Order, whatobuy goodies and Network setup

[LuftFan]

Hi guys!

I've been out of the country for a long time, and I need to get myself setup with proper net connection (got very net dependant in the states). After some research on your forum plus Telkom's reponse to ADSL / telephone line enquiry (wait 3 weeks for phone, then apply for ADSL or/and wait 2-3 months for ADSL), I want to dump 'them critters' and rather go for iBurst.

Now, I have two PC's (both Ubuntu Linux and Win2K dual booters) plus a WinXP Laptop (missus) that I'll need to connect to the Iburst incomer. The laptop needs to be mobile around the house to follow the kiddy, so we need wireless from the firewall PC to the laptop as well.

Can someone tell my the exact shopping list that I'll need to get all this setup. I'm in Fourways (JHB) area so I'll appreciate if you could even suggest some good vendors (support probably more valuable than low price).

I realise that to be back home is actually still like being in a foreign country - I've lost the linger of what's hot!

Thanks for the help.

 

[arf9999]

You'll need:

1. an iBurst UTD
2. A Broadband router with a WAN port that supports PPPoE.
3. A Wireless AP

No 2 & 3 can be combined in a product like the linksys WRT54G.

 

[LuftFan]

Thanks for the quick response.

Is the wireless AP (whatis?) plugged into the firewall PC or does it live outside PC? The Laptop has wireless connection so I assume above is the transmitter, getting the signal from the iBurst UTD?

I wish I could see a schematic of a typical setup. Has anyone ever seen a post or a site with such a pic?

Thanks

LuftFan

 

[bdt]

..I've been out of the country for a long time

Welcome back, here's to readjusting to our ..interesting.. way of life!

Now, I have two PC's (both Ubuntu Linux and Win2K dual booters) plus a WinXP Laptop (missus) that I'll need to connect to the Iburst incomer.

..what arf said: you want the UTD to talk to the iBurst network and the router to take that connection and feed it to YOUR network, i.e. your various PCs. The Linksys WRT54GL (linksys.com) is THE most popular device to get, bar none: in no small part due to it's ready availability (altho' ironically there's a stock shortage on at the mo'), ease of use and here's the kicker: you can futz/play with/mod with it NO end, more below.

The laptop needs to be mobile around the house

..no worries here, your shiny new WRT will take care of this. In the event you've got a ridiculously large house, there are ways to extend the range of your (wireless) network, but I've had a LOT of success with WRTs in challenging environments, again- more below.

..so we need wireless from the firewall PC to the laptop as well.

Well, depending on the services you're running on said firewall that you're used to, and maybe dependant on, you could cascade your firewall/defence from the WRT on the frontline to the router PC. Or, if you'd prefer your extant box to be primary firewall, you could connect the UTD to that and THEN cascade to the WRT, which supports being a second fiddle to another routing device.

Can someone tell my the exact shopping list that I'll need to get all this setup. I'm in Fourways (JHB) area so I'll appreciate if you could even suggest some good vendors (support probably more valuable than low price).

*puts up hand* ..doing this kind of work is a large part of my core business. I'd be happy to get you connected, work with you on getting your WRT going the way *you* want (per above) and getting any extra wireless network cards you may need.

Now, WHY the WRT54GL (or ~GS) is The Way And The Light(tm): see the Wikipedia article, with specific reference to the third party firmware projects. Out of the box the "little router that could" is pretty alright, competent but not WOW ..but flash it with new firmware and the fun really starts! I'm fond/confident enough of the stability of DD-WRT (Wikipedia entry and project home page) enough that I've flashed the routers of most of my customers with it now, the only reason I haven't done 'em all is simply not having gotten back there. And the most compelling feature I get out of DD-WRT? Well, there're a bunch of features I like, but often the most useful to me is the ability to crank up the power (I usually stop at 70mW (FYI, router default is 28mW)) which results in my getting signal into parts of a home that were formerly intermittent/unavailable. Another one to seriously look at is OpenWrt which seems to have some very exciting features ..going by their files listing, they even seem to have the WRT54G3G (you know, the new one that takes the (Vodafone) 3G card) covered! The only gotcha for me is that OpenWrt has a significantly higher bar for using it, DD-WRT keeps you in a nice, cozy GUI ..I'm *far* from being any kind of 'l33+" Linux hacker.

Of course, now that I've outed myself as a WRT abuser, I'm probably going to get flamed to death but what the hey- it's getting cold and some heat may be welcome Seriously though, I run my own one like this, I've yet to have irate clients jumping down my throat about broken/dodgy/smoking hulk hardware and at two sites, doing this has made ALL the difference - to the point of not having to put in more hardware to extend the network to those parts of their houses. (yes, yes ..I may be losing some short term sales, but I'm gaining long term trust; in my mind a FAR more important criterion!)

Anyhow, here's to your getting setup and as satisfied as it's possible to be with .za 'net access. If you feel compelled to contact me, my details are readily available.

HTH
-bdt

 

[DodGeR]

WRT54GS roxx. best purchase I ever made.
Got myself and both my neighbours hooked up to it, and the router hooked up to the UTD. Router is rock solid and will be able to do all the funky stuff u need done.

 

[bdt]

WRT54GS roxx

..well, it IS the WRT54GL's big brother, so that'd make sense. Actually, what with the current shortage on ~GL's (so I've heard from 2 of my 3 main suppliers) it may be the way to go here, simply to be able to get the job done!

-bdt

 

[LuftFan]

Thanks for the help BDT.

I take note of your offer.

Cheers

LuftFan

 

[UnUnOctium]

dont fall for it, stick to dsl, im an iBust user and its very crappy