Hardwire another computer through mine

[Ilnez]

Hey guys,

Quick question as a complete networking noob. I realised I have two Ethernet ports on my motherboard. Got my brain working, could I alleviate my brother's WIFI issues by allowing him to run a lan cable to my computer that would then run to our router? Would my own performance take a huge hit?

Regards,
Greg

 

[nukemaster]

Internet connection sharing should allow connecting internet to one port and sharing it on the other, but all data runs though your computer.

If you have a router and ran the wired connection to your computer room a simple switch could be connected to your Ethernet cable then you could connect a computer and wireless router to that. Many times this is done when you want to have multiple wireless access points(one or more per floor) in one building.

The switch also has the upside of allowing more computers to connect in that room(If you have a router, you already have a switch built into that.).

 

[joex444]

Best that could do is create a private LAN between the two PCs (and you'd need a crossover cable to even do that, not just a regular Ethernet cable). You could share your Internet connection from the router and your PC would act like a DHCP server for his, so everytime you restart that connection goes away until you're booted back up. It adds a small amount of overhead to yours but odds are it would be faster than WiFi.

If it's at all possible to improve the WiFi, run an Ethernet cable from the router to his PC, or add powerline networking between his room and the router you should consider those first.

 

[Solandri]

If you have a router and ran the wired connection to your computer room a simple switch could be connected to your Ethernet cable then you could connect a computer and wireless router to that. Many times this is done when you want to have multiple wireless access points(one or more per floor) in one building.

The switch also has the upside of allowing more computers to connect in that room(If you have a router, you already have a switch built into that.).

This. While it's possible to connect the second computer through the first computer, you'll avoid a bunch of problems by buying a $10-$20 switch. Take the ethernet currently coming from the router to your computer and plug it into the switch. Plug your computer into the switch with a new cable. Plug the second computer into the switch. Easy as pie, and doesn't require the middle computer be turned on to work.