Re: Best DSL/Cable router on the market for small home office?

From: Net Resident (nospam_at_nospame.net)
Date: 01/01/04

  • Next message: Kathy Wills: "Question About Satellite Modem" 
    Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:40:14 GMT

    On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 18:16:14 -0500, Michael W. Cocke wrote:

    > On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 20:18:11 GMT, "Net Resident" <none@nospame.net>
    > wrote:
    >
    >>
    >>"Michael W. Cocke" <cocke@catherders.com> wrote in message
    >>news:7kk5vv4pq4434o6573htrdljq9k4gqt53t@4ax.com...
    >>
    >>> I'm going to have this engraved on my tombstone, I swear...
    >>>
    >>> What CompUSA et al call a router is in NO WAY a router - ditto a
    >>> firewall. These units are generally a (potentially very buggy, IE
    >>> Linksys) hardware NAT layer, some with a built in dhcp server and/or a
    >>> DSL modem. PERIOD.
    >>>
    >>> Now, for some users, that will serve - but if you are expecting to
    >>> make use of the features of a real router or firewall, you are going
    >>> to be spending a whole lot of time swearing. I have a linksys DSL
    >>> router (so called) in my closet that is totally useless - it's not
    >>> even the right shape for a wheel chock - and it sure as hell isn't a
    >>> router. It's a DSL modem and a 10/100 switch.
    >>>
    >>> To the OP - what, exactly, are you trying to do? Please be as
    >>> specific as you can... You mention small office; Moving web and mail
    >>> servers inhouse? What are you planning to do for a firewall? Yada
    >>> Yada - you get the idea.
    >>>
    >>>
    >>> Mike-
    >>>
    >>
    >>Thanks for the heads up. Not planing on any servers at the moment -
    >>really it is more of a home setup.. I already have the verizon device
    >>and a hub that I am not using at the moment. I have a Netgear print
    >>server and two other computers that all need to talk to each other again
    >>and to the printer.
    >>
    >>I figured I would probably just hang the hub off of the router which the
    >>print server and one non internet client would be on with two clients
    >>directly hitting the router.
    >>
    >>I could also take a old system to setup as a full time router but the
    >>cost, space and ease of configuration advantage I think favors a decent
    >>router.
    >>
    >>A hardware firewall I don't think I really care about but if it has one
    >>that works without a ton of fuss that would be good. Especially if I can
    >>just tell it to let *everyting* pass through in a few easy steps. I'm
    >>used to using Tiny Personal Firewall (old free version) on the client
    >>and it seems to work well enough but admittedly this is not an area I
    >>know much about on the firmware side - IE if it affords me speed or
    >>resource advantages. Any admin advantages for me mean very little I
    >>suspect.
    >>
    > You're still calling it a router.. <sigh>.
    >
    > No (or not much) firewall? Have you been out there lately?! I cannot
    > tell you how much I advise against that idea!!! Even a Linksys is
    > better than nothing.
    >
    > Get yourself an old 486 and load smoothwall or shorewall up. Put it
    > between the DSL modem and the hub. Plug all of your gear into the
    > hub, behind the firewall. At the very VERY least, block ports 135-137
    > and 440-445 at the firewall (bidirectionally if you ever run windows
    > in house).
    >
    > It probably sounds like overkill, but do you really WANT to have your
    > next door neighbors reading your email and the fellow down the block
    > printing on your printer?
    >
    > There's a world of difference between "cheap and simple" and nothing
    > at all. nothing at all is false economy, because you're gonna get
    > hacked regularly, and you'll spend way too much time trying to put it
    > together again.
    >

    OK well here is the good news: I got Mandrake 9.2 installed and after some
    stumbling around I found the right wizard to help me setup install
    and PPPoe which is now working and this is my first post via this new
    Mandrake install and Pan (used Pan before and liked it).

    I do need to set up some sort of router so I may see about salvaging
    old hardware and doing as you suggest :-) I never had a problem with
    windows mostly because I had a good working idea of what I needed software
    and configuration wise to stay out of trouble. With Linux I'm unsure of
    myself but I'm sure some reading will get me up to snuff soon enough.. I
    hope.

    Thanks for the feed back

    I want to thank Ted Potter in the other thread for pasting a link to a
    good PPPoe setup walk through even though I ended up not needing it, it
    was a good security blanket none the less :p

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