Quick Broadband Question(s)

[gardy09]

Afternoon all,

Thinking about setting up a new 2MB broadband account in order to get onto the 360 live service. At the moment I do not have a PC and some people in the office have said that I will not be able to get straight on and play online with the console without configuring via a PC or laptop first? Surely it isn't that complicated?? I would appreciate some comments from people with a little more technical knowledge than I.

Regards, gardy09

[wod]

yes you would need a pc to setup the modem as i'm not sure theres an option to enter your isp username and password for you to connect on xbox live

best option would be to use a router as that can store your isp username and password and the adsl connection will always be on and then its straight forward to connect the xbox to it

[gardy09]

Thanks Wod

As I'm a complete novice at this type of thing, can you recommend a good router that would work ok for the 360?

[vertigo]

You should be alright with just any old router that has more than one port, or by plugging everything into a hub. You'd better check that with someone who's had experience of XBox Live though, because I never have, have only ever used a hub for 16-player Halo.

[babs]

I use a router for current live and it's very easy. As they say, you configure the router via a PC first to save user/pass details, then literally just plug the xbox in and away you go.

Normally that's all that's needed, all the networking gubbins and info is handled by the router acting as a DHCP server and the xbox as a DHCP client.

For the record I have a cheap n cheerful unbranded router too.

[gardy09]

thanks babs,

could i just borrow a mates laptop, configure the live account and then away i go without needing the laptop again?

thanks

[vertigo]

No you'll need a PC so that the internet can see your router.
Get a router with more than one input, so that you can have your console and PC both plugged in at the same time.

[gardy09]

Vertigo,

So what you're saying is that I can't get on Xbox live, without first owning a PC? That seems a bit....rubbish.

[babs]

No you'll need a PC so that the internet can see your router.
Get a router with more than one input, so that you can have your console and PC both plugged in at the same time.

Eh?

If you're using ADSL, the router contains the modem and is quite happy to hold the connection live - PC or not. I often used to use the Xbox on Live when the PC wasn't on. The ISP assigns the external IP address to the device which makes the connection (in this case the router). It's not necessary to have a PC attached at all.

As far as I see, yes, you can configure your router and you're away. Obviously trouble shooting it will be impossible without it, but ordinarily rebooting the router fixes 9/10 problems

[vertigo]

Righto, I stand corrected. I wasn't aware of that.
Not exactly secure though, is it? But then I guess if there were XBox-affecting virii we'd have heard about it.

[babs]

It's no more unsecure than having a PC. The router is assigned the external IP (the same happens if you have a PC connected to the router), and then the router assigns anything connected to it an internal IP e.g. 192.168.1.2 for PC 192.168.1.3 for xbox (assuming router is set to DHCP server enabled and clients are set to auto configure, which by and large they always are). Because of the NAT that ensues from this, neither a PC nor an xbox would be directly facing the internet, and therefore would not be directly attacked (there are some small exceptions, most notably if you put one of them on the router's DMZ, but that's by-the-by).

To sum (phew) there's no obvious reason you wouldn't be able to go online with just an xbox and router (laptop for initial setup), and it's no less secure than any other setup.

[gardy09]

thanks babs! where do i send the cheque for the consultants fees!?

[charlesr]

Just to confirm babs comments... Yeah a router should do fine. Once configured you can just leave it on. Even if you switch it off, it should autoconnect to your isp once turned on again.

[mid]

And to confirm everyone else's confirmation, you should just need to borrow a friend's computer to do all the initial configuration, unless something so badly wrong a reset won't fix it.

[gardy09]

well, just signed up to my broadband provider. now I need a good router? can i have some recommendations please? thanks. am thinking of going down the wireless route.