Forum Home
Press F1
Thread ID: 32177	2003-04-11 04:57:00	Setup of my LAN - getting it all connected right - Suggestions plz!?	Chilling_Silence (9)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
134994	2003-04-11 04:57:00	Pretty soon, Im going to be getting JetStart, and im wanting to host a few things (And yes, Ive checked out Ihug's T&C's and there's nothing in there that says I cant!). Firstly, Im gonna be wanting to host a website from there - Ive got my laptop running RedHat 9 (Thanks to Karl and Kal :-)) and so that'll be running Apache, and hopefully VSFTP (If I can get it to work second attempt on a fresh install with new found motivation ;-)). Now, Im also gonna be wanting to host Qwik Chat (3.02) which natively runs on doze, but I could always run WineX on RedHat... So.. What Im asking.. What sorta Modem/router should I go for, Im thinking a USB Modem, coz then I can connect it to the Laptop running Linux, and set that up as a gateway. Ive already got a 5 port switch with Uplink, so I dont think I need a router, but could somebody go over with me the advantages/disadvantages etc. I also might be hosting different things from different PC's.. but that can come later I guess... So.. What modem should i go for an why?	Chilling_Silence (9)
134995	2003-04-11 05:07:00	Chill, Forgetting for the moment the argument over whether one can or cannot run servers on JetStart (don't know and not my concern) I believe that an external ADSL Router is the better way to go. Now with an external Ethernet ADSl router that can be connected to the switch and the other computers also connected to the switch. This I believe gives more flexibility: ADSL_Socket -- ADSL_Router -- Switch -- PC1 -- PC2 -- PC3 -- PC4 Indeed I run my systems this way and have never had any issues with this type of setup. The ADSL-Router uses (can use) NAT, DHCP and hardware firewall etc. Configuration of the router is through a browser or Telnet or com-port and is simple and tidy. my thoughts for they are worth. Cheers, Babe.	Babe Ruth (416)
134996	2003-04-11 05:12:00	Cool, thanks.. So how would the router know that PC 1 is hosting YYY and PC 2 is hosting ZZZ?	Chilling_Silence (9)
134997	2003-04-11 05:16:00	Chill, You can set the ports redirection on the router for each port / PC service as appropriate. Babe.	Babe Ruth (416)
134998	2003-04-11 05:20:00	> Chill, You can set the ports redirection on the > router for each port / PC service as appropriate. > > Babe. :D Well, that was easy now wasnt it ;-) Thanks BR!	Chilling_Silence (9)
134999	2003-04-11 05:27:00	Chill, Now you need to look at the ADSL Routers on the market and all the features supported to find the one best suited to your environment. make sure that ALL the things you want are available and that they are easily configurable (being able to configure via a browser is nice). Don't necessarily pick the cheapest option (or the dearest I guess) but get the hardware that best maps to your situation Cheers, Babe.	Babe Ruth (416)
135000	2003-04-11 06:12:00	If you are looking at running web services, you should look into setting up a DMZ or "demilitarized zone". I am doing this by way of a smoothwall (www.smoothwall.org) box with 3 nics. So my setup looks something like this: 1. adsl router <-"red" (untrusted) network-> smoothwall box, 2. smoothwall box <--"orange" DMZ--> any servers running on the DMZ (at the moment there is one box on my DMZ, so it plugs directly to the smoothwall box, otherwise this interface would plug into a switch) 3. smoothwall box <--"green" (trusted) network--> my 24port rack switch <--> my internal domain sounds a little excessive but I have a flat full of IT pros/students so there's a lot of computers here ;) The point of this being to seperate your boxes and to provide applicable security to each. The orange network cannot access the green network, however the green network can access the orange network (for updating your website for example). This is because the orange network is allowing access from the internet to enter beyond your firewall (the smoothwall box), and if a hacker were to get onto your orange network, at least any damage they cause is restricted. Your green network - the more important one, goes on unaffected, and hopefull you should have backups of the more important data on your green network, so getting your orange network back up wont be a problem. Speaking hypothetically of course.. if you setup your smoothie right, you shouldnt have a problem. Next up you'll want to look at a dynamic dns service, I am personally using no-ip.com. What happens here is each time you have a micro-outage or whatever and your IP rotates, the no-ip service keeps your ip/dns resolving updated, so that your web address is always pointing to your ip address. so for example if you had the address chillingsilence.no-ip.org, and someone typed that into their browser, the browser would request from no-ip who would automatically forward to your ip address... so something like chillingsilence.no-ip.org == 203.252.114.2 then for whatever reason your ip changes. The no-ip duc service running on your linux box detects this, tells no-ip your new ip address and voila, the next time someone requests your service, no-ip forwards them the new ip address.. something like chillingislence.no-ip.org == 203.252.114.20 dynamic ip's make running web services a pain in the arse, but dynamic dns services improves it a lot... it saves you having to send out mass emails telling everyone your new ip addy ;) give http://overclockersnz.no-ip.org:81 a shot.. you are being served by the sole server on my DMZ :) anyways, i say go with a router - they are easily more configurable, which helps with security and pinholing, they provide more stable connections (normally), they are truely "always on", so you dont need to have a host computer running 24/7 chewing electricity - just leave your router on and anyone on the network who wants to access the internet can.. and they are not system dependant - again, you dont need to have a pc up and running 24/7, and a dependant dsl modem like a usb or pci do take up system resources. The other thing I've noticed a trend of is that usb and pci modems tend to negotiate FAR lower linespeeds than routers do.. as an example I had a Nokia NI200 that would never negotiate faster than 2.2meg, for a shortwhile I had an Alcatel Speedtouch internal pci that while vastly superior to the nokia, still only connected at 3.4meg... my Nokia M1122 connects at 5.5meg almost everytime. I know this doesnt really mean jack because you are still capped to 128k, but when telecom stuffs up and dsl goes uncapped, I know I'd rather be enjoying a 5.5meg connection than a 2meg connection ;)	whetu (237)
135001	2003-04-11 13:19:00	Chilling, I was asking myself the exact same questions you are right now, about 3 weeks ago. Anyway I highly reccommend going for a Dynalink RTA300 ADSL Router. It has 4lan connection ports built into it, a usb port and a firewall. They also come with a microfilter for free, saves you $20 there. In short it contains everything but the kitchen sink :D. I bought mine for about $320 incl GST. You can get one cheaper I'll bet. Thats about the best deal your going to get for a router. Alcatels are like $450+ and the RTA300 contains everything you could probably think of! I believe the RRP of the RTA300 is about $450...so your getting a good deal. Wait till I find the data sheet on it, I'll link it here. In the end Me and Liam are very happy with our RTA300's. We can help each other figure some stuff out if you get as well. I'm new to networking haha. -Powa	PoWa (203)
135002	2003-04-11 13:34:00	Here we go: Dynalink RTA300 Full Specs Sheet (www.dynalink.co.nz) See if you like it and search for good resellers at: PriceSpy (http://www.pricespy.co.nz) Cheers, Powa	PoWa (203)
135003	2003-04-11 22:26:00	Okay guys - I might have to look into that DMZ a little more.... Just gotta get thru the weekend first then I'll bring this thread back up, along with a little more detail in what Im wanting :-) Thanks!	Chilling_Silence (9)
1