Need advice on Home Networking

[thereds]

I want to install a home network that can have upto 9 drops within the house with a max of 3 users accessing the internet at a point. What hardware do you suggest I get. Before I get an electrician to come wire the house for the network, I would seriously consider some of the suggestions I receive here.

Please advise.

 

[poop]

If you want ease of use, then get one of those integrated switches/routers. That should work with broadband.

If you want cheap, then get a 12 port 10/100 hub and a cheap PC. Then install Win 98 SE or linux on the box and use internet sharing. That seems to be popular.

Either way you go, RJ-45 based ethernet is the way to go.

I don't know of a way to limit users on the net with either solution. Most address translation set ups just route to anyone.

 

[thereds]

I don't care about the price at this moment although I wouldn't want it to be expensive, just reasonable would be nice.

I plan to use a hub that has say 10 ports. What else would I need other than cabling & NICs?

 

[warcleric]

If you are seriously considering hiring an electrician, then forget it and just put that money into an 802.11 or bluetooth wireless setup.

 

[skywhr]

Bluetooth is the way to go
expensive

 

[thereds]

Thats a little steep. How much is bluetooth anyway?

 

[poop]

Wireless=big $$$$

Bluetooth is also slow as christmas.

What you can do (what I did) is find a local distributor of Cat5. You should be able to buy high quality crimpers for $30 or so, and 1000 feet of cable for around $110 or so. Then ends should run you about $0.10 a piece. Then, you can run your own cables. It is pretty easy, and you will save a TON.

You should be able to run the CAT 5 along with your electrical wiring, though you should be careful. Make sure any appropriate breakers are flipped (duh). If you are still unwary about wiring it, you can hire an electrician, but supply all your own wires/ends. The electrician will likely try to charge you multiple $$ per foot.

 

[thereds]

poop - what brand of hub do you suggest that has a good number of ports with an uplink facility. I plan on having the server in my office and the hub here as well. From there on I can wire everything out to the drops that I am going to place in the bedrooms.

 

[gunf1ghter]

Go with the Netgear 10 port switch. It's a full function switch with 100 mb/s duplex to every port and the backplane capacity to handle it. We have been using them at home and the office and they work very well.

For the broadband interface look at one of the integrated NAT/Firewall/Proxies.

 

[warcleric]

I personally would use DLink or Linksys before I used Netgear, but if you are looking for quality use Cisco, 3com, or Bay. It is all going to depend on how many computers are on your home network. I have 4 servers in the rack and 5 workstations and a laptop in my home so mine might be a little more demanding than yours.

 

[Windogg]

If you are confident about wiring, you cna do it yourself with a wiresnake, 1000' box of bulk CAT5, $15 crimper, some RJ-45 keystones w/ plastic punchdown tool, and $50 wire tester. Most of the stuff is available at Home Depot. I got a great deal on a cable tested via FleaBay. Have all the wires terminate at a 12 - 24 port mini patch panel near your other telco wiring.

Try to wire all the places you anticipate will need internet access. it's always easier to put in wire all at once than add more piece meal. I have a Netgear FS308 10/100 switch and it's great. Switches are do not cost that much more than a hub so go with performance and get a switch. Also get a hardware router make by Linksys, Netgear, SMC, or whom ever you like. This will share the connection without the headache of managing a PC and firewall. You can get it with or without a built in switch. In this case it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a router w/ 4 port switch and a 8 port switch for a total of 10 ports (2 lost due to crossover) or you can get a router without a switch and a 12 - 16 port switch. If you want to learn, setup an old 486 with FREESCO to act as your router.

If you can affored about $1,500 for a switch, get a Cisco 2924. 24 ports all ready to go and fully manageable from a web browser.

 

[gunf1ghter]

it's all personal opinion and experience I guess. Netgear is the baby stuff from Nortel (formerly Bay Networks) and I think it's pretty good. Linksys stuff is "ok" IMHO.. we've had some probs with it so it's not top on my list.

 

[warcleric]

gun: yeah definately. netgear started out as a child company to Samsung, then was bought out by Nortel<Bay>. It has improved vastly since then.

 

[thereds]

Could someone tell me what BNC and AUI ports are on a hub?

 

[Windogg]

Ignore BNC and AUI. They are for networks that use coaxial cable. BNC is the plug the looks a little like your cable TV plug and AUI looks like a joystick plug.

 

[thereds]

ah! Thank You.