Windows Home LAN party

jeckulz · 11 Jul 2011

Im looking into holding a small LAN party at my flat with my mates and I just wanted to check that Im buying the right thing to connect all our PCs together to play as either local network or go online by pluging into the modem/router.

This was the sort of thing I thought
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8-port-dynamode-10-100-ethernet-switch-metal-casing

If Im way off the mark please let me know!!!

Thanks

tehBoris · 11 Jul 2011

A switch is what you need, that is definitely a switch.

jeckulz · 12 Jul 2011

Thankyouverymuchsir

Dae314 · 12 Jul 2011

That depends on what you mean by a LAN party.

Do you want to have everyone come and connect to the internet in one place to play a game together?

If so, you want a router (which will connect everyone to the internet without the need for a network server) not a switch. CISCO quickly explains the different types of switches and how they differ from a router in that article. About goes into a bit more depth.

Do you want to have an isolated LAN for just you and your friends to use and communicate with each other over that network but not to the internet?

If so, you want a switch. A switch connects multiple computers together to create a local area network. However, as the article in about explained, a switch is not designed to connect the computers which reside on it directly to the internet unless the modem handles routing.

Whirly · 12 Jul 2011

Um, from what I can tell, he already has a router in his modem...

by pluging into the modem/router
Click to expand...

In which case all he needs is a switch with enough ports to support the number of friends he's having over.

scott_chegg · 12 Jul 2011

If the modem/router is actually a router then he'll be fine with just the switch.

adam_bagpuss · 12 Jul 2011

yo dawg,

i put a router in yo router so you can route with all yo friends hahaha

OCJunkie · 12 Jul 2011

If he's got internet its almost guaranteed he's got a router.

All you need is a switch for the extra ports, simple as that.

jeckulz · 12 Jul 2011

Thanks for the mass response and debate over non-reading of my OP.

Ther router is the standard Netgear one that Virgin media provide, but it only has 4 ports, hence why I ask about a switch.

Thanks again

bigkingfun · 13 Jul 2011

Watch out.
Some of the home-lanparty's I have attended have been troubled by the crap routers the ISP sends.
Some would only give 6-8 adresses, so we ended up with static IP's a couple of times.

Otherwise, home lans are the best!

adam_bagpuss · 13 Jul 2011

wish i had enough friends for a LAN hahaha

Guest-44432 · 13 Jul 2011

We should do a Bit-tech lan party!

thehippoz · 13 Jul 2011

have fun.. yeah could see the bit-tech lan- joe comes out wearing a cape

and I could see a couple members being real big trolls in game chat (me included)

Guest-44432 · 13 Jul 2011

I would have to come with a clean pair of pants....

Lassar · 13 Jul 2011

When I have a lan we just all connect to my 4 port router from Sky... does the job

Tibby · 15 Jul 2011

Switch will do the job.

Main consideration for a LAN party is a well ventilated room, it can get really hot in a room full of geeks and computers!

Also buy multipacks of coke/beer etc... Choose cans over 2litre bottles, less time having to pour!

And snacks are a must, pringles and the like.

All in all, makes for a successful LAN party!

Falco2073 · 18 Jul 2011

Tibby said: ↑

Switch will do the job.

Main consideration for a LAN party is a well ventilated room, it can get really hot in a room full of geeks and computers!

Also buy multipacks of coke/beer etc... Choose cans over 2litre bottles, less time having to pour!

And snacks are a must, pringles and the like.

All in all, makes for a successful LAN party!
Click to expand...

I'll agree with that, I only have 2 PCs in my room (it is a small room mind you) and it reaches 25c+ when they're both on, it's really not very nice.

Other than that, just ensure that all necessary ports etc are done before the LAN party so you don't have to spend time trying to get you all connected when you should be playing!

identikit · 18 Jul 2011

Wall of Text ahoy! I think this originally came from Bit-tech ages ago...

LAN Party Organisation

Picture the scene: A dark room illuminated by blinking LEDs and shimmering LCDs, and a tense atmosphere that's only punctuated by clicks, taps and occasional cries from the recently fragged. Wil Harris welcomes you to the LAN party

Many people consider LAN parties to be the zenith of gaming. In recent years, single-player PC gaming has been neglected in favour of multiplayer carnage, and the catalyst has been the explosive growth of the Internet and the continuing popularity of titles such as Counter-Strike and Unreal Tournament. But the Internet also brings anonymity and lag - two serious butt-aches that disappear at LAN parties.
Okay, so 'LAN party' might sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but they're often as much of a social event as a gaming session, and they're great opportunities to meet your online clan too. On the other hand, if you already have a group of friends that you regularly game with at home, then they can also be a chance to get together and party with the added distraction of computers. For most people, though, LAN parties are simply about playing the latest games with your close buddies for maximum enjoyment - and why not?

There are, however, plenty of complications that need to be overcome to set up an enjoyable event with no hiccups. But follow our advice and you'll be on the road to a LAN-driven gaming Utopia in no time.

Location, location, location
The first thing you need to consider is where you're going to hold this shindig, and this will be dictated, primarily, by the number of people. We recommend gathering around 15 other gamers for your first attempt - 16 is a good number for a party as it splits the group into two teams of eight people.

Start by working out how much space you'll need, and think about the amount of gear that will surround each PC. Aside from the actual rig, there will also be a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse and mouse mat, not to mention food and drink. All this takes up space, and when you multiply it by 16, quite a lot of space.

If you're lucky enough to know a rich friend with a huge house, then you may well be able to cram your party into their dining room - so long as the other inhabitants don't mind of course. Also, if you live in a mid-sized house yourself, then you can split your party between rooms and floors by running a secondary hub on another floor, and connecting it to the first with a long piece of Cat5 cable. This option, however, detracts from the frenetic party atmosphere, especially if those sharing a room don't get on with each other.

Alternatively, if you happen to live in London or the south-east where you have to be Richard Branson to afford a big house, then you can look at somewhere to hire, such as a local community centre or church hall. These will often be fairly cheap, and, seeing as they're commonly used for big functions anyway, they'll already have lots of tables and chairs available too. Community centres will usually have a notice outside with the contact details for hiring them out.

But there are all sorts of factors to consider when choosing your location too. Start by thinking about the ventilation in the room - all that computer equipment and sweaty gamers will heat up your venue pretty quickly, so windows are a plus point. This does, of course, mean that you'll have to curb your language for the benefit of those living nearby as well.

There are also a number of other peripheral issues to bear in mind, and electricity is a major one. In a modern home, power circuits are generally rated at 20A. Your home, depending on its size, may also have more than one power circuit, and different mains sockets in your house may be connected to different circuits. So, before you set up your LAN party, it's crucial that you understand which outlets are connected to which power circuits.

To do this, get a friend to help you. Take a lamp, plug it into a socket and turn it on. Have your friend stand next to the circuit breaker box in your house, tripping the switches off until the lamp switches off, and you can then work out which circuit the socket is on. Label up your sockets and you'll be able to distribute computers around the circuits easily. A computer will generally take 2A, and a monitor will take 1A, so you can allow roughly seven systems for one circuit. If you're hiring the venue, then ask the owner for the details on which sockets are connected where, as well as the building's overall power rating, and you'll be able to work out if your LAN party is viable.

Generators can also be a saving grace here, and they're usually available to rent (look in the 'Yellow Pages' for local companies). Several models are available, and they can generate anywhere between 20A and several thousand amps, so you can pick one suitable for the number of people attending.

Remember that all those gamers will need feeding too, so it's a definite plus point if your venue has a microwave and it's an absolute essential it has a bathroom too. However, if you don't mind living off takeaways all weekend, then just get everyone to bring some money for a food kitty and mass-order pizzas and Chinese.

Finally, an Internet connection is a must-have for a successful LAN party. So if possible, find somewhere that has broadband already hooked in.

Tactical planning
As any Special Ops expert will tell you, the key to executing a successful mission is planning, and the same is true for LAN parties.

Start by drawing up a list of the gear you'll need to accommodate. Ask each of your attendees to supply a kit list of what they'll be bringing, and then you can see how many full towers and small form factor boxes you'll need to accommodate (the height of desk legs will be key here), as well as how many people will be bringing LCD monitors or CRT monstrosities.

Once you've got your kit list, you'll need to work out the room layout, and, more to the point, organise the right number of chairs and tables. Tables can be easily rented from churches (contact the church secretary - the number will be on the notice board), or picked up cheap in second hand shops. It's also worth remembering that small tables can be made substantially bigger with a bit of creative woodwork. Pick up a large board of MDF (medium density fibreboard), lay it over the top of the small table, and you'll instantly enlarge the work surface. Then you just need to keep it stable by putting something heavy, such as a 19in CRT, on top. The other thing to consider here is whether you want to sit people separately in teams, or have everyone grouped together sociably.

In terms of raw equipment, you'll also need to make sure that everyone brings headphones, as well as a four-way power adaptor to power their rig (four sockets will provide for a main box, monitor, laptop and even a mobile phone charger). It's usually best to organise a few yourself as well - there's always a muppet that forgets theirs - and it's worth packing a few spare network cards and cables for the same reason.

Speaking of networking, you'll need to consider your network topology (the shape of the network) as well. The most efficient topology for a LAN party will have just one self-sufficient, stand-alone router box, which the clients will connect to via 100Mb/sec Ethernet (see Net me up Scotty for more details).

Other practical concerns include food and drink. By this time you should have sorted out your microwave, but you should also think about in-game snacks. House favourites at my LAN parties are Haribo Sour Mix and Star Mix, which provide more than enough sugar to keep hardened gamers hyper for hours on end. They are, however, extremely moreish, so it's worth buying them in bulk!

Next you have to decide whether you're going to supply alcohol or soft drinks. It's worth noting that while most people like to get drunk, it can make frayed gaming tempers even more agitated, especially when combined with alcohol's reaction-slowing effects. The best bet is to pick up several litres of energy drinks, such as Jolt or Red Bull, which everyone can enjoy, regardless of age and driving considerations, and you can then party into the night too.

Which brings me on to organising specific times for arriving and leaving. It's worth staggering these if possible, as that way you don't have to deal with an onslaught of several people at once. Staggering the times also lets you deal with people's problems one at a time, rather than being snowed under. While you're here, make sure everyone has directions to the venue, as well as a list of things they need to bring. This should include items such as sleeping bags, bottles of Coke and the original game CDs for the games you'll be playing.

And last, but certainly not least, tell everyone that they won't be admitted unless they're running up-to-date virus scanning software and Windows patches. A worm outbreak on a local network can be a royal pain in the butt for everyone concerned, so make sure everyone is clean before letting them in.

This is, of course, easier said than done, but you can at least try. Craig Fletcher, who runs Multiplay's I-Series LAN events, told us that 'short of impounding everyone's machine before they even connect, the best we can do is advise, rather than enforce'. He also suggested that 'everyone should be running a personal firewall' to help prevent vulnerabilities too (for more virus-prevention tips see What the experts say).

LAN Party, m'lud?
With the recent legal furore over file sharing on the Internet, it's worth giving a thought to the legal implications of running a LAN party too. There are three basic issues here - your liability to the attendees, your liability to the rest of the world and the attendees' liability to each other.

Let's start with your liability to the attendees, which covers a diverse number of issues. At the most basic level, you have an obligation under the Occupier's Liability Act to make sure that your house (if that is the venue) is safe for people to be in. While you can write up a contract that will exclude your liability for damage to personal possessions, you can't exclude liability for death or personal injury - so if someone cops it because of a defect in your premises, then you're in for a trip to the Scrubs. Similarly, if you're renting your venue, then the owner of the premises will be liable to your attendees. However, as the organiser of the event, you may also be liable. In short, just make sure your venue is a safe one.

Other aspects of your liability to your attendees include damage to personal possessions, such as a dead power supply caused by a mains spike. If you don't know the people attending your party, then get them to sign a disclaimer that says they're attending the party at their own risk, although this won't be an issue for small groups of friends.

Your liability to the rest of the world comes into play if someone at your party is either hacking or file sharing. In both cases, external law enforcement agencies will be able to trace the activity back to your IP address, as assigned by your ISP. It will then be up to you to prove that someone else, not you, committed the offence. For this reason, it's worth keeping some kind of record of the event, such as a webcam pointed at your screen, as well as making it clear (in writing) that such illegal activity won't be permitted at your LAN party. Also, if you get one malicious attendee hacking another, then they could end up losing their data, so tell everyone to make backups before turning up, and make it clear that you're not liable for the acts of your attendees.

Interestingly, Craig Fletcher also told us that a major issue for him was the trading of illicit material over his network - including both 'warez' and porn. 'Everyone that comes to our events signs our Warez and Porn policy', he told Custom PC. 'We reserve the right to scan the network to check what people are sharing, and throw them out if they break our terms of service - and we do throw people out!' He suggests that all attendees simply turn off file sharing to avoid these kinds of legal hassles, which has the added benefit of removing File and Printer sharing, and hence a number of NetBIOS vulnerabilities too.

Lemur Alpha November
Communication is key to a successful LAN party, and it's one of the major benefits these events have over Internet gaming. But while the Xbox has had voice communication since the launch of Xbox Live! it hasn't taken off to such an extent in PC games. Okay, so games such as Unreal Tournament 2004 include proprietary voice communication software, but most games don't, which means you have to look to other means of communication instead.

The first, and probably the best is - shock horror - talking. While the air will undoubtedly be full of expletives from those mid-gaming, holding a conversation is still relatively easy. However, it's worth remembering that audible communication could allow the guy opposite you to overhear your team plans, which could be detrimental to your team's success. For this reason, a mixture of pre-arranged code words and in-game text communication is by far the best way to organise your plan of attack. Every game with a multiplayer segment supports text messaging, so this is a safe bet too - just make sure you don't get killed while typing your message.

Face-to-face communication can, however, be impractical in large venues, but there are a number of alternatives. The first is to set up voice communication over headsets with a program such as Ventrilo (www.ventrilo.com), which can be easily set up to run on one person's machine, while their team members connect to it, or for mass communication, you could set up a public server that everyone can access.

Another alternative is to set up an IRC channel, which is great for text-based communication. You can either set up a local server using a client such as mIRC (www.mirc.com), or set up a channel on a public server such as Quakenet (www.quakenet.org).

MSN Messenger is another popular communication tool, but conversations between multiple MSN participants can become awkward compared with an organised IRC room. It's also inefficient for LAN parties, as it pushes all the messages out to the MSN central server, only to come back to someone in the same room as you. It is, however, a great way for LAN-goers to communicate with the outside world, and worth considering if your venue has Internet access.

WiFi, SchmiFi
With the buzz around wireless networking (mostly drummed up by Intel to sell Centrino notebooks), you may well be wondering if it's worth setting up a wireless network for your LAN party, and the answer isn't necessarily a straight 'yes' or 'no'.

For a start, there's no way you'll want to game over a wireless network. The most common standard, 802.11b, provides a theoretical bandwidth of just 11Mb/sec, which will significantly increase the lag at a large event. What's more, even the latest 802.11g standard only runs at 54Mb/sec, which is almost half of what you get from standard Ethernet. This means that file transfers will take a lot longer, and gameplay will be a little choppier too.

However, many people now go to LAN parties with laptops as second machines to handle instant messaging and email while they're gaming, and WiFi bandwidth is more than adequate for this kind of thing. For this reason, it's worth adding a wireless access point to your setup if your router doesn't already support WiFi.

Lamers, Assholes and Nerds?
So what can we sum up from all this? Well, LAN parties are easy enough to organise, but you need to make sure you do it right. It's easy to gather a group of mates, pack them in a tiny room and game away your weekend, but making an enjoyable time out of it requires a lot of consideration and planning. Your choice of games and location, not to mention a good attitude from all involved will go a long way towards making your LAN party a success. But, if you follow all our advice, you'll have everything you need to organise a cracking LAN party - so get location hunting.

Net me up Scotty
One of the trickiest things you'll come across when setting up your LAN party is configuring the Windows networking settings, but you can make life easy for yourself by following these simple guidelines.
Start by considering the physical network topology, which means setting yourself up with a router box. You can use anything advertised as suitable for broadband here - Netgear's DG834UK ADSL routers or Linksys's WGR614 cable routers are perfect for this type of setup, and the latter even has WiFi built in.

Then make sure everyone has standard network cards installed in their machines, and hook them up to the router via a dedicated hub - 16-port hubs can be bought very cheaply these days. You can then jack the hub into the router via the uplink ports - check the manual for the specific ports you should use on your equipment, but they're usually clearly labelled. If you're using broadband, then configure the router to access your account with your user name and password. Again, the manual will tell you how to do this, but routers usually come with a very simple web interface too, which should be accessible by connecting to 192.168.0.1 through your browser.

So you have your broadband plugged into the router, the router connected to the hub and your hub connected to the clients. Now you need to look at the configuration, which involves getting the computers to talk to the router, as well as getting the computers to talk to each other. Here's how you do it:

1) Make sure your Start menu is equipped with the My Network Places icon. Right click on the Start button, go to Properties and hit the Customize button. Then click the Advanced tab, scroll down and tick the box next to My Network Places.

2) Right click on My Computer, go to Properties and then hit the Computer Name tab. Make sure everyone is set to use workgroups rather than domains, and, to keep things simple, just use the Windows-default WORKGROUP name. While you're here, you can also make sure you've set a computer name that doesn't conflict with anyone else's.

3) Click on My Network Places, go to LAN connections and right click on your Local Area Network Connection to bring up its properties. Then click on TCP/IP properties, and set your computer to automatically obtain an IP address and get a DNS server. This should kick Windows into grabbing an automatic IP address from your router, which will make sure there are no conflicts.

4) If you want to share the contents of your drives with fellow LAN-goers, then right click on a Drive or Folder, click Sharing and then enable file sharing manually, giving it a suitable name. You'll then be able to browse each other's chosen files.

If you're still having problems, then it's worth checking that you're being assigned a suitable IP address by running a DOS Command Prompt and typing IPCONFIG. Assuming you're running your router on the default settings, you should be in the 192.168.0 or 192.168.1 range - the Default Gateway setting is the router's IP address, which Windows will automatically detect.
Click to expand...

jeckulz · 19 Jul 2011

identikit said: ↑

Wall of Text ahoy! I think this originally came from Bit-tech ages ago...
Click to expand...

16? Seriously?
I was thinking 5 or 6, enough for small BC2 teams or full COD Dom. teams.

16? Im not a rich man. If I were, I wouldn't be a stingy as £10 for a switch box LOL

Thanks for the replies though

bdigital · 21 Jul 2011

true_gamer said: ↑

I would have to come with a clean pair of pants....
Click to expand...

Bring some for me.

Im in!

Log in or Sign up

Windows Home LAN party

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

tehBoris What's a Dremel?

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

Dae314 What's a Dremel?

Whirly What's a Dremel?

scott_chegg Minimodder

adam_bagpuss Have you tried turning it off/on ?

OCJunkie OC your Dremel too

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

bigkingfun Tinkering addict

adam_bagpuss Have you tried turning it off/on ?

Guest-44432 Guest

thehippoz What's a Dremel?

Guest-44432 Guest

Lassar Lean Mean Fighting Machine !

Tibby Back Once Again

Falco2073 Minimodder

identikit Minimodder

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

bdigital Is re-building his PC again

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Windows Home LAN party

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

tehBoris What's a Dremel?

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

Dae314 What's a Dremel?

Whirly What's a Dremel?

scott_chegg Minimodder

adam_bagpuss Have you tried turning it off/on ?

OCJunkie OC your Dremel too

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

bigkingfun Tinkering addict

adam_bagpuss Have you tried turning it off/on ?

Guest-44432 Guest

thehippoz What's a Dremel?

Guest-44432 Guest

Lassar Lean Mean Fighting Machine !

Tibby Back Once Again

Falco2073 Minimodder

identikit Minimodder

jeckulz What's a Dremel?

bdigital Is re-building his PC again

Share This Page

Useful Searches