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by kloran-[thrawn34 1 view

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How would you go about setting up a home network, using 2 cable internet connections, with about 3-4 Pcs on the network. One of the pcs will be in the basement and the remaining ones will be upstairs on the first floor.

What hubs, cards, etc do you recomend? I am working on a budget, and I dont have much (although I am not sure exactly how much I will have.) Ideas?

14 replies

by kloran-[thrawn34

Ok, I want to use a HP JetDirect 300x Print Server, Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router (4 ports) and 3 Linksys Ethernet 10/100 LAN Cards.

How does this set up sound? What other OS', utils, etc should I look into?

by guyinkalamazoo

Just a suggestion, but when I first built my home network, I bought a 4 port hub and I quickly outgrew it. You might want to consider an 8 port hub. I have one from SOHOWare that is autosensing (10/100) and has worked just fine.

by kloran-[thrawn34

I can go with a 8 port. Although I want to stay with the same brand and model. I like the idea of having the router and hub all in one.

What else should I take into consideration when desiging its hardware, software, and layout in my house (thingI almost forgot)?

by tim landgrave (cio)

If not, you should consider wireless. You can get an SMC Barricade Router/Wireless Hub/4 port 10/100 and Print Server for less than $300. Attach your cable modem to the uplink port and then you can buy 3 wireless PCMCIA cards with PCI card attachments (for your desktop machines) for about $170 or 3 USB Wireless network adapters for about the same price. I've had mine working for about a month and it works great. If you have a laptop then you can put a wireless card in that and sit anywhere in the house and surf the web. It's changed the way we use computers at home.

by daniel

Linksys makes a good card that is fairly cheap. At work we use 3com for about $90 a piece, and then I switched to Linksys for more than half of that amount.. and had no problems with either card. Besides the network card, you just need a hub (fairly cheap for a 4 or 8 port hub).

As far as cable, if you purchase the RJ45 cable from a cable specialist, you can get it ALOT cheaper. There are also wireless solutions, but you get into more money with a lower network speed (compared to the 100Mbps with RJ45 cable).

Good luck

Danny B

by kloran-[thrawn34

Ok... How would this work out, would I have to use a WinXX OS on ALL machines? Or would I be able to use Red Hat on one or more?

down to the basic configurations... what all do I need to keep in mind?

by joelmones

one cool thing u might wanna add in your home network is PC Anywhere, so u can remotely administer your network...

dont forget your firewall also..

i'll presume you are seting it domain raher than peer to peer

goodluck anfd have fun

by kloran-[thrawn34

What would be required for a small home network as such in the way of a server? I dont exactly have lots of money to spend on this... So if possible I want to build my server myself out of spare parts..?

What are the pros/cons for peer-to-peer and client/server?

by kloran-[thrawn34

No there is not any wiring yet installed. We dont have any laptops... and there really arent any plans to get one, seeing as we never need one.

Wireless could work... But, I want to have the Printer (HP LaserJet IIIp) accessable by all machines, at all times. Reguardless of whether a certian machine is on or off. SO I would still need the print server hook up.

How would you set up the wireless net with the print server?

by lorenza

I don't know exactly what you are looking for but there are a few products on the market that allows you to use the exisiting phone lines in your home to network your computers. They are a pretty good and inexpensive way to network depending on what you are goning to be using your network for.

by kloran-[thrawn34

Sounds like it could be do-able. But the lines are really poor in quality and data-transfers would be really slow. I would have to install new jacks and such in each room to do that as well, seeing as the second line has only one wall jack currentlyinstalled.

I Think that I will be sticking with the hub/router and RJ-45 wiring. Seeing as it would be the most cost effective for me right now.

by buffalodan

I am a big fan of D-Link, have used in numerous configurations i have put together for others, as well as in professional networks I have been associated with, and have never encountered a difficulty.

When all systems are running the same OS, it can simplify administration of the network, When I am setting up a network, I like to live by the KISS principle:

Keep It Simple Stupid.

Windows networks by default are wide open, you should seriously consider a firewall product such as BlackIce Defender or Zone Alarm since all systems will have a continuous connection to the internet, and Internet Hacking tools are so easily available.

if you can afford it, Autosensing Ethernet SWITCHING products are available from Linksys as well as D-link and others. These have come way down in price lately, install just as hubs do, and afford a significant improvement in performance.

As you proceed forward with your Networking project, be prepared to Read and Study and Study and read, and donot be discouraged by the mistakes you will make,

Hope you have fun....

by ebob

Asante FriendlyNet FR3004LC is the core.
This is a 4-port 10/100 switching hub, with firewall capabilities (address translation, port filtering, stateful packet inspection, etc.) with a built-in print server.

I've run CAT5 up to the kids' rooms and am using a variety of inexpensive 10/100 NICs in the PCs. These seem to run fine.

The only thing that I get stuck on is how you would use both of your Cable connections. Perhaps simply building 2 networks with 2 such hubs, but that's not too useful since they'd be effectively isolated. You see, most of the "hubs" in this discussion onlyh support one comms link (xDSL, Cable, whatever), some of them with an analogue dial-up for redundancy purposes only.

FWIW, I looked into getting SMC wireless and feel that it's still out of range for "budget-conscious home networking". Perhaps you have better pricing but 2 NICs and a base station work out to about USD650. A bit rich for me (at the moment).

by matt_harnest

Tim in your scenario, how do you resolve problems with file sharing on a NT peer-to-peer type of network that has a switch and hard-wired segment attached to the wireless router?

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