Home network - is this possible?

Is it possible to set up a LAN for 3-4 machines to share a printer, scanner and ADSL modem to avoid having to keep plugging them in the different PCs? All these things use USB (but the printer can run off parallel if it has to).

 

Yes - sorta.

You can hook two PCs together and use USB with DCC (direct cable connection).

If you want to network all of them you will need some extra stuff and if you want to stay pure USB, wireless is probably the way to go. But that will call for wireless gadgets for each PC and a router that can handle them.

IMO, easier and probably cheaper in the end to put an ethernet network card in each PC, get a 4 port router/switch, and you will be good to go.

 

Okay - this is the list I need, as far as I can see. Just tell me is I go wrong.

# Ethernet port on every PC
# Hub for up to 4 machines
# NAT router (for local/global IP addresses?)
# Ethernet USB server for printer and scanner (what about the software side of the modem? Is it possible with Windows?)
EDIT: Looking at the 'NAT Internet Connection Keeps Going Down' post I'm guessing it is/
# Loads of cable

Also, could I plug my PS2 into all this?

 

You pretty much have the idea. One thing though - hubs and switches do similar jobs but are absolutely not the same and even if I owned hubs, I'd junk them and get switches to do the job. Given that

- A router/switch (integrated device that offers other features as well). It needs to have the sort of connection your modem wants so if the modem is USB, you'll want to either change modems or else get a router/switch that has a USB port for hooking to the modem.

- If there are enough ethernet ports on the router/switch for all your devices, you can go with just the single combo device. Otherwise you will need enough additional switch ports to offer a connection for each device. You can hook two switches together by using a crossover cable and just plugging into a port on each switch. They see each other automatically.

- An ethernet NIC (network card) for each PC.

- If the printer & scanner are connected to a PC, nothing extra for them. If they aren't, then a USB-to-Ethernet connector for each but be sure about that since many printers & scanners require a device (PC or specialized print server) to manage them. Generally it works fine to just slave them to a PC and share them from there.

- A standard ethernet patch cable to hook all unlike devices together (PC to switch for instance).

- A crossover ethernet patch cable for hooking any like devices together (PC to PC or switch to switch).

Shouldn't be such a bad money total though. Any 10/100Mbps NIC will do fine with a small network and you can get them for around $10 each I think. A good 4 port router/switch with NAT, a firewall, and other goodies is around $50. Patch cables are priced by length but unless you need one really long, expect to pay around $4 for a 10 ft and $10 for a 50 ft.

USB networking is possible but I never recommend it. For one thing, much of the equipment is pricy but mainly, it just doesn't seem to work well in some cases and when it doesn't (which you don't know until you buy and try), it's rarely possible to fix things. Ethernet parts are common, reliable, and more easily supported.

 

For the modem I found this:

http://www.intellinet-network.com/html/522281.htm

That would mean that that machine would have to be on every time I wanted to print, wouldn't it? That's why I want to set this up with a print server. Really, there's only two machines I can connect the printer to - one's got no place for it, and the other one's very slow and not working half the time because I'm always messing with it.

I also found a print server on Inellinet's website. If I chose that, would it also work for the scanner?

 

I have just one suggestion. re. printer

Get a Printer that is NETWORK capable and plug it directly in the switch/router.

That way ANY MACHINE can use it without depending on ONE machine the way a SHARED printer does. But you do need to INSTALL it on all machines. I think it is well worth it.

I just installed an HP Deskjet 5850 a few days ago and wished I had done it a long time ago.

Actaully the rascal is a small PC all by itself with its own NIC and IP address.

With a Shared Printer if the main machine ( server ) goesd down in a heap the printer goes with it. I created broblems for the kids and their school work when I shut my machine down and/or was wroking on it.

I have three machines and now every one is !00% stand alone.

BillyBob

PS
My Network is all wired.

BB

 

I tried a Print Server and it would not work with my old printer as it ( the printer ) was not Networkable.

So that leads me to believe that the Printer needs a NIC in it.

BillyBob

 

BillyBob

Does this printer provide "ALL of it's function to all computers when assigned as the network printer "? As most of us have experiinced, this is not the case when networking a "non-network printer ". As for myself, my HP All-In-One only provides scanner function to the attached computer.

 

Yes. The printer does provide all functions to every PC. This is why it must be INSTALLED on each PC. And it installs on the 2nd and up PC just the same way as the first.

Not being the case for Non-Network printer is sure correct.

As to the all in one part, I can not answer. MY scanner and Printer are separate. But I would venture a guess that jst like the Printer, the proper model would.

In fact as a test after I got my printer installed on all machines, I booted the 3rd machine only and BINGO. It printed.

BillyBob

 

Now that I've just moved my PSU and my brother is steali- borrowing the modem it's time I set this up.

Here's the list so far (everything from EBuyer):

ADSL router (for a USB modem):
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...m9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=57418&_LOC=UK

Main switch thingy:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=26037

Print server :
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=50161

A couple of questions about the print server:
Will it work for a scanner? (If it doesn't that's no biggy, but it would be nice)
Is a Lexmark Z22 newtork-ready? I can't find anywhere that says whether it is or isn't.

 

Losing confidence about whether that's the right ADSL router... Is it one where yo ucan share an existing USB ADSL modem over a network or is it something completely different?