Basically, how does LAN work?

Question

Me and my friend who both have PC's want to spend 1 night playing together on our PC's. But if we both had our PC's connected to the same Ethernet switch (having the switch connected to the internet also), would we be able to play together?

Thanks in advance, 10 points a.s.a.p for good answer.

Answer 1

As long as that Ethernet switch has 2 outputs then yes, otherwise your going to need a gateway.

Answer 2

If you assigned different IP addresses (but within the same subnet), or if there's a router in the system somewhere giving out internal IP addresses, maybe.  It depends on what you're playing.

Some games can be played by 2 players on 2 computers, some can't.  Some require that each installation was done from a different CD, others don't.

If you have a switch connected to the internet, and more than 1 computer, you'd better also have a router, or you won't even get connected to the internet.

Answer 3

You would need a WAN for that.  A LAN is a LOCAL AREA NETWORK meaning that all nodes are under the same roof.  A WAN is a WIDE AREA NETWORK and can link building to building.  Yes it could be easily done.

Answer 4

Yes, that will work fine if the switch is plugged into a router and the router plugged into the DSL modem.

Then if both computers are set to get the LAN IP address automatically (i.e. NOT statically assigned), then both computers will be assigned an IP and be able to talk with each other.

Open Control Panel, Network Connections, right-click Local Area Connection and select properties. Click on TCP/IP and click the Properties button, and make sure it is set to automatic/DHCP.

The other point to note is that you may need to disable your PC firewall to allow some games to work between two PCs. This can leave you somewhat vulnerable to outside attack, but may not be a problem. The other option would be to find exactly what ports the program needs and open them up in the firewall (*or if a Windows firewall make an exception for the main executable for the game.

If you don't set the firewalls right, you probably won't be able to play games between the computers.