What Do I need For A Lan party?

nsarpolis · Sep 6, 2004

Ok, I plan on having a Lan party in my refinished basement, in about 1 1/2 months from now. I have a large table, that will accomodate 4 pc's, 4 monitors, etc. (Three friends, and me = 4)

What do i need? A router? A switch? What???!!

My desktop is wirelessly connected via a USB Pod (the 2wire one)
i have integrated ethernet, i want to share the internet with the 3 other pc's.
Will i need a ethernet patch cable to go from my ethernet port to the router WAN port, and then plug everyone else into the router? am i getting the correct idea or, what? Someone please gimme a hand here, im new at this...wireless seems to be much easier (cuz it was, netgear wireless rocks, 802.11b, i dont have a home network, i just share internet)

Thanks,
-Nick

D_o_S · Sep 6, 2004

Hi! I frequently attend LAN Parties at my friends place. What you need is a router or a switch (a hub is slow for fast action games). You plug all the PCs into the numbered ports on the router / switch and you can plug your broadband connection into the WAN port if you want. Then, you have to set up the PCs. First in System you have to select a workgroup which will be the same for everyone (eg. LANPARTY). Then you just plug all the cables in and start playing.

Streifenkarl · Sep 6, 2004

heh, i remember "lan parties" back in the '90s, when we tried to set up a civilization session with 8 players. CivNet it was called. heh, that was fun and not as easy as it is today, i can tell you that!

goodcooper · Sep 6, 2004

yea, hope you know tho, not sure what game you plan on playing, but most likely you won't all be able to join the same server...

you'd have to host a server on one of the PCs, have all of your friends join it through LAN, and allow ppl on the internet to join too (if you want them in at all)

i've found this out the hard way...

its also best to have a dedicated server... i am fortunate enough to have plenty of PCs for this, but hey, even if you got a pretty fast machine thats got a crappy video card (like your parents HP or something :biggthumbsup:

) try to set it up as a dedicated server...

usually when i host a video game session like that... i have 3 PCs that i game with... usually let some1 who doesn't have a very nice puter play on the other 2..
the pc below and the prescott 2.4@3.3 on msipt880 w/Radeon 9600, and i just got set up my duron at 2.3 stable (with decent voltage, for 2.4 i was cookin it at 1.9volts) with gf4ti 4200 abit aluro

then i got another that i set up as dedicated server, in this case its usually my p4 1.8 w/512mb ram... but since i put linux on it... not sure which pc i'm gonna use now :/ probably 1.3 duron /256 would probably be enough actually... as long as its clean and runnin good...

yes make sure you've got a switch... or a router with a switch if you want to share connection (base stations they call them) 4 port base station might not be enough if you've got a dedicated server too...
hubs are no good, because first of all you can't get hubs in 100mbps speeds... second of all... even if you got a 10mbps hub (which 10mbps is pretty fast for a game, but not like 100mbps) on a hub, that 10mbps is split however many ports u got... so say you got a 10mbps 4port hub (netgear 10 dollar cheapo) you'd really only get 2.5mbps on each port... its complicated to explain it right now, but i could in another thread...

thats just how it works...

also, i really wouldn't recommend wireless, because i've found the latency is a lot higher over my wireless b (dlink router) ... me and my sister will play age of empires 2 every so often (she's on wirelessb)... but i don't think it'd be suitable for a fps

dedicated servers are good, because they won't blame it on you being the server and having no lag when u frag them all into submission :biggrin:

nsarpolis · Sep 6, 2004

i have hyperthreading, so i can host the server w.no problem at all, and if i wanted all of the pc's to have internet, instead of a workgroup, which will be fine, since my wireless (which i have no lag on) is usb, do i need a patch cable to connect my pc to the #1 port on a switch? there is no WAN port on switches, to my knowledge.
we just plan on (4 of us) just joining a server on UT2K4 or Call Of Duty or something, or i can host my own server on the internet. Basically i want all of the pc's to have internet. lol sorry if its complicated, im not good at this stuff :lol_anim:

nsarpolis · Sep 6, 2004

southmike · Sep 7, 2004

are you trying to acess a online server? or just host the game and only you guys play.

1st you need broadband acess, with a modem.
that will connect to a router ,preferably a wired one as it is cheaper and doesn't require add on cards.

the router will have one wan port. the modem plugs in there, then it will have at least 4 ports(built in switch), you plug the four computers in to these.

the router will require some kind of setup. usually pretty simple, but when the party is over you will have to change settings if you or your friends go home and plug straight back to the modem.

aftersetting up the router you may have to run internet connection wixard setup on the computers (win xp) but they should automatically see the net.

now you can load up your games, bf1942 etc , multiplayer, find the same server and play.

now if you want to host a game you will need some kind of server host software of the game,and that i am unfamilar with.(at least for bf1942)

SAB · Sep 7, 2004

First, you're gonna need people.

gfilitti · Sep 7, 2004

Lots of Mountain Dew, Chocolate and Doritos. If you're over 21, then Beer will ad some interesting fun or possible damage, please drink responsibly :rolleyes_anim:

A simple google search using keywords: Lan+party+setup

First few entries

http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/howtolanparty/

http://www.lanparty.com/theguide/network.shtm

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/expert/durham_lanparty.mspx

SAB · Sep 7, 2004

ROFL...LMAO..... :lol_anim: :bonk:

nsarpolis · Sep 7, 2004

well, i got people, and pc's.., and i cant ues a modem...i need some way to get the internet from my pc to the router!? will a cat5 patch calbe from my ethernet port to the router wan port and bridge the connections in windows?

goodcooper · Sep 7, 2004

ah i think i understand... so you can only get internet through your wireless...

well what about your wireless access point? doesn't it have 4 ports... or is it just a plain access point, no switch...

plz give a summary of the way u have things connected so far

gfilitti · Sep 7, 2004

Google search Internet + Connection + Sharing http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=internet+connection+sharing

nsarpolis · Sep 7, 2004

i have cable broadband that comes into the house. we have a netgear cable modem gateway/wireless ap combo. my dads pc is hooked into port #1. my pc and my sisters pc and my dell axim connects wirelessly. i want to bring my pc into tne remodeled basement and have a lan prty with my friends. i just want to get the internet to their pcs. my wireless plugs into usb. could i use a ethernet patch cable to connect to the wan port of my regular 4 port router (not wireless) and just bridge my wireless connection and that connection with the router in network places in xp.

we just want internet on all 4 pc's so we can join a server or i can host a internet game

goodcooper · Sep 7, 2004

thats what i suspected...

ok you'd just connect your PC with straight cables to one of the host ports of your 'router'

basically you won't use the router portion of your 'router' only the switch part...

so all u have to work with is switch...

4 ports...

1 port for your computer...

3 ports for friends...

in windows... u use ICS (internet connection sharing)

go to your wireless connection in Network Connections and rightclick... properties... share this connection (under the advanced tab) and this SHOULD make your ip address on your wired network a gateway address, like 192.168.0.0 or something similar.. (0s in the host portion) and so the other computers on your little 4 person network will view your computer as proxy/gateway... getting the internet through it (which gets it from wireless)

imo the latency would be tremendous... but tell me how it plays :undecided:

running a game/server and proxy on one machine will probably get a little heavy too ... :undecided:

der my brand new sig is messed up 200x20.5 :shocking:

thats fast lol

nsarpolis · Sep 7, 2004

thanks

i should be able to run it all w/no prob. hyperthreading w00t

lol

thanks again

Svet · Jul 20, 2006

"What Do I need For A Lan party? "
much coffee

ex_forum_user_3 · Jul 20, 2006

Loads of beer :agrees:

Svet · Jul 20, 2006

Bas said:
Loads of beer

but isnt danger merging PC& and drinking alot in same time? lots of beer and gaming usually going "mega stress test for eyes" (etc 20 hours non stop playing and drinking) and converting in person like this one looks:

NovJoe · Jul 21, 2006

LMAO!!! A typical example you have there.

I suggest that you get a simple switch and connect it to a wireless router's wan / internet port.

For me, I host my LAN party at home with 7 friends through my simple LinkSys WiFi router... 4 will hardwired to the router and grab the IPs and 4 will connect through Wireless. My router is connected to my ISP's modem via RJ45 patch cable so everything is online from the very start.

If no internet or online access is needed, you can just ignore the internet / wan portion as you can still host locally in your workgroup through the private IPs.

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