Why use the usb cable from modem to computer

[kaunda1946]

Hi

I have been trying to wireless connect my Linux laptop to the Lynksys WRT54GX wireless router which is linked to the NTL modem by an ethernet cable. My desktop was linked to the modem by the USB cable.

The laptop would not recognise the router.

The desktop was connected to the modem by USB cable and to the router by ethernet cable

I have now removed the USB connection from the modem and desktop

and both the desktop (XP sp2) and Laptop (Ubuntu) seem to be working fine.

so my question is, what's the usb cable for, is there any downside in my current configuration ?


Thanks


tf

[Jon T]

So what's your setup as of now, how is everything connected?

Your cable modem will only support one style of connection at a time, either Ethernet or USB, not both. In addition, to swap between the connections your modem will require a reboot.

USB was designed as a plug and play "answer for everything" interface, hence Universal Serial Bus, however the USB 1 interface isn't fast enough to give you full speed even on Virgin's lowest broadband tier.

[Kymmy]

JonT's already mentioned the most important bit.. REBOOT the modem otherwise the change of cable will not be seen

[Peter_]

We have not supported connection via USB for over 3 years and you cannot use USB and Ethernet together as it will cause loss of connection.

If you need a hard wired connection you use one of the 4 Ethernet ports on the router.

[Stuart]

USB can be useful in that not all PCs have an Ethernet (or LAN) connection. If your PC does not have that connection (nearly all do nowdays), then it's a lot easier to get a user to plug a USB cable in rather than open up their PC and stick in a PCI LAN card. The PCI card does give a far quicker (and more reliable) connection, but the user risks voiding their warranty and risks damaging the PC and/or card if the card is not correctly inserted.

Of course, having onboard Ethernet has all the advantages of the PCI card (the onboard hardware is often hooked up internally via the PCI or PCI Express connection bus, both of which are far faster than USB) and none of the downsides.

[kaunda1946]

Thanks for all that I understand a little more

One comment

I have now removed the USB connection between the modem and desktop and everything is fine

BUT

Prior to that, I had
USB connection Modem-Desktop
+
Ethernet connection Modem - Router
+
Ethernet connection Router - Desktop

with that configuration everything was working so maybe the comments about "you cannot use USB and Ethernet together as it will cause loss of connection." .....isn't right

Thanks to all


tf

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by kaunda1946

Thanks for all that I understand a little more

One comment

I have now removed the USB connection between the modem and desktop and everything is fine

BUT

Prior to that, I had
USB connection Modem-Desktop
+
Ethernet connection Modem - Router
+
Ethernet connection Router - Desktop

with that configuration everything was working so maybe the comments about "you cannot use USB and Ethernet together as it will cause loss of connection." .....isn't right

Thanks to all


tf

It may work for a while but one day it will fail and you then have to chose one or the other, at the moment we supply 2 standard modems one with USB and one without, we no longer supply drivers on a disk and the USB will not work with systems Vista and above.

As previously stated you will never achieve your speeds while using USB and you need to use Ethernet.

[Jon T]

Originally Posted by kaunda1946

so maybe the comments about "you cannot use USB and Ethernet together as it will cause loss of connection." .....isn't right

Virgin only give you one WAN IP address, so therefore only one device can be connected at a time. That's why a router is needed to share a connection.

Have you at any point changed the MAC address of the virtual USB-Ethernet adapter? That would possibly explain why removing it allowed the ethernet connection to work.

[BenMcr]

Back in 2003 ntl used to do a 'console' service which enabled both the USB and the Ethernet sockets with seperate IP addresses

http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/p...4642&highlight=

Didn't last long though once PCs started getting Ethernet sockets and routers became a lot cheaper along with the speeds of the broadband going faster than the USB sockets would allow.

I also doubt the newest modems have the ability built into them

[Kymmy]

I remember in 2000 our house was using a Sun Sparq station as a router on what was then the Crystal Palace Wireless ADSL trail