Cable Internet - How To Connect Both Computer And Voip Phone

Computer: ASUS K52F, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64 bit

I am weak on the technical issues for using cable Internet. Let me tell you what I want to do and you tell me what equipment I should order from Cox Communications when they come to my apt. for the install.

I will be ordering Cable Internet from Cox. I will be ordering VOIP phone from Pioneer Telephone and not from Cox. Pioneer supplies a device that requires an incoming Ethernet connection from the cable modem. The other end of this device connects to the phone. My computer also requires an Ethernet connection from the modem. So what equipment do I need from Cox to accomplish this? Do I need a router with multiple Ethernet connections where the router connects to the modem, and the computer & phone connect to the router? Or can Cox supply a cable modem with multiple Ethernet connections for both phone and computer? Or do I totally misunderstand this technology?

Please help - thank you.

 

Your cable internet service provider (Cox) should supply all that you need to connect with them. Whether or not they make a charge, sometimes just for sending the router, is something you should know from the package. I don't know of an ISP that provides a router with less than 4 Ethernet connection sockets. But presumably the equipment will also facilitate WiFi - all the VOIP methods I know of here in the UK are able to work on WiFi.
Pioneer should provide you with what you need for their service.
Either way read very carefully what Cox supply, either included in the rental or if you have to buy a router separately make sure you get one with the minimum system requirements they mention.

 

This is really a simple process. FTR, I also have Cox.

First, I recommend you buy your own modem and router instead of renting from Cox. It obviously will cost you more up front, but monthly rental fees will soon add up to much more than buying outright.

In any case, a little background. Modems, routers, Ethernet Switches, and WAPs (wireless access points) are all discrete network devices. The modem is the "gateway" device used to connect you to the Internet. A router has just one input and one output and is used to connect (or isolate) two networks. A switch is used to connect multiple Ethernet connections to the network (typically to the network side of the router). And the WAP is used to connect wireless devices to that same network side of the router (typically through an Ethernet switch). Then there is the VoIP device used to connect a phone to a network. This is done through another Ethernet port on the switch.

However, to avoid having 4 or 5 separate devices and all those power cords and wires all over the place device makers integrate them in a single box and and marketed as combination devices.

For example there is no such thing as a "wireless router". Yet you will see these devices for sell all the time. But a "wireless router" is simply a "marketing" term for a device that has a router, 4-port Ethernet switch, and a WAP integrated into the same box. The WAP actually connects to the router internally via an internal Ethernet port. Some go further and integrate the modem too. And now, there are even devices that include a router, switch, WAP, modem and VoIP - all totally discrete devices that just happen to share a common PCB (printed circuit board), case, and power supply.

Note that historically, virtually all home routers come with at least a 4-port Ethernet switch integrated within the box. And today, most also come as "wireless routers" with a WAP integrated within too.

Clear as mud, right?

So for you, the cable from Cox will come into the house and connect to a modem. Then a router connects to the modem. Then your "wired" computers and your VoIP device will connect to the router's integrated Ethernet ports.

So to answer your question, it depends on what device you get from Cox. I suspect it will be an integrated modem, router, WAP, and Ethernet device and you just plug the VoIP device into one of the Ethernet ports - unless it is wireless. Then you connect through the device's WAP.

I see Max posted while I was typing and said much the same thing - note you do NOT have to buy (or rent) the modem device from Cox. You can use your own. They only need the MAC address, which will be printed on a label attached to the modem.

 

Thank you - thank you Digerati!! Your answer was perfect. This is why I like these forums so much. People helping people. Thanks again.

 

And the appreciative comments like that is my incentive to help out where I can. You are quite welcome!

 

I will echo Goshen Geek's compliments about this site. I've only been here a couple of days but it, and a knowledgeable member or two as well, have already been very helpful and educational to me. I came on this thread after I saw a car commercial on t.v. that focused on the built-in wifi the car comes with. (whoopee, huh?) I was wondering, what exactly does that car have in it, "equipment"-wise, that gives it this feature? Just curious, not, fortunately, a burning, critical question that will keep me from napping shortly.

 

Basically, most have built-in smart phones that establish a wifi "hotspot". If you have a DVR, hit the pause button when the fine print appears and you will see you have to subscribe to a service.