Opinions

[ArBiTaL 24]

I'm looking into some networking stuff. I currently have my desktop and laptop connected with crossover, but i need to expand and am looking into a switch and firewall.

I've found this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=35435
(it's a Netgear FVS318 VPN/Firewall Router 8 x 10/100 Switch 8 Tunnel VPN in case the linky doesn't work)

Is it a good deal? does it act as both a switch and router? Firewall? Is there a better deal out there from someone else? (remember i'm in the UK).

Thanks in advance for your help!

[tbones1337]

1. you dont need a VPN.
2. If you get one of those Linksys or D-link routers like this:


http://image.ebuyer.com/UK/P0037453_C0000002_P0000000.jpg
Its a router/switch. So it means filesharing, lan gaming, and internet for anyone plugged in is avalible. If you ever decide to do lans with like 20 people than you can always buy a 24 port switch and plug it into the uplink port of the 24 and one of the ports on the 8 port.. All routers that D-link, linksys, etc. make always have firewalls.

A router means that the box will set the IP automatically for each comp on the network. A switch is like a hub directs the packets to thier destination and connects a bunch of computers so they can network with each other. NEVER USE HUBS!! Hubs are like switches.. with out brains. The link below is the product in that picture.. about 52 pounds..

I had a similar thing to this.. except 4 port w/ wireless AP
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=37453


Have fun with a new router...
VPN's are for connecting to your company.. or to a buddy 3 hours away so you can have him be on the network at a lan while hes still at home. (my lan buddies do it with our friend Ian whos 3 hours away and VPN to him so we can have him on the network like we all are). You though, dont need a VPN for a home network or a small lan party network..


VPN's are like armored trucks transporting the packets.. they are very very very very secure.. and only telecommuters and some other people use them. You wont need one..

[ArBiTaL 24]

Ah, i see , thank you :)
I've found an identical router thingy to mine above, only with 4 port (it also has a parallel port for a printserver, but my printer is USB. I guess i can get an adaptor?). Cheapest price i've found is £65 from novatech http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NGR-FR114P

Is that a good deal?

[tbones1337]

Yeah.. also they do sell adapters for your printer.. I dont remember where though..

Its netgear. i trust them alot.. Go with it

[ArBiTaL 24]

I have a USB printer, where are the adaptors? I mean like USB-parallel, i'm not even sure if they exist :S

EDIT:
A few little developments,

i can't seem to find a parallel-USB cable to go from the router's parallel to the printer's USB, but the oppertunity for a spare PC has come into possibility.

This means i could theoretically use the PC as a proxy server thingy, and connect the printer locally to the server and print from that via the workstations.

Of course, i'm now confused as to where the server would be in the network setup. Would it be between the the cable modem and the router/switch combo? would i need a router anymore? (i.e. could i get away with using the server as a router, and just need a switch to collate the computers together), the same could be said for the firewall - i've heard that you can use a PC as a hardware firewall.

Also, what software would i need to get it working? I really have no idea how to go about this.

I kinda wanted to order the hardware online before monday-ish, so prompt responses would be greately appriciated, i'm in a bit of a hurry, soz :)

Thanks for all your help :)

[AMD Phreak]

Here you go, it is from CDW and i see all your listings are priced in pounds so i dont know if you would want to order from them. This will give you an idea what you need. For my own network i used a Dlink DP-101P+ print server which just plugs into the centronics port on the printer and then has an ethernet port out which ties into my switch. THe only reason i am using this is that the printer is not in my telco closet :)

That router will do nice for basic firewalling. It uses NAT which will mask your internal LAN ip's from the rest of the world and will allow port stealthing and should allow the option to drop wan pings so your networks and your ip can be made invisible to the outside world. If you are needing somthing more robust i would take a look at the Zywall 10. Spendy but offers higher protection, but again it is depending on your needs.

[ArBiTaL 24]

What's a centronics port? I can't find the 101P+ on D-link's site but i found the 301P+... I also found the 101P+ on google... They both seem to have a parallel port, but my printer is USB (unless this has something to do with the centronics port).

Also the firewall in this thing should be fine, it's not like i have loads of private information to protect, a software firewall's done me fine up until now and all i really need is something to give the few computers on my network access to print and internet and share files :)

Also, would it be wise to look into this server idea? Because i guess you have a lot of options when you have a server as well.... More administration ability for one thing...

[AMD Phreak]

A centronics port is the same as a parallel port, only its the type of connection i believe.

With that router, you take the large end and plug it into the router, and the usb goes into the printer, unless you have one of those ports on the back of the printer, then you could get a seperate print server ie the dlink like i have (http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=167) and plug it into the back of the printer. Just depends on how your equipment will be located.

I assume you could do the same thing using a server. Im sure there is some linux program out there that would allow you to do the same thing. I just like having hardware appliances because i am a gear junkie. And, having a bunch of AMD machines in one room is quite annoying as it is and the last thing i need is another pc making more noise :)

[AMD Phreak]

btw I checked out the 301 and that thing looks tight too. Either one would work. If you want to get a router without the print server your option would be to get the 301 and place it next to your printer and run a cable to it from your router. If you wanted the print server built in to the router, the router will have to be next to the printer. Its up to you. :)

[ArBiTaL 24]

The only thing about that, is it's another $60, on top of the router... etc. As i have a computer spare anyways, is there any way i can turn it into a printserver?

Info on this greatly appriciated :)

[AMD Phreak]

Well what you would do is load the box with an OS that allows you to share you printer on a network, like M$ XP. Then you would share the printer on the server, and set the clients up to use the share. Quite simple but if you need some setup assistance i can help you with that, we can just exchance msn or aol contacts via PM.

The only drawback is that if the server ever goes offline, ie you turn it off or what not, the printer sharing will be offline as well.

[ArBiTaL 24]

Ah, this sounds quite easy, i was thinking maybe i should put 2k server on it and use it as a proxy for extra protection and administration, if i can figure it out?

Anyway, thanks for the help :)
My MSN is arbital24@msn.com if you want to add me, however i'm only here at weekends. I can check e-mails during the week, but i can't be online properly at my main rig until weekends :)

[AMD Phreak]

You could do that too, just set up the server to be a pdc and then a proxy, so your pc's have to log in to authenticate. I believe that is how it is done. I just loaded a box with a student copy of 2k so i am learning the os myself :)

[SniperXX]

Also, you can do what I did, I got a PIII box that I use for a print server. Since I set that up I also setup Apache and a site and a FTP server. Extra boxes are good learning tools. I reccomend that if you setup that rig as a print server why not try hosting a website or something else?

[AMD Phreak]

Hey bro what did you wind up choosing?

[ArBiTaL 24]

I haven't yet, but i'll prob get the router that i was looking at and using this lil system for the print perver/website hosting. It's kinda for sale though so i might just use this for a while until i sell it and get a diff system, maybe a lower spec cheaper one, to use properly :)

[AMD Phreak]

Cool. Every network should have the standard issue P.O.S. machine. You know the one i am talking about, the old p166 or 200 running 98 with 192MB ram and 10-20G hdd. ;)