Mac/Apple TV Connectivity via ethernet connection problems

cuatro,

welcome to discussions.

Your issue is with the Netgear switch. It needs to be a router and also provide DHCP and NAT. It might be able to do this by re-configuring. In fact, as you describe it as a 5-port switch, it's very likely that one port is on the WAN side (internet) and the other four are LAN side (local). Which model switch is it ?

The issue start with the cable modem, which will only provide one Ethernet port and one IP address to access the internet. Your Netgear should really then put up a firewall and provide up to 4 local IP addresses (a LAN) for sharing access to the internet. It looks like it's not doing this, but just sharing the one IP address (supplied by your cable ISP) amongst all the attached devices. This can be a nightmare, as you are finding out.

Let us know about the Netgear and we can help.

Just in case the Netgear is unable to do what we want it to, does your G5 have more than one Ethernet port ? Is it physically possible to connect the cable modem directly to the G5 ? (are the cables long enough?) Is it physically possible then to connect the AppleTV to the G5 ? If not directly, then via the Netgear ?

It may be that you will have to spend about £30 on a router with firewall / DHCP / NAT / etc, or £40-£50 on a top-of-the-range wireless-n router, which your AppleTV will love. I'm almost certain that your existing Netgear is sufficient though.

Welcome to the  Discussion Forums.

Not fully sure I understand your issue completely, I understand you can only receive internet access on one device at a time, but are you saying that for the mac and the tv to see each other they need to be connected directly rather than through the ethernet switch.

How old is your modem and switch.

.................

Think Simon has the issue sorted here

Message was edited by: Winston Churchill

cuatro wrote:
.......... I'm not able to do this via the switch, for some reason

As Simon as identified, that's because you don't actually have a network without DHCP, when you connect the two devices directly you bypass this requirement.

Yes, I'm sorry to say that the FS605 is only a switch / hub.

Ideally you want something suited for cable modem broadband. With wireless-n and gigabit Ethernet ports. Most importantly it would have DHCP, NAT and an SPI firewall.

Just one option with the current kit, does the Mac have wireless ? And would it be feasible to have the AppleTV connect to the Mac via Wireless ?
Thinking you could connect the Mac to the internet (via the FS605 or not, doesn't matter) by Ethernet, and then use Mac OS to share that Ethernet internet connection over it's wireless network. The AppleTV would connect to the internet using wireless going through the Mac (G5 isn't it ?).

If it was me, I'd hunt down a suitable router for the money it costs and the money I'd save by not having to have the G5 running all the time.