Gaming Router

First off, I'm pretty technical (worked as IT Tech for a while) but I
have a very nasty mental block when it comes to networking, so stick
with me whilst i ask some possibly, very dumb questions.

My basic issue is this. I'm with sky broadband, who insist that you are
only allowed to use their router with their service, moreover they have
said more than once that it is in fact only possible to use their
routers.

Their supplied router is a Netgear DG834GT . . well, netgear don't
exactly have the best track record Router wise. Added to this many
online gaming services don't support netgear routers (including the one
used by Company of Heroes, the game i'm having the biggest issues with)


Ok so using this very helpful page

'Sky Broadband Username and Password | Philip Nicosia'
(http://tinyurl.com/3d6rur)

I was able to secure my sky username and password
meaning I can change my router for something a little less, whats the
word, Redundant. As i'm going to do this I figured I might as well
simply look for the best overall option and learn something as well.

Issue 1. What is a good router for gaming in general (port forwarding,
being supported by a large number online gaming services etc)
Considering i wish to be able to both connect to others servers and run
my own servers for others to connect to me

Issue 2. Having procured said Router, how do i set it up with my sky Id
and Password. I'm assuming its quite simple (I already know how to get
into routers, change settings, passwords, portforward etc and dont have
issues getting my ip, find the ports games use etc)

Issue 3. is this actually the best option anyway?. I know just
connecting to the net directly from a modem avoids all this rubbish but
there is a second pc that connects via wireless card to the router. I
assume this means there is no way of spliting so i connect directly to
the net whilst the other pc connect wirelessly to the router (I'm
assuming not else more ppl would just do this to avoid the hassle)
However would it be possible to in someway, connect this pc via modem
then connect the other pc via a hub that goes to this pc, and if i can
would their be any negative effects.

I don't play any LAN games so its only really for WAN

Any opinions on any of these questions would be much appreciated.

Cheers


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In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
phantomdentist <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Issue 1. What is a good router for gaming in general (port forwarding,
> being supported by a large number online gaming services etc)
> Considering i wish to be able to both connect to others servers and run
> my own servers for others to connect to me
>

I have a DGL-4300 from D-Link that I like a lot:

http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=370&#DGL-4300

> Issue 2. Having procured said Router, how do i set it up with my sky Id
> and Password. I'm assuming its quite simple (I already know how to get
> into routers, change settings, passwords, portforward etc and dont have
> issues getting my ip, find the ports games use etc)

The wizards will guide you through it, but the setup screens are pretty
self-explanatory; there's a good set of help screens too. Just log in to
the router and look around.

> Issue 3. is this actually the best option anyway?. I know just
> connecting to the net directly from a modem avoids all this rubbish but
> there is a second pc that connects via wireless card to the router. I
> assume this means there is no way of spliting so i connect directly to
> the net whilst the other pc connect wirelessly to the router (I'm
> assuming not else more ppl would just do this to avoid the hassle)
> However would it be possible to in someway, connect this pc via modem
> then connect the other pc via a hub that goes to this pc, and if i can
> would their be any negative effects.

This router has a pretty good firewall. It won't accept third-party
firmware, but it's got all the features you want anyway; D-Link have
invented some of their own jargon, but the accepted terminology is also
used. The only thing I don't like about the router is the Flash
animation on the config screens. Also, you have to reboot the device for
pretty much every change you make. It's a nice router though -- it's
been sitting there chugging away for over a year; I've only had to
"power-cycle" it twice (and once was when Grand Paradiso [1] choked on
it or told it something it didn't like, and that's my own fault for
messing with beta software).

[1] Grand Paradiso is the beta of Firefox 3:
<http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firefox/3.0a8/releasenotes/>
--
W. Oates