Cable Internet Modem | What they are used for and a little on how they work.

Cable internet modems are used by all high speed cable internet providers. A cable modem is nothing more then a regular modem except it will have an interface that will allow a coax cable to conect to it. Before you go out and purchase a cable modem you will want to check with your internet service provider to ensure you are getting a modem that will work correctly for your service. While just about any cable modem will do you should always check first.

Higher speeds in some areas that get over 10 mbps may require a more sofisticated modem. That is why you should always check with the ISP first. This ensures you are purchasing one that will be well suited for your needs.

Cable providers use a bus topology, every modem in your area will share the same backbone. In most curcumstances this should not effect overall performance.

All new cable modems on the market from around 2000 on should be a two-way device that operates over HFC cable. This provides the best upload and download speeds.

Cable modems normally have two output options. A USB and Ethernet output. Only one output can be used at any given time. So if you connect both out puts to your computer only one will work and having both connected can cause issues.

In most cases using the ethernet port or RJ45 port (tech term) will be the best and fastest option. This will make it easier to setup your internet service and you will most likely not have to install any software or configure any hardware on your computer.

In today's world many familes have more than one computer. If that is the case with you then you will want to share that internet connection with others. Modems are not setup to share a computer connection. They are only capable of dishing out one single IP address. You will need multiple IP's in order to share your connection with ease.

To do this you will need to connect what is known as a router to the modem. In some cases your modem may also have a router built in as well. We do not recommend this kind of setup because it makes things far hard to trouble shoot issues for the common person and setup can be that much harder as well.

In almost all cases to setup a router you simply need to plug in the modem to the router via an ethernet cable. Then turn the modem on and then the router on. Connect your computer to the router and you should have a connection. Now you can connect multiple computers to the router and share the single internet connection from the modem. The router segments the original IP and turn's it into a subnet. This allows for hundreds of connections from your router.

Always consult your documentation to ensure you are setting up your hardware correclty. Many times manufacturers provide software that you should install first to help guide you in the process of setting up a connection.