and wireless cards are often deeply discounted. Look around and you may be able to build a wireless system that includes a wireless router, a wireless card for your laptop, and a wireless card for a desktop, all for a total cost of about $100.

Do you have a friend who enjoys setting up this kind of stuff? I hate doing it anymore, so I charge $$$$$. :evilgrin: