Hardware questions for 8 player lan.

Hello i am doin a lan party in about a month from now. I have the furniture setup but need help for hardware.

My router is upstairs and we are playing in my basement. I would prefere to have it in an adhoc network bt a few questions still bother me.

Is there any serious or severe lag in a wireless lan party? Will it also slow down my internet if i go this route?

if there is serious lag in an adhoc network, then i would prefer to have a wired connection. If i am correct , router>switch> xbox right? Do i need to have the same type of ethernet cable to connect to the switch? We are going to play black ops 2 mostly
and we dont have all the map packs. Do we need all the same map packs in order to play with each other? Or is it like we all have to have the same map pack in order to play a map form that map pack? My final question is about power distibution. I believe the
xbox 360 takes in 5 amps. What about these circuit breaker things? What do they do and how should i wire them?

:)

 

Question on an 8+ player lan party.

An LAN is a Local Area Network and is not connected to the Live service. Therefore, if you've hooked things up correctly no one should require a Gold membership to play.

However, if you are connecting and playing a game locally through the Live service then all person's participating should need a Gold membership.

 

Question on an 8+ player lan party.

Found the answer to the router question. I'll just run an ethernet cable to another router(?) and connect xboxs to that. Does anyone know if there is a lot lag for wifi lan parties?

 

Greetings R4W Retaliate!

I'm a bit confused with your describtion, how you're supposed to gonna organize your network if you choose a switch (router>switch> xbox right?), instead of configure a ad-hoc network. An ad-hoc network segment itself from an existin infrastructure such
as routers (wired) or access Points (wireless). This means that each console, operating in this environment will be communicating in a peer-to-peer architecture.

Just to clarify, are you all suppose to play within the same network/subnet/LAN?

My guess would be that an Xbox 360 is drawing between 2-2,5 amps, during a full gaming session.

www.complex.com/.../how-much-power-does-your-xbox-360-use

 

Sorry for the late reply. I would like to create an ad hoc network if possible. I don't want to do it if there is lag or might slow down my internet for everyone using it. If not I'll just go for a wired LAN party

 

Forgot to add, does the wireless LAN party has lag in between players?

 

I am kind of confused by your answer what do you mean by "An ad-hoc network segment itself from an existin infrastructure such as routers (wired) or access Points (wireless). This means that each console, operating in this environment will be communicating
in a peer-to-peer architecture." Does that mean the xbox's communicates between each other not on a wifi connection?

 

Sorry for the late reply!

[quote user="R4W Retaliate"]Does that mean the xbox's communicates between each other not on a wifi Connection?[/quote]Ad-Hoc mode is a very simple method, to allow wireless (Wi-Fi) devices on a
Local Area Network, to communicate with each other, without any involvment of a wireless access point/wireless router, as the central node for communication.

My only concern with Ad-Hoc mode and Xbox 360, is that this method only support up to four consoles.

If you and your friends get toghether and play LAN on a more frequent basis (which I think you do), then I would suggest that each console connects with an Ethernet cable to a switch (L2, unmanaged Desktop Switch). The beatuy with a switch, is that as soon
as it is up and running, it works, right out of the box.

For cables, use Cat 5e straight-through (Xbox 360, as most switches today, support
Auto MDI/MDIX crossover for all ports).

Simply connect the switch to a power outlet and connect each console to an empty port on the switch and follow the game instructions to start system link play.

Since there's no DHCP server involved, each console should be assigned an APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing), or a link-local address (169.254.x.x).

Whenever you decide to purchase a switch, whatever you do, don't confuse a switch with a Hub.

[quote user="R4W Retaliate"] We are going to play black ops 2 mostly and we dont have all the map packs. Do we need all the same map packs in order to play with each other?[/quote]Yes!

 

Very informative answer. Would this work?

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_2

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_15

www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_1

How would i connect them?

Also, when i connect the xboxs, do they all have to use Cat5e cables? Or can some use Cat5 and Cat5e at the same time. I Realized i phrased my question wrong. If i have map pack 1, and my friend has map packs 1,2 and 3, does he need to delete 2 and 3 in
order to play with me at all? Or we can still play with each other, just not on map pack 2 and 3?

 

I think you've made the right choice, by selecting a switch with more than 8 ports, for future needs.

If you want to prepair for future ahead, try find a switch that support 10/100/1000Mbps.

[quote user="R4W Retaliate"]when i connect the xboxs, do they all have to use Cat5e cables? Or can some use Cat5 and Cat5e at the same time.[/quote]It doesn't matter if you choose Cat5, or Cat5e cables, to connect the consoles. The Xbox 360's Ethernet network
adapter support 10/100. So, it doesn't matter, as it can't send or receive more than 100Mbps (200Mpbs in full duplex). And yes! You can mix Cat5 with Cat5e.

[quote user="R4W Retaliate"]How would i connect them?[/quote]Each console connects with an Ethernet cable to a port on the switch. That's it. It could take a few seconds for the switch to detect devices and update this information on its CAM table, that maps
MAC addresses to ports

[quote user="R4W Retaliate"]If i have map pack 1, and my friend has map packs 1,2 and 3, does he need to delete 2 and 3 in order to play with me at all? Or we can still play with each other, just not on map pack 2 and 3?[/quote]He doesn't need to do anything.
You can both play, as long as you both have the same map pack.

 

Awesome! Thanks for my questions.

 

Anytime R4W!

If you have any concerns, please do let us know.

Good luck with your LAN party!