Anybody good with networksing?

[Drakon1323]

I was wondering, Ive got a problem with my cable signal cutting in and out on a regular basis(like 5 minutes regular). Sometimes its ok for a few hours, but rarely. It reconnects after a few seconds.

 

My setup is: (all linksys)

Cable modem

-1 cable-

Phone router (for broadband phone service) 3 RJ-45 & 2 RJ-11 ports

-1 cable+1 phone-

Wireless router 4 RJ-45 ports

-3 comps feeding off

+2 laptops+tivo on wireless

 

I kno this is an odd setup and im sure it isnt efficient.

My roommate set it up. and i havnt fooled with it too much cuz networking isnt my strong point. I know enough to get by thru working with computers alot but i need some help. Ive toyed around with the fact that its an isp problem but i want to eliminate this mess first because comcast wont help you if youre sittin behind a router:mad:

 

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Drakon1323]

yes, networksing......

i kant spel.

[Tormod]

Hm...why won't they accept a router?

 

If you can't connect them all via a router I guess you'll have to use Internet Connection Sharing on one PC and route everything through that. So you'll need to have two network cards in that, one going to the modem and another to a router.

[Drakon1323]

Hm...why won't they accept a router?

its like cable back in the day where splitters were illegal

 

they want u to pay

 

but noone worries about it, you just wont get there help if you use a router.

[alexander]

here's what you can do:

get a old and slow machine that nobody uses (something like a 100 - 233mhz machine would do just fine) and do what tormod said and put in a second nic, setup an OpenBSD firewall, get the network coming out and plug a switch into the out on the firewall, from there one port can go to wireless, and others to your desktops and printers...

[Drakon1323]

I have been toying around with the idea of building a server for a little while now.

Would this be a good application for this or should i use a crappy machine and put the server down the line?

Or put the server on a seperate line.

I like that idea tho, to put a machine there.

[Buffy]

That depends on whether you're going to put anything valuable on it! Typically, a gateway machine like this is more vulnerable than the downstream systems because it is directly accessible through the internet via its ip address. If you set up the rest of your network with DHCP with NAT, they're not accessible from the outside except for ports you explicitly open in your firewall software settings. If you don't care about anyone getting to it, then by all means, its a good one to use for learning how to use/manage a server.

 

Use linux of course! :)

 

I actually used to have my set up work this way, but both because I was paranoid about the info on the machine as well as wanting to reduce my electric bill, I switched to a proper router. Its true that Comcast, the Baby Bells with DSL and so on won't help you if you're behind a router, but I've found they're not much help anyway: I (unfortunately) know what I'm doing, so I find this out from the number of friends who come begging me for help....

 

The practical approach is to plug your computer directly into the cable modem, get Comcast to get you set up properly, then go into the network setup, record the:

• IP Address Setup (DHCP or PPPoE, or (unlikely) a static IP address)
  
• The Gateway IP Address (may be set by DHCP)
  
• The Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses (may also be set by DHCP)
  

Then rewire to be behind the router and follow the instructions for the router to enter the above info into it, and then (in most cases) tell your computer to do everything via dhcp. Cross your fingers, pray to the Intelligent Designer, and presto it (should) work!

 

Bottom line: if you're not good with networksing, go for the router unless you really enjoy the intellectual challenge.

 

Good luck Mr. Phelps.

 

Cheers,

Buffy

[alexander]

what i said, would not make that box a server, that slow machine is should only be used as a firewall, if you want a server, i would recommend bying a real server machine built to handle the server tasks, have storage arrays and much more. Of course i also recommend Linux, Gentoo linux to be exact, but no matter what you do, do not take that firewall out, it is vital for the security of your network, and although a server can manage the task of firewalling, it will save a little resources to not do so, also it adds another layer of security, and you get some experience from OpenBSD - the most secure OS in 2003 and 2004 (not sure about before, i didnt look) as well as real hardcore Linux.

If you are up to the challenge, and have time and money, you can have a private and secure home network working within weeks!

[Buffy]

I secondontilarily everything that alexander just said, with the additional comment that:

If you are up to the challenge, and have time and money, you can have a private and secure home network working within weeks!

...or if you are willing to drive down to the local CompUSA and buy a router, you can have a private and secure home network working within 30 minutes! :)

 

Cheers,

Buffy

[alexander]

I have many friends who have just bought cisco router/firewall/switch, plugged it in, configured everything, done. They are not that paranoid about the network security, and they all run Gentoo boxes behind the router, although the setup described earlier can be a deciding factor at a job interview, and it will be about a gazillion times more secure if you manage it right, and it will be a discovery learning experience, and having another firewall, a few routers and another Cable or DSL line you can have a 1/2 T3 line for the cost of about a 1/12th (if you have 4 lines going into a router with 4 lines on the out going to another router with a single line out, you will have a load ballance between the lines, and get bandwidth and speeds of probably around a T3 line for a fraction of its cost... seen it done... )