I decided I wanted to network my 2 home PCs and also use Sygate to take advantage of the installed cable modem.
I bought two Netgear NICs (FA310TX) and 50' of Cat5 network cable.
I installed the NICs succesfully, but I'm having trouble configuring the network.
For the server PC (w/ the cable modem) I manually assigned an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0
For the client I manually assigned an IP address of 192.168.0.2 and the same subnet mask.
I was unsure if it was necessary to create a workgroup under the "Identification" tab in Network props, but I did and both PCs are set for the same workgroup.
The Network control panel for both PCs looks right (ie. TCP/IP is installed and bound to the proper adapter).
But, the computers still cannot find each other on the Network.
The PC w/ the cable modem has a NIC in addition to the one intended for use of the network so I'm wondering if there might be multi-homing problems.
Sygate did not work for the same reason that the PCs were not able to find each other on the Network.
I suspect it's a software/config error; does anyone have any suggestions?
Networking Config Error and Sygate too!
STOP!
You stated that you bought 50' of cable. You made no mention of a switch or hub! You can't connect 2 computers together using regular cable. If you don't want to buy a switch or hub, you need a crossover cable. This type reverses wires 1-3 and 2-6, so that the receive on one end is connected to the transmit on the other.
Otherwise, get a switch. You'll get much better performance than with just a crossover cable or a hub.
You stated that you bought 50' of cable. You made no mention of a switch or hub! You can't connect 2 computers together using regular cable. If you don't want to buy a switch or hub, you need a crossover cable. This type reverses wires 1-3 and 2-6, so that the receive on one end is connected to the transmit on the other.
Otherwise, get a switch. You'll get much better performance than with just a crossover cable or a hub.