One house two different networks

[tiredmom]

I already have a wireless home network set up with a WRT54GS v.6. Everyone can access the internet. I need to have a wired fast internet connection for a work computer. I think I need to set up a different network for my work computer but I'm not sure. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get this done?

 

[Fardringle]

If the work computer doesn't have to be separated from your home computers for a company policy, then you can just connect the work machine directly to the Linksys with a regular ethernet cable to get internet access.

 

[tiredmom]

Ahh, but the work computer does need to be separated. That's why I was thinking I needed 2 networks. Can this be done on one router? And can you tell me how?

 

[seepy83]

You'll need to define some requirements for seperating the networks.

Is your work computer provided to you by your employer so you can work from home? If that's the case, you should look to your employer's IT department for guidance on what you need to do.

On the other hand, if your work computer is something that you use for your own small/home business, then it's up to you to define what is required (unless your business involves some data that falls under a regulatory body...in that case, the regulations might define what you need to do to be in compliance). That being said, with a good hardware firewall in place between your work network and home network, you should be able to share a single internet connection. But, depending on your abilities, you might want to contract an outside vendor to set this up for you.

 

[tiredmom]

I really don't know much about networking other than what I did for my own home. So if I might ask a couple of questions, my work laptop has an encrypted logon where I can't even reach the desktop if the user ID and password aren't correct. The only requirement of company is to have a "wired high speed internet connection". Can the laptop be configured to not share files with the other machines on the network, and act as if it's in a separate network? Is that possible? Any help on how to do it would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Fardringle]

If the only requirement is Internet access, then connecting it directly to the router should be just fine. You should ask the company IT department to be sure they don't have any other requirements, but if that's all, then just hook it up and you're done. The other computers won't be able to access anything on it unless it has folders shared already, and even then other computers they won't be able to see anything unless they use a user name and password that has permission to log in to the laptop and that has been given permission to access the shared files.

 

[Ghiedo27]

I really, really doubt they would require you to have the work computer on a separate lan but didn't give you any guidance or equipment to set it up.

I'm guessing that you have a program that you use to connect to the servers at work? If so, that's a VPN connection and it's heavily encrypted so it's not that big of a deal that it's on your home network. I would just be careful to only use the work computer for work and not share any files between your home and work computers- even for backup.

 

[tiredmom]

Thanks Fardringle and Ghiedo27, for all the great information. Guess I'm trying to make things more difficult than they need to be, when all I really want to do, is the best job that I can. IT said that an ethernet cable (which was supplied by them) was all that was necessary. The IT dept has taken steps to ensure that the computer and data are safe. And I don't need to worry about backup, they will do what's necessary when the time comes. Like you said Ghiedo27, I will use the work computer for work, no file sharing. My home computers and work computer stay separate.
Thanks again!!