Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions noob network question

In my quest to rid myself of shiny discs I've installed sage-tv on my recently built HTPC. I now have an HD-200 extender on the way, (should be here wed.)
My stupid question is this- There is only one (1) ethernet port on my pc. If I plug in the extender I can't connect to the internet for all that coolness. Do I need another port on the pc via a card or something? Is There a magic box I need? Two wires and one hole.

just can't wrap my head around this...

You need a router with a built in switch. I generally recommend Linksys.

We can now start confusing you with 'G' or 'N' wireless and gigabit wired routers/switches.

I started writing a bunch of options and explaining how another consideration is how the IP addressing will work, but to cover all angles would take too long. It would be much easier if you explained more about your current Internet connection.

For instance, what sort of Internet device do you have, modem/router? Does it automatically assign IP addresses to your PC (DHCP) or do you get one directly from your provider? When you log into the Internet, do you have to type a username and password into a client of some sort or does the modem/router do that for you?

Short answer is still that you need a switch of some kind, but weather or not a router with a switch built into it is the best fit, depends on how you get your internet.

Didn't mean to wander off on you guys. My browsing pc took a dump last night and I screwed around all evening with that...It's officially retired now.
My setup as installed by the phone co.- The line coming in goes to a westell A90-240010-04 ASDL 4-port router (I know this only because it says so on the label). From this a single line goes to a SMC 7004ABR [barricade]. The line from the router goes into a port on the SMC labeled WAN. The SMC has 4 ports labeled 1-4 and 3 of these connect with 2 other pcs in the house, plus mine. I'm not aware of any passwords to log on to the internet.
The HD200 extender will go in the next room- about a 50 ft run of cable. I'd like to eventually put 2-4 more extenders elsewhere in the house and in a shop building 100-200 ft. away. There is a phone jack near all locations, just not network connections.

I sense another "learning experience" coming on.

Hmmmm. ::Scratches Head and fuurrows brow::

I can't find much info on the Westell modem but it appears to be a router as well. If so, why do you have another router plugged into it? If reconfigured correctly, you should have been able to plug your two PCs into the ports on the Westell unit and not bothered with the SMC one.

HOWEVER, if it is just plain easier to stay the way you are, I would go out and buy an inexpensive switch, 8 ports or more for expandability. (Note: Just a plain switch, not a router.)

A switch is basically a repeater that will expand a single port from the SMC unit into 8 ports (or more, depending what you buy). Most consumer switches do not require any fancy setup or configuration. Just buy an extra patch cord, connect any port from the SMC router into the 'WAN' or 'Uplink' of the switch and you will get a ton more ports to use for more PCs, extenders or whatever. Some switches won't even care if you plug the main feed into the uplink port.

This should be the easiest solution. If you have a DSL savvy friend, they may be able to explore more into the two router configuration that you have. There may be a reason or not. The switch is the definately the simple way to go though.

Oops, forgot to mention.

If you check the phone jacks in these other areas, you may be able to get away with not running any more wire in the walls. Most houses now days are built with CAT5 wire everywhere, even for just the phone jacks. CAT5 is what you need for networking.

If it is CAT5 wire, (identified by this word on it's sheathing and by the fact it will have 4 pairs (8 wires) twisted inside it,) then a smart electrician or computer geek can convert your phone jack into a double jack with an RJ45 jack for a PC and an RJ11 jack for your phone.

The trick is that normally you wire all 8 wires into the PC (RJ45) jack but in truth, not all the wires are actually used. someone who knows what they are doing untwist a single pair from the mix to be used for the phone, as long as there is enough slack at the end. A couple inches is all that's needed.

Note:: This is NOT the correct way to do things. To minimize the risk of interference between your phone and the Ethernet signal, the 'proper' way is to run two CAT5 wires. However, if it comes down to the choice between this and an impossible fish job, I wouldn't hesitate to split the pairs and try it out.

Thanks for the replies. I'm starting to see the light... I'll start shopping for a switch.
When they installed the dsl there was mention of a firewall, perhaps the extra box has something to do with that.
Merry Christmas