Home networking on a 56K dial up

[SeldomFixit]

Is it feasible to run 3 or 4 home PC's on a local network, connecting to a 56K dialup ?
I've exhausted all affordable avenues looking for a broadband connex and am left with this as my only choice. Obviously, pre broadband it was done of necessity but what should I be looking for, hardware wise, to tie it together in a useable fashion.
Thanks - SF

[PPRuNeUser0171]

Yes.

You can use Fortec's Proxyplus or Winroute Lite on the PC with the modem and then the PC's on the network will be able to talk to the net.

Be warned! it will be slow.

Do you have the network setup? If not then you will need to buy a switch and network cables.

If you have the network then no specific hardware is needed just the software to allow the internet connection to be used by the other PC's.

Gary.

[SeldomFixit]

Thanks Gary - I have a Netgear Router/switch ( 4 port ). I had guessed that the real downside would be speed but as per the origonal post, there IS no choice, unfortunately. Any other inputs are more than welcome.
Thanks SF

[PPRuNeUser0171]

Netgear produts are very nice - Use them myself all over the place.

There is not much more you can do, Any type of internet connection can be shared out.

Something on the software side will put you in a better position for broadband/cable if it ever makes it way to you as you will be able to unplug the modem and plug in the new connection and it will (hopefully) just work!

Gary.

[WhiteDevil]

hiya,
the only thing to remember once you have set your network up is to get a firewall ASAP. If you are sharing folders throughout your network it would take less than a minute for an experienced hacker to gain access to that folder, place a trojan so you dont know he is there, and then edit/delete/print (on your printer) all the files in that folder at will...

I talk like i know what im going on about :cool:

Good luck, if you can get broadband your connection will be much better :)

WhiteDevil

[PPRuNeUser0171]

Good Advice.

And if you want to test that firewall go pay a visit to Shields up at http://www.grc.com

Gary.

[Mac the Knife]

Yes. All the other PCs (XP Pro & Suse Linux) at home share (via ICS) the modem on my main Win98 machine over a 100mbps switch at quite respectable speed.

With 56K the Net is so slow anyway that the network speed is less important.

Good advice about the FW - I use McAfee's Internet Security suite, but any reputable one will do. Just get all the ports and permissions tightened up.

Local Port Scanner from http://www.JPSoft.dk is free and good.

[SeldomFixit]

TY all for your inputs thus far. I've been using ZoneAlarm Pro for quite a while now and am reasonably confident in the protections available. I suppose the slow response times will let me plan for my retiremant, if nothing else.
SF

[Mac the Knife]

And if you're doing THAT then Twiga's free "Remote Disconnection Utility" from http://www.twiga.ltd.uk/ can be helpful.

"Do you share a single Internet connection among PCs? Many do, and one of the biggest problems is keeping track of when the shared dialin connection is up and down. Believe it or not, some people on this planet still pay for Internet access by the minute, so something like Remote Disconnection Utility is just the ticket. It will allow you to drop the modem connection from a remote PC, which should keep those connection costs down considerably."

[It can also do a lot else, such as lock a connection, permit or deny connection/disconnection/reconnection requests and more. You can download a modified module from Twiga which recognises ISDN connections too - I think this replaces one of the base modules installed by rdusetup.exe]