Need help networking my home

I have the upgraded cable Internet connection at my house. I have
three workstations, two xboxes, a shared printer, and a linux box
(notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
connection? Do I need a router or a switch? And which brand and model
do you all recommend? In addition, where should I stick a firewall?
thunkerdo

On 2005-01-04, (E-Mail Removed) <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> (notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
> connection?

Read the home-networking-howto.
Davide

--
Why would people waste their time developing viruses for Microsoft
products when Microsoft does such a good job itself of adding in bugs
which crash your system?

-- From a Slashdot.org post

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> I have the upgraded cable Internet connection at my house. I have
> three workstations, two xboxes, a shared printer, and a linux box
> (notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
> connection? Do I need a router or a switch? And which brand and model
> do you all recommend? In addition, where should I stick a firewall?
> thunkerdo
>
Just a router and they mostly come with built-in firewalls.

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 06:04:24 +0000, Davide Bianchi wrote:

> On 2005-01-04, (E-Mail Removed) <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> (notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
>> connection?
>
> Read the home-networking-howto.

I hope that you mean a newer version than the one at tldp.org. That's
almost 5 years out of date, and he wasn't asking how to use Red Hat 6 as a
gateway....

There used to be a lot of useful documentation at www.linksys.com, since
none of what one needs to know is OS specific.
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen

On 2005-01-04, Mark South <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I hope that you mean a newer version than the one at tldp.org.

the basic concept are the same, and I don't think that the firewall
basics have changed between rh6 and fc3 (or whatever). Ok, you can use
iptable instead of ipchains, it doesn't change too much either.

Davide

--
Microsoft Vaccine 2000 is configuring your immune system. This may take a
few minutes. If your body stops responding for a long time and there is no
brain activity please die. Setup will continue after you are reborn.
-- from alt.sysadmin.recovery

On 3 Jan 2005 21:43:39 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>I have the upgraded cable Internet connection at my house. I have
>three workstations, two xboxes, a shared printer, and a linux box
>(notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
>connection? Do I need a router or a switch? And which brand and model
>do you all recommend? In addition, where should I stick a firewall?
>thunkerdo

Like a previous poster answered: a router is what you need.

I bought one off eBay at a very reasonable price. It is a Linksys
BEFSR41 v3. I've no experience with other brands, but this one works
fine for me. I have several computers of various operating systems
connected to it, and they all happily access the interenet.

One suggestion. check the mac address of the network card in the
computer that was originally "set up" by the cable company. Then
clone that address in the router. With some cable companies, that is
essential. With some, it is not. I didn't ask, I just did it on the
advice of others.

The router can be configured to perform filrewall functions such as
blocking service or ports.

Good luck.

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 09:48:57 +0000, Davide Bianchi wrote:

> On 2005-01-04, Mark South <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> I hope that you mean a newer version than the one at tldp.org.
>
> the basic concept are the same, and I don't think that the firewall
> basics have changed between rh6 and fc3 (or whatever). Ok, you can use
> iptable instead of ipchains, it doesn't change too much either.

Let's not argue about whether things are "basic concepts", since
Wittgenstein is no longer alive to adjudicate.

The point is, 5 years after that piece was last updated, the simplest
solution for a beginner is to buy a cheap ( < $100) router and a handful
of patch cables, not start building a firewall router from scratch by hand.

Odds are good that the router is running Linux anyway.
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> I have the upgraded cable Internet connection at my house.***I*have
> three workstations, two xboxes, a shared printer, and a linux box
> (notebook).**How*can*I*get*all*of*these*computers*on*one*Internet
> connection?**Do*I*need*a*router*or*a*switch?**And*which*brand*and*model
> do you all recommend?**In*addition,*where*should*I*stick*a*firewall?
>

Get one of those cheap firewall/router boxes. It'll do what you want.

Leo wrote:

>> I have the upgraded cable Internet connection at my house. I have
>> three workstations, two xboxes, a shared printer, and a linux box
>> (notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
>> connection? Do I need a router or a switch? And which brand and model
>> do you all recommend? In addition, where should I stick a firewall?
>> thunkerdo
>>
> Just a router and they mostly come with built-in firewalls.

I am no networking guru,
but I prefer to use a computer for firewalling and NAT-ing.
That way I know exactly what is happening,
and get a "logwatch" telling me who is trying to break in, and how.

So my solution would be to nominate one machine to access the internet,
and let all others go through that machine.

But as I say, I am no expert in this area.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (<80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 13:07:00 +0000, Timothy Murphy wrote:

> Leo wrote:
>
>>> I have the upgraded cable Internet connection at my house. I have
>>> three workstations, two xboxes, a shared printer, and a linux box
>>> (notebook). How can I get all of these computers on one Internet
>>> connection? Do I need a router or a switch? And which brand and model
>>> do you all recommend? In addition, where should I stick a firewall?
>>> thunkerdo
>>>
>> Just a router and they mostly come with built-in firewalls.
>
> I am no networking guru,

Therefore I am bowing to you out of politeness.

> but I prefer to use a computer for firewalling and NAT-ing.
> That way I know exactly what is happening,
> and get a "logwatch" telling me who is trying to break in, and how.

Even a less-than-$100 Linksys router/firewall/switch will keep logs.

> So my solution would be to nominate one machine to access the internet,
> and let all others go through that machine.

There's no disagreement about that, only what kind of machine that should
be. Large lump of metal with thrumming fans occupying a cubic metre, or
tiny specialised box the size of a small book with no fans and totally
silent[1]?

> But as I say, I am no expert in this area.

Well, the OP asked us for advice so he's getting his money's worth.

[1] Except my first Linksys (when they were new), the powerbrick buzzed
like a mosquito until it had been on for several hours, and every time
thereafter that it started from cold. By the time the powerbrick burned
out a year-and-ahalf later there was a new version out, so....

--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen