Wired Networking (Newbie)

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions regarding setting up a wired network I hope someone can help me with.

I have the desktop PC connected to my BT Voyager 2500V Wireless ADSL Voice Router via ethernet and want to share the broadband connection with a laptop I should be getting within the next 2 weeks but not wirelessly.

1. Am I right in saying all I need to do is purchase an ethernet cable (like this one) and use it to connect the laptop to one of the 4 ethernet sockets on the router, and if so, would the length of the cable (30m) be alright (with no slowdowns due to the long length, etc)?

2. My desktop PC has Windows XP Home where the laptop I'm thinking of purchasing has Windows Vista Home Premium preinstalled. Will this be a problem, even though I'm connecting them both via ethernet to the same router?

3. Will I need to install the software that came with the router on the laptop even though it's already installed on the PC?

4. Will I need to install security software on the laptop even though it's already installed on the PC?

If anyone can help me with this, it would be greatly appreciated since I've never set up a network before and just want to make sure I'm doing everything right.

Thanks

 

1) Yes. Yes.
2) No.
3) No.
4) Yes. Antivirus at least.

 

Hey WackyT, thanks for the help.