Help with Router/Modems and Switches/Hubs and Ethernet Cables

[wrenaudrey]

Alright to start off i have this: Netgear DG834Gv5
It came with the broadband package that i got time ago now.

It has 4 ethernet ports(lan?) and 1 ADSL+ port(small-for internet), and they are all occupied.
Now im planning to build another PC and i want to connect it via a long ethernet cable.

So if i build this PC i will need 5 ethernet ports which is not possible. Now ive been looking around Currys/PC World and asked around and they said i need to buy a SWITCH, like so a Netgear GS105 or GS605.

First question, is this correct that i need to buy one of these switches?
Second, Whats the difference between a Hub and a Switch?

 

[hmmblah]

Yes you need a switch. A hub broadcasts to all ports connected to it. A switch only sends traffic to the designated port. There was a time when switches were super expensive compared to hubs but now they are virtually the same price in the home segment. The only thing a hub is good for now is in a lab setting when you want to sniff traffic.

 

[wrenaudrey]

Yeah, i too was surprised when i saw the price on switches.
Now to connect. Do i simply just use an ethernet cable, stuck in the back of my Modem/Router and plug the other end into the switch?
I read somewhere that to connect a switch and a router you need a 'crossover' ethernet cable-is this true?

 

[tinytomlogan]

Any cable is fine. Just get a decent gigabit switch if you are planning lots of file transfers between rigs.

(every bit of networking gear I own is Netgear.....)

 

[hmmblah]

As Tom said, any cable is fine. Switches these days are auto sensing so you do not need a crossover between them.

A gigabit switch is the way to go, I usually stick with Netgear or Asus for ~8 port consumer switches.

And you have the setup right. You will plug one end of the cable into one of the LAN ports on your router/modem and the other end into any port on your switch.

 

[wrenaudrey]

Thank you for the feedback. Helped alot!
and WOW! Tom replied to a post of mine! ^_^