Dan Hitt composed on 2021-03-07 16:02 (UTC-0800):
> The reason for the two networks is that my modem-router is electrically
> incompatible with one of my computers. That computer freezes or otherwise
> misbehaves when one of its ethernet ports is on a network which also has
> the modem-router.
A $10 add-in NIC probably could have solved that more simply. Was more than one
ethernet cable tried with the problem PC? Was a crossover cable mistakenly used?
Thanks Felix for your message. The incompatible computer is a mac, and it is not the only mac that had trouble with the router, and the problem is not just through a cable but also wireless (for a different mac laptop that i had for a job). The cable that i used is still in use, but to a LAN instead. So there seems to be some incompatibility between the old mac and the router-modem. Both however are black boxes and i am constrained from just wiping the mac and installing debian on it, to see if this is just a software issue. (And i'm not even sure that i legally own the modem-router or if my isp does.)
On the other hand, a usb-ethernet converter is not too expensive, and it works ok. So having only one ethernet port on my new computer would be ok, but if two were on the motherboard then i could use them both. :)
dan
--
Evolution as taught in public schools, like religion,
is based on faith, not on science.
Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!
Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/