Cable modem

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Mansha, Oct 26, 2006.

  1. Mansha

    Mansha Bit Poster

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    I am with telewest for my internet they have provided a modem with 2 types of connection one is usb and the other is ethernet the manual for the modem says tthat you can have both connected at the same time but when I do this it says on one of the computers there is low connectivity and does not work pleasase could you advise me how i could solve this prblem.
     
  2. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    IMHO, while you can connect two machines like this under some circumstances, it isn't advisable.

    Best way forward is to buy a cable router, cost is about £20 at the moment, and this lets you connect many machines. Avoid the USB connection - it can be a pig to make work sometimes!

    Harry.
     
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  3. laup

    laup Byte Poster

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    I have never known that method to work. one modem connected to 2 pcs eth/usb.
    the modems issued (webstar or surfboards) would have to apply 2 ip addresses which isnt possible on telewest home account.

    1 computer connected to the modem with either usb or eth, im afraid but i advise u to go with ethernet as usb is quite shite.
     
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  4. Baba O'Riley

    Baba O'Riley Gigabyte Poster

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    LMAO, very eloquently summed up.:D
     
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  5. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    Straight to the point this one...can we keep him please? no messing I tell ya...

    But like the rest of them have said, Mansha, ethernet is the way forward...USB can be a hassle and TBH, there is no way u can connect USB and ethernet to two different machines at the same time...if u think thats bad tho, try telling customers its not possible to use both connections on one PC :blink oooh the horror...
     
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  6. Mitzs
    Honorary Member

    Mitzs Ducktape Goddess

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    I used the usb on my modem for over 3 years with no problems on my desk top. :blink
     
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  7. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    can someone go into more detail on the usb vs ethernet for me. Why is usb shite, and whats sooo good about ethernet. Im only asking as ive used usb a lot and found it to be pretty reliable, the only problem i had really that was with a usb modem is the usb card somehow managed to switch itself off in bios, other than that everythings been great.

    Eddie
     
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  8. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    I am going to give my simple version:

    Ethernet = reliable connection no drivers needed

    USB = needs drivers, sometimes gets turned off by PC (this can be disabled in System Properties), if you have a Mac forget about using USB modems. can also use alot of power if PC doesnt have USB 2.0 therefore need to spend money on USB hubs or cards.

    If I went into more detail..we would be here till New Year's Day...hehe..:biggrin
     
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  9. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

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    hmmm interesting, i always thought you *may* need drivers for both USB and Ethernet (you may or maynot need the drivers).

    Ethernet is faster than USB aswell.
     
  10. Baba O'Riley

    Baba O'Riley Gigabyte Poster

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    In my experience, you always need USB drivers for ADSL/Cable modems. You should never need drivers for an ethernet device, the drivers are for the ethernet card itself.

    Whether ethernet is faster than USB depends on what version of USB and what speed ehthernet you're using.:D
     
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  11. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    We all know USB 2.0 has speeds of 480Mbps. Ethernet can be 10, 100 or even 1000Mbps. Most if not all of todays machines come with Gigabit ethernet ports and the network cards themselves, otherwise its 10/100. So in essences its only faster than USB if u have a Gigabit ethernet port.

    And yes Baba you are right, the only drivers needed for ethernet are the ones for the card itself or if have a built in one to your motherboard.
     
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  12. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    The problem is that USB has a major protocol overhead, whereas Ethernet cards have a lesser overhead, and nearly all of that is on the board.

    The result is that Ethernet is nearly always more efficient than USB for this sort of thing.

    Harry.
     
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  13. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    Also with a USB offering the dialer software is a windows app which relies on the underlying OS to work properly, very bad in a multi system environment
    an Ethernet device has the dialer built onto its own hardware and OS more often than not, removing alot of the problems associated with a windows software solution, also the efficiancy is superior and more stable as mentioned above

    if you have a choice go Ethernet always, hell there were days when you didnt get the choice! enjoy it :)
     
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  14. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    Well knock me sideways, i honestly never knew any of that.

    Thanks guys
     
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  15. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    Yes my vote is for Ethernet whenever possible, especially if you want to access the Internet from more than one PC.

    Many of these home USB ADSL modem devices do not use NAT (network address translation) and present a public IP addy to the PC - not good.

    It is possible to share ADSL with a USB connected modem (using ICS) but that is a flaky way to do things. IMHO it's far better is to have a 4 port NAT router with built in SPI firewall and connect the clients to that.
     
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