Post
by BlueSkies » Wed Jul 09, 2003 3:06 pm
Val -- routers don't double as hubs. You're thinking of Switches.
A hub is a multiport repeater. All it does is repeat each and every single packet it receives, onto each and every port it has, regardless of what the data is.
A Router is smarter. A Router looks at every single packet and determines where it's going. It does this by reading the destination MAC address to see if it's connected directly to the router or not. If so, it forwards the packet. If not, it checks its routing tables, and the packet's destination subnet, and sends the data to the proper port.
In the case of a router connected to a WAN link (ie, your cable or DSL provider), anything not in the same subnet as the router (most likely 192.168.0.xxx) goes to the WAN port.
Here's why ShowEQ won't work with a router.
When EQ data comes into the router, the router already knows where the data belongs, so it sends it to that port only. The SEQ computer can't see the data, and thus can't do anything with it.
You can do one of two things to fix this problem.
1) Get a hub and a half-foot section of line. Plug one end into any of the router ports (except the WAN link, maybe also called Uplink port), and the other into the hubs Uplink port. Plug the EQ and SEQ computers into the hub.
2) (This will really only work if you've got WinXP on your SEQ computer, because WinXP routing using NAT, which makes this soooo easy.) Install another LAN card into your SEQ computer. Unplug the EQ computer from the router. Buy or make a Cat5e crossover cable, and plug the EQ computer into the SEQ computer's new NIC. In Network Connections, use 'Set Up a home or office network' and tell it your SEQ computer connects directly to the internet. Tell it which NIC card to use (it should be the one connected to the router), then tell it which NIC card to listen for incoming connections on (that should be the one connected to the EQ computer). Go to the EQ computer, run 'Set up a home or office network', and tell it that it connects through another computer.
*phew*
Honestly, it's much easier just to go buy yourself a cheap 10/100 hub and plug it in. Linksys makes good cheap ones -- DLink is more reliable, but a little bit more expensive. You might spend a total of $20 if you make your own cables, $30 if you buy em. If you have to buy em, don't buy em from Best Buy, or Circuit City, etc. They overcharge. Go to your local computer store and ask them if they make cables to length. They charge per foot, so it's much cheaper.
Live your dreams! Blue Skies everyone