AHHHH!!!! dsl :)

[Como]

i've been on dialup for almost 14 years now.

Now, were getting verison DSL.

So. As you can imagine, i have some plans...24/7 FTP server with acess to my Fileserver (i've yet to build) and VPN web connections to all of my friend with high speed (lots of software development between us, legal file sharing)

and all kinds of nifty online things....including fording or seti or something, for every rig...but thats not to be discussed, i'll choose on my own :)

gotta run cabels, gotta get a router, so mcuh to do!

What should i do? what would you do in my situation?

[AMD Phreak]

Plan everything out. Draw up a plan based on the floor plans for the house if you are pulling wiring. Do this for wireless too, its called a site survey. For the wireless instance, you are testing different locations for the AP to ensure equal coverage through the home.

For your file servers, invest in battery backup, and software backup. If you are setting up a large amount of pc's in one room, consider having a higher amperage circuit set up. This is all i can think of, I have to run off to work. I will post back tonight with more.

[SavageBasher]

If your gonna be running wires, do yourself a favor and buy in bulk. I got 250 feet from this guy along with the crimper, and 100 plugs.
http://stores.ebay.com/B-and-A-Computer-Cables-and-More

[Radical]

In terms of which router to get, I like the Linksys BEFSR41 (4-Port). It isn't wireless, but it gets the job done.

Welcome to broadband, buddy :)

[Como]

thanks for the welcome, i cant wait :)

I cant plan out much, but i did this for 2 years at school so pulling cable wont be an issue...and i have over 500 feet in storage ATM, i got it for free unpulling old wires at school :)

my "File server" i plan on making is going to be FOR backup, probly raid 3 or 5, that reminds me, i have a storage post to check on...

As for a router, i already have 2 5 port+1 uplink 10/100 netgear hubs... so a 4 port switch/router would be my greatest interest. Iether that or just an "inline" type router...because i'm gettign a modem from the company and i already have a hub.

Battery backup will be what i look into later, when i have a job.

a large number of PCs in one room wont be a problem, i *may* have 4 in my room, but there wont be more than 10 spread throughout the house.
my reants are gonna kill me, sheesh! (4 people live in my home...)

one last question...
With a router, can i use STATIC IP's on my ethernet cards on my computers, and stil lconnect without an issue? i love my current setup with static ip's, it makes working on the network so much easyer.

[LiGhTBoY]

Yes you can use static IPs. I use a static IP for my server and dynamic IPs for the rest of the computers, works just fine.

[SavageBasher]

I tried using the static IPs on 98, but it never seemed to work, although, now with xp, it works? :confused: hmm...

[Jibjo]

Wow! you are getting real! I wired my own home involving CAT5E down inside walls, etc., I am happy my whole house is wired though, because I can plug in a laptop on my screen porch and be online. More to the point though, get a router to place between your modem and pcs. Linksys makes cheap and effective routers... get a 4 port if you want, I did, but I wish now I had 6-8 ports for my home setup. You have to get a router, no question here.
EDit: the only reason I can think of to get a static IP is if you want to host your own web-server. I did, and got a static IP from my ISP for fifteen bucks more a month, plus enhanced bandwidth, which was pretty noticibly faster.

[Como]

yeah, but why go static IP when you can get free DNS lookup? :-D

anyways, as for a router, a 4 port would be fine as i could add 5 ports to each port on the router with uplinks.

Heres a good idea, though...Anyone know how i could make a PC into a router untill i get a router?

jsut a computer with 2 NIC's and put ETH0 to the modem and ETH1 to the uplink on the hub...i dont personally know how to do it but i've seen it done.

[Mark620]

Your DSL modem may act as a router(mine does)...then all you would need is a ethernet hub.

[Como]

never thought about that, but i sincerely doubt it will.

they offer to give me an 802.11b router for "free" with a $100 rebate, but it says in the disclaimer tha tthe computers require usb. is it just me, or does that mean tha tevery computer without a wireless card (all of mine) need to be within a few feet of the router, and have a USB cable to connect? thats just rediculous...besides, i already have a network...

so by the offer i'm assumeint it doesnt act as a router iether. But haym, maybe i'll try it just to see what happens. i've got 2 identical hubs i could uplink to it anyway :)

[ZachM]

Heres a good idea, though...Anyone know how i could make a PC into a router untill i get a router?

jsut a computer with 2 NIC's and put ETH0 to the modem and ETH1 to the uplink on the hub...i dont personally know how to do it but i've seen it done.

Check out a program called IP Cop (http://www.ipcop.org/cgi-bin/twiki/view/IPCop/IPCopDocumentationv01). My friend helped me with the installation, but once you have it installed it's really easy to configure. To get to the configuration page you just type it's IP and port into the address bar of an internet browser. It will take you to a nifty user friendly config page. It has tons of features including VPN. :clap: Just check for updates. They have new ones frequently.

[Como]

exelent, i'll look into that. thanks :)

"The important thing to remember is that the IP-Cop box is primarily a firewall and a router"

then again, it also said installing it on a computer wil lformat the hard drive...it cant be its own OS, can it?

[SavageBasher]

You will be installing an operating system on the IPCop PC. It is a Linux based operating system, but it is not meant to be a general-purpose system.

Looks like it does. You still have those old P1s, right? :D

[ZachM]

Yeah, so it is its own OS. Sorry I was backwards on that. Makes it easier to install. Lol.

[Como]

i downloaded it but it doesnt appear to be bootable. Iether that or i actually have to burn it to a cd...instead of using clonecd's virtual drive or the "use iso image" in virtualPC. did i mention i like virtual pc? it wont boot to a windows 95 cd iether, but i doubt thats bootable.

i suppose i'll try and burn it, but i've never sucessfully made a bootable cd.

[SavageBasher]

http://www.alcohol-soft.com download the trial of alcohol 120%... its the best iso maker/burning program that I know of. Nero is also good.

[overXposure]

heh firewall! ...

i went the linksys route on my setup .. and have my dsl modem plugged into it ... i do have to hook the modem directly to my pc when i want to modify the settings on it .. but other then that it works just fine plugged into my router/switch ...

i did upgrade to more ports .. so am now using the linksys as a router and have it connected with a crossover cable to a larger hub ... till i can get a peice that is a dedicated router to use.

[Oni]

There is nothing in the world sweeter than your first broadband connection.

First sex, first beer, first date . . . All pale in comparison to watching a 12MB file download in like, 30 seconds.

[Como]

12 megs in under a minuit?! woah. this is gonna be NUTS!


Theres an 802.11g wireless with 4 port switch (linksys) at best buy, i'm looking at the flier right now...its $60 after rebates and i have a $25 gift card for that place.
Anyone had good luck with these? i odnt have anything wireless yet, but people who do come by sometimes, and i might soon, and the whole can-lan (directional antenna) sounds fun to me.


i have alchohol, i have yet to sucsessfully back up a newer game sucessfully now...is it legal to make backups? my disks get damaged allot...but i cant seem to back up games like Splintercell2 and whatnot. Rather agravating.

Oh, and burning IPCop diddnt work, still not bootable, and the readme still isnt openable. i guess its a bad iso, stupid dialup. Gr.



what do you guys think of this router?

[AMD Phreak]

If it is the WRT54G, that is a nice router. I have that one, setup as an AP to tie the notebooks into the wired segment. You can flash the OS out to a Linux variant to allow more control of the firewalling and what not.

[SavageBasher]

Yes, it is the WRT54G, I also saw it in the paper this morning. Get it. ;)

Oh yeah, and on my cable I have 2M down, 256K up. This equals to a max sustained speed of 250kB per second down, 30 up... I think I got 160 megs worth of vids in close to 10 minutes. :D

[Alchemy1]

I wish we had some sort of broadband in my area:( I miss college already:( At least then I had my LAN:)

[ZachM]

Como, did you read the documentation? I actually linked to the documentation page in my previous post accidentally. It talks about burning the ISO in the instructions. Maybe you can find out what you are doing wrong by reading that.

[Como]

well burning instructions arent really what i need, its copying ones :) i dont think it would be technically legal for me to make a backup of my games, as they make it so hard...but i really need one.

Besides, if this router is as nice as you guys say, i shouldnt need a router PC :)
do those best buy sales end or something? i may not be abel to get there for a week or so... but i'll get it for only 35 after rebates, and its 802.11g so i guess i'm happy. run a line to my room and uplink to my 100 base netgear, it gives me 5 100 base lines, with internet acess, in my room. And i'd still have 1 extra port on the switch after i hook up these two family ones....wow. And still have a spare 100 base netgear! whoot! (i got 2 for free)

and broadband is available anywhere in maine, really...if you willing to pay $50 a month for cable. yuck.

"I think I got 160 megs worth of vids in close to 10 minutes."
umm...wow. i remember downlaoding a music video, every spare minuit i had, took me over a month... i think it was 45 megs or so.
Wow. just, wow.

OMG!!! i'll be able to play games online!
and...ooohhhh....is microsoft net meeting a video/audio voice chat? both my girlfriend and i have a webcam/mic.... (i got mine by chance, never used it other than still frame pics) that could get interesting, a 24/7 file server and 24/7 webcam link to my gals comp...heh heh heh. this is gonne be great. i'll be abel to DL overnight, and it will be fast enough that i wont have to!!!

[SavageBasher]

It is perfectly legal to make backups of your "own" games/apps as long as you use them for backup purposes only. ;)

The best buy deals run for exactly one week I think. This sunday till saturday.

[Como]

okay, sweet. jsut got work i can stop in tomorrow, my gal and i are going right by there :) *does the gettin' first router dance*

Now, backups...that would be in a different area :-p i'll worry about that once i have more blanks!

[Barn_Angel]

this is como, i got it. WRT54G :) hope it was worth the $73 it cost...of course, i had a $20 gift card and theres $20 in rebates, so it comes to 33, which i bet its worth :)

anyways, moving friday, with any luck dsl soon after :)

[overXposure]

hehe you will like dsl ... downloading 3 meg files in a few seconds max is real nice .. ;)

[Como]

*drool*

now i jsut gotta get started on my file server/ FTP server!