Can a pc have 2 network cards?

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Hi all, I have recently aquired a pc that i wist to add on to my existing home network of 2 pcs and a crossover cable. I dont want to get a hub and rewire the house so I had a thought that I could get another network card for one of the machines but would I be able to do that and would there be any major conflicts?
Thank you

 

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Yeah, I dont see any reason why you would'nt be able to do that. I have a machine running ISA server in the house that has 2 network cards and one of our servers at work has 4 (I think) or was it 3????

Not sure if using a crossover cable to link them all would work, but if you are only concerned about 'rewiring the house' in order to go down the hub route, you could always consider going wireless.

 

Yes - in Microsoft speak it is called multiholming.

But from what you are describing a hub is the way to go.

 

I agree with Sandy on both his statements. It's common to multihome servers but I wouldn't say it would be the solution of choice for you. Why would you have to rewire your house any more by using a hub to connect three PCs than you would to connect them with crossover cables? You can pick up a small hub or switch for a reasonable price. Years ago, I picked up an older 10 mbp/sec IBM layer 2 switch and still use it today (no one uses a switch that's just 10 mbp/sec anymore which is why they're so inexpensive).

Also, if wiring is an issue, you can connect three PCs wirelessly using an ad hoc WLAN network (no access point). All you'd need are three PCI WLAN NICs or USB WLAN NICs.

Personally, if I were just starting out building my home lab, I'd lose the crossover cables, get some straight throughs and a small hub or switch and get them up and running. Hope all this helps a bit. Good luck.

 

if all else fails you could always snip the end off the crossover cable, re crimp it as a straight through, throw it into a hub that way without re wiring
5pt 10/100s switchs are cheap as hell these days, just picked up an 8pt 10/100/1000 for just over 100 bucks

 

i would of said pounds had i bought it in the UK, but i paid dollars for it
130 USD is about 80 quid
not bad, paid over that for my first 10/100 hub back in the day!

 

I just picked up a 8 port 10/100 for 25 Sfr, roughly 10-12 quid.

 

yup 10/100 hubs/switches are a dime a dozen these days

 

Dollars and cents, please. That bird you see rising from the ashes now happens to be on U.S. soil and we don't know from pounds, shillings, or quid.