[est1895]

I have been looking at various Intel motherboards and some say Dual LAN.  Why would I want that feature?

[jr2]

You could turn your computer into a router, with advanced firewall etc.

You could use load balancing and get 2x internet accounts for double speed.

Other things.  Google it, I'm lazy right now.

[est1895]

So I could use my computer as a router.  There are 2 computers in the house, but only one printer.  The next printer I will get is a Epson Workforce 3540 which has an Ethernet connection on it.  Could I make it so both computers can print even though they are in different rooms?  Would I have to use my computer as a router as jr2 suggested?

[Bobboau]

Link aggregation is my assumption as to why this available
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_aggregation

[est1895]

The printer option is what I'm really interested in.  For example, Could the other computer get a Dual LAN and just run a separate cable to the Ethernet port of that new printer that I suggested?  in other words, one connection for LAN and the other for a printer.

[Bobboau]

I suppose you could do that, but at that point why not just use USB?

[Klaustrophobia]

you don't need dual LAN on your computer to use a network printer.  i'm assuming you've already got a normal router.  you just connect the printer to that and it will show up as a device on your home network.  then you can map that printer to any computer on the network.

dual LAN is really one of those things that if you don't know you need it, you don't need it.

[Flak]

The manufacturers suggest that with dual lan, you can get balanced speed or just a backup if one fails. I am not sure you need that, because the high end manufacturers, like Asus and MSI, don't have those. Not even on their high end product line.

[deathspeed]

My old DFI N-Force 4 mobo has dual LAN, but I never could figure out a use for it.  I finally disabled one in the device manager so I wouldn't always see the icon telling me a network cable was not connected.

[blowfish]

I thought that kind of thing was used primarily in business applications where one might need to connect to two distinct networks.

[Fury]

Back in the days I used to have two desktop PC's with the other one acting as a server. Neither had two LAN ports so I used FireWire instead to connect the two since my home router could manage only 100Mbit.

[est1895]

So could I just run an Ethernet cable from the other computer to the new printer and have my computer using the usb port to print? I guess I would need a LAN card for the other computer.

[Klaustrophobia]

if you already have your two computers networked, then yes you can plug the printer into one of them via USB and set the other computer to print to it.  if your network uses a router, you also have the option of plugging the network-ready printer directly into the router via ethernet (or connect wirelessly if the printer is wireless capable) and both computers will be able to print to it.

[Mongoose]

Even I was able to get network printing set up via our wireless router, and I'm incompetent at network stuffs, so it isn't that hard at all if you have a network-ready printer.

(General note: plugging your printer into one of the router's input ports, instead of the output, tends to produce better results, i.e. something that actually works.)

[Klaustrophobia]

the only "in" vs. "out" port i've ever seen on a router is the main internet connection from the modem.  all the other ports are just like a standard switch, there is no specific in or out. 

[Mongoose]

Yeah, I think that's what I was plugging into by mistake.  It's actually a combined modem/wireless router, and that Ethernet port is supposed to be a possible alternative to the coaxial input we're currently using.  I was going all "RAWR Y U NO WORK?!?!" for a good five minutes until I figured out that I'd aimed one port too high.

[Nuke]

its only useful for when you are bragging about your rig and used up all the useful specs already. in practice you end up sticking a wifi board in there and never use the ethernet ports.

[Ghostavo]

its only useful for when you are bragging about your rig and used up all the useful specs already. in practice you end up sticking a wifi board in there and never use the ethernet ports.

It kind of depends on where you are. My motherboard has Wifi capabilities that I never use because the place my computer is located is bombarded by dozens of other wireless networks across the whole range of available channels, often (adding insult to injury) with a much stronger signal than my own wireless network.

That and my ISP constantly resetting my routers settings.

[Nuke]

gigabit ethernet is nice and all, but when you live in a 2 story apartment with computers in every room, wiring becomes a nightmare. even if you use it you wouldnt need a dual headed rig unless you were running a server. sure you can use the computer as a router but why would you want to. dedicated router all the way (or at least have a switch).

[Ghostavo]

gigabit ethernet is nice and all, but when you live in a 2 story apartment with computers in every room, wiring becomes a nightmare. even if you use it you wouldnt need a dual headed rig unless you were running a server. sure you can use the computer as a router but why would you want to. dedicated router all the way (or at least have a switch).

Again, depends on your situation.

A specific situation where two ethernet interfaces might come handy is where you have a network device near your computer which you already connect via ethernet to your (supposedly not that near) router and you don't want to have the trouble of having an additional cable the same way.

Or say if you want to transfer things from one computer to another when you are already using one of those ethernet interfaces.