Networking a small office

[CedarTeeth135]

Hey guys, been a while since I posted, but I a problem me and my dad have been trying to figure out.

He has his firm connected to a dsl modem and all networked through a hub. The problem is, is that he hires tennats to rent out space in his office for work. Some of the people who rent these offices are not exactly the most computer know-how. As of now, we are all connected to each other, as the hubs aren't separated from each other, we all share files and internet access.

The question is: How can we saftely separate my dad's firm from the rented offices and still get protection from hackers. My dad is a little paranoid when it comes to networking, and insists on a hardware solution. I have tried to convince him to use windows networking, because most of his comptuer have Xp Pro. My dad researched this, and came up with the hardware solution of an Internet Firewall DMZ. The specific model he looked at was the 3Com OfficeConnect Internet Firewall DMZ

I think that that may be a bit heavy duty for his office with only 12 computers. Basically, what would be the best way to saftely separate his computer from the others while using the same DSL modem and providing a firewall.

 

[q2261]

Alright, you can get two cheap routers (look in the HD forum!), connect one of the routers to the dsl modem, and the second router to first router. Basically, the first router will do the routing for your dad's network, while the second router will do the routing for tenants' network. What you want to do is assign the second router a static IP in your dad's range as you would normally and put it on the DMZ. I think that most consumer routers allow one DMZ address. VOILA! No need to buy expensive stuff!

 

[CedarTeeth135]

Thanx a ton. My dad says that it was "genius in its simplicity."

🙂