changing from 56K modem to cable modem...questions

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Ok, surprisingly (since I live in the boonies), I am getting hooked up to cable modem this Friday (we currently have comcast for tv, but dial up 56K for the computers)?.now I have cable for the tv to the living room, the master bedroom and the guest room?.but I have no cable to the computer room nor the kids room where the second computer is?..so what is the best way to to hook up??? Can I get an airport station and put it in the living room where the cable is, but where no computer is??? Or does the station need to be connected to at least one computer??? If I run cable from the living room to the computer room, what is the best way to hook the second computer up?? The rooms are adjoining?.could/should I run an Ethernet cable between them??? Any help is appreciated?.because I called the cable man and his knowledge was very suspect?.so, I short, I have two iMacs (one G4 800 and one G3 400) in adjoining rooms?both rooms have phone lines, but neither has cable?.what would be the best way to get both computers changed over to cable modem??? Thanks all g



ps...does 10.1.4 come with a firewall, or do i need to add one once i go on-line 24/7?? thanks again...g

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Airport will work fine, it might even be more economical. The cable plugs into the cable modem, and you make an ethernet connection from the cable modem to the Base Station. No computer needs to be in between. But do a price check: Airport Base Station plus cards for the computers ($200 plus 2x$100) vs. extending cables for x number of hours (the cable company charges per hour). See how long someone would have to toil until it breaks even with the airport costs according to the cable company's charges.



    [really bad math]



    [ 06-05-2002: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 18
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    your set up is similar to mine... i ahve 2 iMac 400s (one is mine the other is my bro's... <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> dont ask) anyways... this is how it works...

    the cable modem is set up in his room and connected to the iMac... his iMac then became an airport base station and i used that to have broadband on my comp... this also serves as a firewall for me, so I dont have to worry about prying eyes ...



    Now in your situation, since cable isnt in either room, and in order to use the SW BS the computer needs to be on 24/7 I would suggest getting a BS (either from apple or 3rd party) and 2 Airport cards... it is just the easyest way to go however it is $$... (this should not be tho, how long has airport been out? 3 years? <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> )



    As for firewalls, I wouldnt sweat it... i've never had a problem... but if you want to be anal im sure some of these nitwits on these boards can help you out with that...
  • Reply 3 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Paul:

    <strong>

    As for firewalls, I wouldnt sweat it... i've never had a problem... but if you want to be anal im sure some of these nitwits on these boards can help you out with that...</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I agree. I've never had any problems. Doesn't OS X have some kind of built in firewall anyway?
  • Reply 4 of 18
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    so i could get a cable modem, connect the comcast cable to that, connect the ethernet to the base station, leave that in the living room and then use both iMac??? that would be great...which cable modem do i need?? thanks again...off to apple to shop....g
  • Reply 5 of 18
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Cable modems are pretty much the same since they got their act together and standardized the protocols a ways back. As for recommendations, I was doing this technique with my iBook and I used (and still use) a 3COM HomeConnect "sharkfin" modem and it worked flawlessly.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    [quote]Originally posted by Paul:

    <strong>As for firewalls, I wouldn't sweat it...</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Maybe it's just me being anal, but firewalls are essential on cable modems. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> Hackers specifically target cable modem users because they never suspect it. But don't take my word for it...



    <a href="http://ssba.com/lad/log.jpg"; target="_blank"></a>



    This is today's log (6/5/02), page 1 of 3. The numbers speak for themselves.



    PS: If anyone would like to piss off a few of these people, feel free...
  • Reply 7 of 18
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    DBL Post



    Is it just me, or is this site getting V-E-R-Y slow?



    [ 06-05-2002: Message edited by: Ebby ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Ebby:

    <strong>DBL Post



    Is it just me, or is this site getting V-E-R-Y slow?



    [ 06-05-2002: Message edited by: Ebby ]</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Yeah, it's getting pretty slow.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    so if the cable modem is hooked up to one of my iMacs, that iMac will act as a base station?? so i could run cable to one iMac, get a airport card for the other iMac and save the 299 for the base station??



    ps..the base station supposively has a firewall inside it...g
  • Reply 10 of 18
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    [quote]Originally posted by thegelding:

    <strong>so if the cable modem is hooked up to one of my iMacs, that iMac will act as a base station?? so i could run cable to one iMac, get a airport card for the other iMac and save the 299 for the base station??



    ps..the base station supposively has a firewall inside it...g</strong><hr></blockquote>



    yes, BUT the iMac acting as a base station must have an airport card AND must ALWAYS be UP (IE no crashing) or the other computer (which also needs an airport card) will go offline... it is one of the many benefits of using the $299 base station. Another is being able to hook up the cable modem to a network... the firewall thing i am still not sure of...



    hth



    -Paul
  • Reply 12 of 18
    sebseb Posts: 676member
    Gelding -



    How's the SW?



    Anyhow, if you want to run an iMac as a software base station it must also be running OS 9 - in addition to the things Paul mentioned.



    The cable company should supply you with a modem. They'll probably lease it to you for a few dollars a month - included in your bill.



    Additionally, I'd be somewhat surprised if they didn't install at least one additional cable outlet for you. I have Time Warner (RoadRunner) so it's different, but when they set me up I had them put in a cable line in the office and it was included (don't forget to have them leave a nice extra bit of cable in case you reorganize your room).



    I'd call comcast - ask about the modem and if they put in a line or two as part of the installation cost. AirPort is cool though. Especially if you decide to get a laptop. Then, while surfing AI or whatever, you could sit out and look at the stars shining through the clear desert sky.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by seb:

    <strong>

    Anyhow, if you want to run an iMac as a software base station it must also be running OS 9 - in addition to the things Paul mentioned.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I know Apple doesn't currently support it, but isn't there a way to configure it in OS X?
  • Reply 14 of 18
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    thanks seb...didn't know station was os 9 only...probably will just have them connect both computers....was looking for a reason to get that cool looking base station though.....would fit in with the roswell theme i thinking of changing the computer room into...g
  • Reply 15 of 18
    thegeldingthegelding Posts: 3,230member
    ps...if they hook up one computer, do i connect the second with ethernet or do they each get a cable modem??? or does the cable go to cable modem and then out to both computers by ethernet??? g
  • Reply 16 of 18
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    That firewall log above shows a bunch of attempts to connect to a webserver from similar addresses, a la Code Red style IIS worms. They're harmless to us.



    That MS-SQL port 1433 connection attempt is interesting though. I usually get snoops on ports 53 and 111, but that's to be expected.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Guh, Seb said the *Software* Basetation is an OS 9 only feature. The flying saucer *hardware* Basestation is basically platform independent. And no, the cable modem probably doesn't have more than one ethernet port, so you would have to 1) buy a multiport 'router' that will let you use NAT to connect multiple computers to one real IP address or 2) buy a 2nd IP address and a switch or hub...



    Your best bet is to buy a wireless access point like the AirPort Basestation, considering both your Macs are AirPort capable.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    sebseb Posts: 676member
    What Eugene said.



    The UFO is your best bet. However, the cable company should still be able to supply you with the modem and they should put the cable connection wherever you want.



    EmAn - if there is a way to configure OS X to be a software base station I'm not aware of it and wouldn't recommend it anyways. You have more options such as port mapping, NAT, etc. when you use the UFO (Hardware base station). You might not have those options when using an unsupported workaround for an OS X software base station.



    FYI - NAT allows multiple Macs to share a single IP address (unless you have a bunch of base stations and set up roaming blah blah blah).



    Get the UFO, have the cable company put the connection where you want - they should do that for no extra charge. I'd call em and ask.
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