ethernet splitter

daven1986

daven1986

daven1986

Soldato
Joined
29 Oct 2005
Posts
3,298
hi guys, i want to split a single ethernet cable into 2 ports, 1 for my pc one for my laptop.

i have read about "ethernet splitters" which take a female port and split it into 2 male ones, then you use another one at the other end and it puts the cable out into 2 male ones to go into the router.

i have some questions:

1) does this work, i have seen from one review that there isnt any slow down but is this so?
2) do i need utp or stp ones, im using standard ethernet cables but im not sure which ones they are (im guessing utp but that is a guess!).

thanks

daven
 
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If I understand your requirement correctly it's not as simple as a splitter like you might use on a telephone. You need some sort of networking device that can assign IP addresses to the machines on the network. The best way to do that would be with a router.
 
apparently these devices transmit both signals down one cable (sorry i edited the above) then split the signal out at the other end. so one cable goes into 2 ports on the router and to 2 pcs at the other end. so they both have their own IPs.
 
daven1986 said:
apparently these devices transmit both signals down one cable (sorry i edited the above) then split the signal out at the other end. so one cable goes into 2 ports on the router and to 2 pcs at the other end. so they both have their own IPs.
Click to expand...

You mean a hub?
 
if instead of that i were to add a switch would that work:

router - 1 cable - switch - 1 cable - pc1
switch - 1 cable - laptop

if this does work, is it possible to get non-powered switches or do they need a power supply?

thanks

daven
 
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Oh, I see, the splitters work on a physical separation, so it's actually physically still to ethernet cables, just with the pins bundled together down one wire. I imagine there may be some issues with cross-chatter interference, although this might not be an issue at all.

On the switch issue, you can't get an unpowered switch as far as I know, as it amplifies the signal. Is having it unpowered the main issue?
 
Daven,

Although net a network splitter we do use something very similar at my work. Our phones use an ethernet style connector (RJ45) and we use the splitters so we can use one wall socket for the phone and PC.

Because a network cable is only using 4 of the 8 strands inside the cable it means you can use the other 4 for something else, so it should work for 2 PC's.

You need 2 though for each cable you are gonna split as you have to split it when they plug in and split it where they come out again.

SImilar to this:

cablesplittersm7.jpg
 
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you can get unpowered passive hubs.
although I didn't think they existed outside cisco classes :)


google for:
Belkin R6G029 2-Port Passive Hub

(two ports on one cable)
.
 
Jump in if I'm wrong here, but...

A router is used to connect two networks together.

A switch is used to expand a network.

He wants two computers (on the same network) to talk to each other, so could he not do

laptop --- patch cable --- switch ---- patch cable --- desktop

He's not 'routing' anything. As long as he sets them up with static IPs on the same subnet, it should work. Although he may need one of those patch cables to be a cross over?

I'm running my cobbled together network using read the forum rules (FAQ) switches (they've gone up) and apart from needing to power cycle them after a power cut, they work great.

Of course, if he's introducing broadband into this, it's a different kettle of fish.
 
man you dudes seem to have got confused (or I have?).

The OP wants to use one cable to connect 2 pc's to his router not connect the 2 pc's together or anything like that.

Router ===<splitter>--------------<splitter>===<2 x PC.
 
it is not necessary for it to be unpowered, however it would be nice. i need to connect both the laptop and the desktop to an adsl2+ router (bethere) so they can both access the internet and the network. the problem is i only have 1 cable going to the router from my room. Would a switch be fine in this situation, because if it is then i'll just use that (im guessing it would be more reliable) i assume i will have to assign IPs to the pcs is this correct?

thanks guys

daven

p.s. you might want to edit the competitor.

the_kid has it right, however i am willing to use a switch if i can (as it is hard to find these splitters!!) so it goes

router - 1 cable - switch = 2 pcs
 
The_KiD said:
man you dudes seem to have got confused (or I have?).

The OP wants to use one cable to connect 2 pc's to his router not connect the 2 pc's together or anything like that.

Router ===<splitter>--------------<splitter>===<2 x PC.
Click to expand...

:$

woops. sorry.

Still - would my idea work?
 
daven1986 said:
it is not necessary for it to be unpowered, however it would be nice. i need to connect both the laptop and the desktop to an adsl2+ router (bethere) so they can both access the internet and the network. the problem is i only have 1 cable going to the router from my room. Would a switch be fine in this situation, because if it is then i'll just use that (im guessing it would be more reliable) i assume i will have to assign IPs to the pcs is this correct?

thanks guys

daven
Click to expand...

I'm with you now.

Use the T splitter and 4 small patch cables. sorted
 
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4 patch cables? do you mean 2 as there are 2 pcs or if you mean 4 where do they all go?

edit: ah i get it, but instead of using the splitter could i use a switch? the only reason i ask is they are about the same price and the splitters are hard to source.

thanks
 
daven1986 said:
4 patch cables? do you mean 2 as there are 2 pcs or if you mean 4 where do they all go?
Click to expand...

i tried drawing you a diagram but it didn't work

from the router port 1, a patch cable goes into splitter port 1

from router port 2, a patch cable goes into splitter port 2

the splitter, obviously, goes onto the single 100Base ethernet cable

on the other end you have another splitter

splitter port one goes to the desktop via a patch cable

splitter port two goes to the laptop via a patch cable.

voila! a network.
 
oh lol no i understood the picture!

but they seem to be expensive for what they are. would a switch do the same thing?

router - 1 cable - switch = 2 pcs (with assigned IPs)

thanks

daven
 
daven1986 said:
4 patch cables? do you mean 2 as there are 2 pcs or if you mean 4 where do they all go?

edit: ah i get it, but instead of using the splitter could i use a switch? the only reason i ask is they are about the same price and the splitters are hard to source.

thanks
Click to expand...

Or use a switch at the laptop / desktop end instead, yeah.
 
Yes you could use a switch or hub

router------------------Switch/Hub=======PC & Laptop

Would actually be a lot easier than using the splitters.
 
daven1986 said:
oh lol no i understood the picture!

but they seem to be expensive for what they are. would a switch do the same thing?

router - 1 cable - switch = 2 pcs (with assigned IPs)

thanks

daven
Click to expand...

Indeed it would - although as the switch is 'ip-less' you could keep the DHCP.

i'd recommend the switch from read the forum rules (FAQ) that i linked above - I've got three of them keeping this connection alive.
 
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