Iam attempting to create a three desktop computer home network
I may also wish to tie in a laptop here and there
All the computers have an N.I.C.
Can they be daisey chained on one bus,or do they have to be star configured through a Hub or a switch
I have the longest wire run at Fifty feet,can I use UTP
If I want to open a Word file located on one of the other computers,will I use plain old Windows Explorer or do I use Internet explorer
Will I have to assign an IP address to each node or is the MAC address enough
Internet access :
I have plain old dial up,is it possible for the other computers to also access the internet through one computer
I gather it is not possible for all three to be on line at once if there is only one phone line,
Swiches, Hubs, Routers
They appear all the same to me yet I realize each one must have a separate function

Thank you

I suggest a switch.. hub will work too but a switch distributes bandwidth when a hub shares it.. a router is really only needed if you are looking for a firewall built in... Put them in a star configuration and the switch will assign them all the IP's needed nothing else to do.. just make sure all computers are on the same workgroup. What version of windows are you using? I unfortunately don't think you can share the dial up access.. but you may be able to.

All use Windows XP
I gather then the IP s will be automatically assigned
My own hard drive is C:
On "My Computer" will
The other hardrives be assigned other letters automatically
For instance my flash stick always is assigned letter E:
Thank you

If you are looking to share a broadband connection get a router. There are many such devices, some include wireless capability. They all include a 4 port switch for your wired devices.

These routers include a DHCP server, that manages the assignment of IPs on your LAN. Without a DHCP server IPs are not automatically assigned. Usually these IPs are in the 192.168 range which are private IPs not addressable from the Net. The router uses NAT (Network Address Translation) to determine what data packates go to which device.

Nor is mapping hard drives automatically done. Look up Mapping in XP Help for specifics on how to do that.

If you are looking to share an Internet connection get a router. There are a few devices that will work with Dialup, but you have to search for them. Here is one example:

http://www.wiflyer.com/StoreFront.bok

They all include a 4 port switch for your wired devices.

These routers include a DHCP server, that manages the assignment of IPs on your LAN. Without a DHCP server IPs are not automatically assigned. Usually these IPs are in the 192.168 range which are private IPs not addressable from the Net. The router uses NAT (Network Address Translation) to determine what data packates go to which device.

Nor is mapping hard drives automatically done. Look up Mapping in XP Help for specifics on how to do that.

Also checkout the free demo or network magic at networkmagic.com its an awesome and easy to use home network manager, it will connect your whole network and printers and such and you can monitor all activity from 1 interface.