Home Network Setup - Please Help

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Popster

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Hi There,

I am trying to setup up a conveniant network at our home but ran into some problems: (Please see attached image of what I want - http://imageupload.org/?d=4DA6B6131)


- People are downloading the same files which uses uneccesary bandwidth
- Some people are downloading too much and making use of internet difficult
- Some people play games online
- An FTP Server is online
- There should be a main IS uncapped account connected but other PPPoE connections from other PC's should also be allowed.

So at the moment I have an idea:

- The router should be in bridging mode.
- I will set up a pc to act as a server that will need to have the main PPPoE connection, serve as a DHCP server, limit bandwidth and handle QoS.
- All the other PC's should then get an IP etc assigned via the DHCP on PC1 and automatically use the Broadband connection from PC1.
- If possible i want to cache files on the server (PC1) so that ppl dont download the files twice.

So I need the following info:

- Is this possible? Dis I miss anything?
- I need a DHCP App.
- I need a Bandwidth shaping App
- I need a QoS app.
- Will I be able to run the server pc on Win7?
- And anything i missed.

Sorry if this is a little unorganised.

Hope someone can help.

Regards,
Niel
 
You also need a proxy/cache server which will keep a local copy of stuff on the server for those instances where people download the same thing.

I would recommend ClearOS for the server/gateway. Think it does everything you need and more.
 
router

Hi

you can also use a router that offers a both connections . for WAN . i have a do broadband router think its the ws100 from telkom and i have a axxess connection on it as a perm connection . when things go slow then i can make a ppoe connection also using my telkom account . the router has an option to add pppoe and Perm wan connection
you can then limit the qos ect on the router also .
 
Thank you,

I've checked out ClearOS and it looks good so far - I cannot see that it can do the chaching though? or will I need a seperate server for that?
 
ClearOS when configured as a Gateway handles Caching right off the bat
 
allann said:
Hi

you can also use a router that offers a both connections . for WAN . i have a do broadband router think its the ws100 from telkom and i have a axxess connection on it as a perm connection . when things go slow then i can make a ppoe connection also using my telkom account . the router has an option to add pppoe and Perm wan connection
you can then limit the qos ect on the router also .
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks but i'm not really willing to pay for a new router as we have some lightning problems and the cheaper routers with these functions are'nt that stable. Also a server would be more scalable.
 
PsyWulf said:
ClearOS when configured as a Gateway handles Caching right off the bat
Click to expand...

Nice - I think I will give it a try then. Hope I can get it up and running because i've never gone this far into networking or linux for that matter..

Thank you all for your help.

Niel
 
Popster said:
Nice - I think I will give it a try then. Hope I can get it up and running because i've never gone this far into networking or linux for that matter..
Click to expand...

Rule 1: Read the documentation & howtos.

Rule 2: Ask if you're not sure about anything, there's plenty of help out there and here on MyBB.

:)
 
Cisco (WTF)

I am going to suggest as I always do a Cisco solution :erm::cry::D

Ok setting up some sort of Linux / Unix solution with a server might be cheaper but it might be better to do things properly with fewer devices and more options.

You also need to be clear about your LAN functions and your WAN connections and the difference/s

I will try and explain below.

Popster said:
Hi There,
I am trying to setup up a conveniant network at our home but ran into some problems:
(Please see attached image of what I want - http://imageupload.org/?d=4DA6B6131)

- People are downloading the same files which uses uneccesary bandwidth
- Some people are downloading too much and making use of internet difficult
- Some people play games online
- An FTP Server is online
- There should be a main IS uncapped account connected but other PPPoE connections from other PC's should also be allowed.
Click to expand...

1.) Your ISP should have a caching proxy for the internet side of things. Your OWN server should take care of duplicate files.
Win 7 NOT recommended if you want a proper windows server.

2.) Sounds like you need two seperate ISP accounts ( to take care of the gaming dudes )

3.) From your diagram -- Wireless -- your laptops will be using -- according to your diagram some sort of router as your WAN connection and your AP.

Popster said:
So at the moment I have an idea:
If possible i want to cache files on the server (PC1) so that ppl dont download the files twice.
Click to expand...

There is a difference between having files on a local server ( in a share ) that have already been downloaded from the Internet and a caching server -- which your ISP should already have.

Do you need a LAN based proxy and this ammount of sophistication for a few users ? Who could just look in your download share before downloading more stuff ?

Popster said:
So I need the following info:

- Is this possible? Dis I miss anything?
- I need a DHCP App.
- I need a Bandwidth shaping App
- I need a QoS app.

- And anything i missed.
Click to expand...

You can do all of this with a decent Cisco router say an 877 W which has four managed fast ethernet switchports ( which can be chained ) as well as an "AP" ( wireless ) and ADSL
Will do DHCP , QoS , VLAN's , VPN , Shaping , Security , AAA , Firewalls , DMZ , Subnets , Multiple ISP accounts ( on the SAME physical ADSL connection) which can all be seperately configured , as well as many other functions.

If you have lightning problems get some decent protection including a decent UPS and take out insurance ( Comprehensive home policy should cover this )

You do not need Bridging , Internet connection sharing , seperate PPPoE and all that PC based other stuff.

Just ONE device.

My bob or two ( and Cisco do not even give me the time of day )
 
ClearOS is honestly surprisingly easy to setup as a proxy server,on my test VM pc here it took 12minutes to get it up from booting the disk up to having it work
 
Thanks

Thanks MidnightWizard for the info - I definitely look into it at some stage.
At the moment though, I already have all the equipment for a the linux/clearOS solution and it is more of a Learning project than anything else. I've never set up something like this and I think the linux way is a good way to understand different aspects thereof without costing me a R3k+ and I will definitely need the experience in the future.

So, for now, i'm going to try and set up a good, hardcore, secure and scalable network with what I have.

Thanks again for all the info!

Niel
 
MidnightWizard said:
1.) Your ISP should have a caching proxy for the internet side of things. Your OWN server should take care of duplicate files.
Click to expand...

Which does not help as you are still pulling the data across your adsl line using up bandwidth you pay for and slowing things down for other users. With a local cache the dsl line does not come into play.


@ Popster,

Your end setup should look like this router-->server/gateway-->switch-->PCs

You could also let the server handle the ISP authentication for multiple accounts and if they are personal accounts put them in different vlans etc but I'm going way ahead now.

So you will need two nics in the gateway.
 
Home

ponder said:
Which does not help as you are still pulling the data across your adsl line using up bandwidth you pay for and slowing things down for other users.
With a local cache the dsl line does not come into play.
Click to expand...

Sure but this is a home network with only a few users so peeps could just look in the common download folder first.

Unless of course we are caching things like multiple YouTube , Vids and so on -- it is STILL traffic -- so will slow down the LAN -- thus switch , VLAN's and multiple ISP accounts.

ponder said:
@ Popster,
Your end setup should look like this router-->server/gateway-->switch-->PCs

You could also let the server handle the ISP authentication for multiple accounts and if they are personal accounts put them in different vlans etc
but I'm going way ahead now.
So you will need two nics in the gateway.
Click to expand...

Or ONE Cisco 877W ( max four VLAN's , including a WiFi VLAN )

:D
 
Cisco 877W is very expensive ADSL modem. That is a lot of money to pay for 256MB RAM, 266MHz processor, 10/100 Ethernet, and only wireless b/g. For that much money you can buy Gigabit NICs, Wireless N, 1-2 GB RAM and an atom processor/mb (1.6 or 1.8GHz)...and even some hard disk to store stuff. Most importantly, you can use the hardware for something else other than ClearOS at the end of the day whereas Cisco provides little value to you once you outgrow its usefulness. Cisco is a good solution if you have limited needs and not much desire to leverage your gateway beyond a simple router.

ClearOS will give you the options to do what you want out of a router and you can use it to store things like cached web objects. Moreover, you can use it to host your website, email server, file server, content filtration, intrusion prevention, and much more.

PM me if you need any help. I'd be happy to assist if I have some time.

Working on 6.0,

Dave Loper
 
If you don't already have a PC that you can use as a server, then I'd suggest that you look at some of the Intel Atom PC's - eg. Intel 410PT (motherboard + CPU) for R456.
I'd suggest that you just get another PCI 100/1Gbps network card, which you'll use as the LAN interface and then you can use the onboard LAN connection as the WAN interface. Without 1 network card dedicated for WAN, it's really difficult to monitor what is going on. Now you just need a case and PSU, RAM & HDD. The DVD drive you can borrow for the installation process from another PC.

The Intel Atom PC with the GMA3150 graphics card isn't really suitable as an HTPC, but it works very nicely as a gateway & NAS, which is what I'm using mine for, except that my case that I bought was too small for an additional network card :(

I would suggest going for SmoothWall Express, because it is very good and you would be able to get excellent support from myBB.

All-in-all this setup would cost you less than R2k and you can do WAY more than what you can do with a dedicated router like MikroTik Routerboard or Cisco 877W router. The drawback to an Intel Atom setup like this is that you're limited to 2 network cards, which could make the management of a network bit more tricky if you want to split it into WAN, LAN A & LAN B, where like LAN A will have priority over LAN B when it comes to WAN connectivity.
 
Pada said:
The drawback to an Intel Atom setup like this is that you're limited to 2 network cards, which could make the management of a network bit more tricky if you want to split it into WAN, LAN A & LAN B, where like LAN A will have priority over LAN B when it comes to WAN connectivity.
Click to expand...

VLANs or you do get dual & quad network cards.
 
Thanks ponder. I never knew you can get network cards like that.

You can't really do VLAN's, unless you have an expensive switch that supports it of course, which pretty much defies the point of buying a cheap server.
 
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