Description of Work

Moderately easy. The instructions that come with the Linksys router are very good. But prior experience with network setups are a prerequisite. Though the steps are laid out quite nicely, sometimes a good helping of common sense along with leaps of logic are required.

The biggest difference between a router/switch and a hub is that traffic is segregated in a switch. That is, traffic that is destined for computer #1 will only appear on the line between the switch and computer #1. It will NOT be duplicated onto computer #2's line. At first this does not seem much of an issue. However it literally halves the amount of traffic a typical 2 node hub would have on any of it's lines, thereby doubling the effective speed with which any single piece of data arrives at either computer.

The cabling will need to be run from the hub's location near the high speed modem, to both computers. The second computer will still require a network card to be installed if one is not present already. Once the cable is run, it's simply a matter of connectorizing the ends of the cables and connecting them to the Hub on one end and the network cards in the computers on the other. The Hub acts as a "splitter" of the digital signal coming out of the back of the high speed modem. Its connection into the back of the high speed modem completes the network.