connecting multiple devices to one ethernet

[Kayla_5]

12 computers are trying to share internet access through a LAN
I have 12 computers, a few ethernet cords, and a switch

How can I set up physical connections between the hardware and how do I set up the operating systems configurations (on a PC)?

How would I do the same thing for a WLAN?

 

[DeadlyDays]

you want a router, the router will take the Public facing IP address and create an internal network for all your devices. Most routers only come with 4 LAN ports, so you can then hook the switch to a lan port to essentially give you more connections.

A switch isn't capable of that. if one of the machines has 2 Ethernet ports you could probably hook the switch and the internet line to that device, then setup something to share network, but that would take some setup. Easier to just buy a cheap router.

An ISP is typically only going to lease you a single IP address, so you need a device to receive that, then create a LAN for other devices so they can have a private IP address and act as a gateway to the internet, which is what a router does.

 

[USAFRet]

ISP->modem/router->switch->bunch of devices.