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Stuart · 06-09-2006, 12:50

Generally, AFAIK, Telewest provide just a cable modem. This will only provide an IP for one device.

What a router normally does is use this one IP for itself, then allocates IPs out of it's own private range. It then routes the TCP/IP packets from the internal network to the Telewest modem (and vice-versa).

Your ADSL router may be fine, if it has an Ethernet port marked "WAN" or "Uplink" (which will be seperate from the other four ports). Most don't. If it doesn't it may work just as a switch, but you will need a router somewhere on the network to provide IPs.

One possible way you can get around this is to fit a second network card in one of the PCs, then plug this into the cable modem, and enable Internet Connection Sharing on that PC. The PC will then act as a router.

The downside of this is it can get quite complicated if something goes wrong, and that the PC needs to be switched on (can't remeber if it needs to be logged in) for ICS to work.

06-09-2006, 12:50	#6
Stuart - Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Somewhere Services: Virgin for TV and Internet, BT for phone Posts: 26,546	Re: Networking with Telewest Generally, AFAIK, Telewest provide just a cable modem. This will only provide an IP for one device. What a router normally does is use this one IP for itself, then allocates IPs out of it's own private range. It then routes the TCP/IP packets from the internal network to the Telewest modem (and vice-versa). Your ADSL router may be fine, if it has an Ethernet port marked "WAN" or "Uplink" (which will be seperate from the other four ports). Most don't. If it doesn't it may work just as a switch, but you will need a router somewhere on the network to provide IPs. One possible way you can get around this is to fit a second network card in one of the PCs, then plug this into the cable modem, and enable Internet Connection Sharing on that PC. The PC will then act as a router. The downside of this is it can get quite complicated if something goes wrong, and that the PC needs to be switched on (can't remeber if it needs to be logged in) for ICS to work.