Question about modems and my telephone line

[thestrangebrew]

I'm building a media server and planning to put it next to my entertainment center. I'll be hardwiring my wireless router and cable modem and moving it to the entertainment center as well. The question is, my modem has a telephone line hooked into it coming from the wall jack as well. When I make the move this line will be exposed and I'll need it to be a good 25', which is a big no-no with the wife. My question is, do I need to have this phone line plugged into the modem? I have a home phone plugged into the jack in the kitchen, and another one upstairs. If I unplug the line to the modem, will my home phones still work? Also, does my connection sound right as far as the media server goes? I'm planning on hooking the entertainment system like below:

Cable jack coming from wall-->modem
linksys router --> modem (cat 5)
media server--> linksys router (cat 5)
ps3--->linksys router (cat 5)

With this setup, I'd like to have the ps3 access my server to stream movies to my tv. I also am planning to have a few client pcs access my server as well as the internet in general wirelessly. Am I missing something?

Thanks.

 

[Catsrules]

Is your phone provider the same as your internet provider?
If they are I am betting the cable modem is where your phone comes in, it will take out all of the phones if that cable gets unplugged 🙁

What phones do you have?
If it is one of those 1 base station and multiple hand sets like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16876105231
Then all you need to do it move the base station with your modem and plug it directly in to your modem, and your other hand sets will work.
Your network layout looks good, should work fine.

 

[thestrangebrew]

Phone & ISP are the same ( Comcast) & I have 1 base station phone & 1 satellite. However I don't have the base plugged into the modem, it's in the kitchen. Matter of fact no actual phones are plugged into the modem at all, just a line from a phone jack in the wall to the modem. I guess I could unplug it & find out if there's a dial tone.

 

[Catsrules]

Phone & ISP are the same ( Comcast) & I have 1 base station phone & 1 satellite. However I don't have the base plugged into the modem, it's in the kitchen. Matter of fact no actual phones are plugged into the modem at all, just a line from a phone jack in the wall to the modem. I guess I could unplug it & find out if there's a dial tone.

Yeah just unplug it and see if the dial tone is gone. I am on Comcast as well and that is how my phone is setup.

I was thinking plugging the base station directly in the modem and moving it with the modem by the entertainment center might be a alternative to running a 25' cable back to the wall jack.
That is if the brace station is the only device that is plugged in to the wall jack, and if it is ok to take the phone out of the kitchen.

 

[thestrangebrew]

Best answer selected by Thestrangebrew.

 

[thestrangebrew]

Sorry to revive this thread but I've got another question. I unplugged the phone line from the modem and it killed my other phones that weren't plugged into the modem. I don't know how that's possible, but my question is, if I buy another modem to put next to my entertainment system, and still have the previous modem on and active will that interfere with anything? The modem that I'd put next to my entertainment stand will not have a phone line plugged in, just the coax for the cable.

 

[Catsrules]

That modem is where your phone service is coming from. When you plug the modem in to the phone jack in the wall, that phone jack connects to all of the other phone jacks through out the house, so when you unplug the modem all of the phone in the house will go down.

I am not sure about that, that is a strange setup, 1 modem for internet and 1 for phone. You should talk with Comcast about that one. they may be able to do it, I don't know.

Here is another option, Power-line Networking. I have never done it my self but it is probably better then wireless.
Something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156283
Here is more
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=294&name=Powerline-Networking


Or you could use a wireless bridge and a switch.
Like this

This way you get a fast connection between the media server and the PS3 and you still get internet over the wireless bridge. The thing I don't like about it is, the server is now a wireless device to all of the other devices on your network (except for what ever is connect to that switch. So you will have slow transfer speed between the server and other devices, especially if those devices are also wireless.

But the best way and the cheapest way is just router a ethernet cable to your entertainment center. Is there no way to router it in the walls or something? Like run in under the floor or ceiling

 

[thestrangebrew]

I really don't want the server to be wireless which is why I was hoping to hardware it & move/get a sep. modem but I can't run wires as its all tile flooring & it's a 2 story house with nothing I can drop wires from above. I might be able to run something from a room behind the wall where my stand is, but I'll have exposed wires in that rm also. Thnx for the suggestion tho