|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Rick F. on February 19, 2007, 5:01 pm
If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
As part of an upcoming remodel, I'd like to re-think our existing home network
and how its laid out and whatnot.. I've currently got an outside line to the
internet via a cable modem.. The cable modem currently plugs into an Apple
Airport Extreme basestation (802.11g) which in turn has a (cheap) 4 port
10/100 switch plugged into it for getting more equipment on the physically
wired network plugged in (the Airport only has a single "intranet" port) --
which consists of the following :
Hard-Wired items on network
===============================
1) Apple airport extreme basestation working as a firewall/router/WAP
2) one older Compaq Proliant server used as a file-server
3) Vonage VOIP connectivity box (Motorola ATA186) for phone service
4) one Powermac G5 desktop
5) one lone Mini-ITX PC used occasionally for various tasks
Wifi items on network
===============================
1) Apple powerbook G4 using 802.11b
2) Compaq laptop using 802.11g
3) HP all-in-one printer/fax/scanner/copier using 802.11g
Problems with the existing network configuration:
==================================================
1) Proliant server in garage houses anything important that needs to be
backed up (to tape) and is somewhat slow in moving data to it or from it
via the existing 100baseT connection.
2) Apple Airport Extreme basestation -- works fine, but doesn't allow more
esoteric exceptions to NAT rules or other configuration abilities. Also
doesn't provide much feedback if someone is trying to hack into the network
-- it's more like a true blackbox and provides little feedback on what's
going on.
3) Too many 4 port switches strewn throughout the house and attic to get the
proper connectivity -- which occasionally hiccup and won't route packets
which then require power-cycling to fix.
Some design changes I've been pondering over :
================================================================
1) support gigabit ethernet whenever possible -- upgrade all ethernet
boards to support gigabit.. This includes the above mentioned server
and the Powermac G5 desktop (I think it already does gigabit) and all
points inbetween.
2) move to a more centralized setup instead of switches strewn throughout
the house and cables running all over the attic in a hap hazard fashion
3) install home-run wiring for all ethernet drops out to the garage where
#4 below is to be located (in a small wall-mount rack) using CAT5e/CAT6 or
better cabling
4) 19" rack mount for all equipment where possible
5) ditch Apple Airport Extreme basestation at least for the firewall/NAT
portion.. Perhaps only use it for the Wifi feature...?
So.. With that all in mind, what I'm pondering over is to have a network laid
out similar to the following -- flowing from where the network comes in the
house and how it flows from that point :
1) Keep existing cable modem, but use a "real" rackmountable router that allows
easy to customize NAT filtering and configuration.. I'm not sure I want a
Cisco even though I know they'll do everything -- perhaps there's some sort
of middle ground between a (very configurable) Cisco and something cheap
like a Netgear? I'd like whatever I get to be upgradable to newer firmware,
etc.
2) Use a 16 or 24 port managed (or unmanaged) switch to work as a go-between
with the router and the individual end-points in the local network..
Perhaps if I were to find a "real" router as mentioned
in #1 above that is rack-mountable (e.g. 1U or 2U) it could also do the work
of a switch as well? Whichever way, the switch is where all hard-wired
equipment would be tied hopefully allowing (for instance) a VOIP call to
take place (between the cable-modem and one of the ports on the switch) over
the
Internet but to also allow fast file transfers between two machines in the
house (without going out on the Internet) on the local network w/o
interfering with the VOIP packets.
3) Plug a wifi router into the router or switch to provide the wireless
portion of the network but to not use any other features of the router such
as NAT, etc.
One question I've got specifically is whether CAT5E or CAT6 is good enough for
Gigabit ethernet and beyond for now (or is anyone using CAT7)? I'll probably
have to toss out my existing vanilla CAT5 during the remodel..
Hopefully the above paints a good enough picture of what I'm after and I'm
preferring to go on the cheap side to a point (e.g. I'm not going to buy that $5K
slick-as-snot do everything router), but won't mind spending somewhere in the
$1k or so range for everything figuring that the router/switches+ rack are the
expensive parts. I'll be doing the wiring myself so that's no problem.. Anyway
if you've got any better ideas for network topology, suggestions of particular
brands or whatever, I'd like to hear about it.. Thanks much!
|
| Similar Threads | Posted | | Help with theory question on network topology | August 21, 2005, 1:13 am |
| Need advice for a wall-mounted patch panel for home network | January 17, 2006, 10:34 am |
| Topology change in RSTP | May 15, 2006, 4:08 am |
| What equipment to go for? | January 9, 2008, 6:56 am |
| Equipment opinion | February 27, 2005, 10:05 pm |
| Switch testing equipment | March 29, 2007, 8:46 am |
| Impossible to find networking equipment | March 29, 2008, 12:07 pm |
| Spring Sale on Data and Voice Equipment | March 31, 2007, 9:40 am |
| Equipment Thoughts? Dlink vs. Netgear vs. Cisco vs. 3Com | October 18, 2005, 7:54 pm |
| The RaRa Economic Bailout Package (telecom equipment for sale) | October 28, 2008, 11:59 am |
|
|
Home Cabling Guide
Finally, an instantly downloadable book that saves you thousands in home improvement dollars!
Enjoy living in 21st century technology-advanced home while increasing its selling value and competitive advantage
on the real estate market. Whether your cabling is for home office or high-tech
leisure, you can wire your home yourself or learn "wirish" to speak with your cabling contractors in their language!
Learn More
|
NewsGroups 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML site map