Redoing my network. Need advice/help. 2000$ Budget

[nuclearsnake2]

This is my current setup:

http://www.nuclearsnake.com/images/homenetwork.jpg

I kinda know what I want as an outcome, but Im not sure how I am going to do it.

What I want to do is give each of the people living with me (Mother, brother and I) the ability to logon to any computer and have access to our data over the network.

I want to replace the Smoothwall OS in favor of something that is more popular in the business world. Not sure what that will be yet. Maybe Windows 2000?

I have a copy of Windows Server 2003 running on the Power Edge 830 that came with my Dell server. I know that I will need to add some RAM to it since it only has 256Mb. Maybe make this an active directory server?

I also want to remove Server 01 and turn it into another workstation and add some more drives to the Dell server.

This project is to help me learn more about setting up a network since Im really into networking, and I have a few classes coming up on networking. Part of the 2000$ is going towards replacing my old PATA HDD's with SATA ones. The rest is up for grabs.

[supernerd]

What I want to do is give each of the people living with me (Mother, brother and I) the ability to logon to any computer and have access to our data over the network.

From your description, your setup can be as simple as a single gateway/firewall/file server connected to your 16-port switch and a wireless access point all on the same, single network (instead of 4 networks - this also reduces your gateway to only 2 NIC's). If you keep the gateway running linux, you can probably get by with 256 MB of ram as well. Serving files to handful of people doesnt require that much power, and if you're using fast ethernet, your network is the bottleneck, not the server.

So, I dont even see why you need to spend more money. Buy extra disks for redundancy and space, I doubt you'll need it for throughput.

But this is only based off of your simply stated requirements. I have similar requirements with 4 desktops, an xbox, and 2 laptops. My single P3-650/192/4x80gb gateway/web,file server running linux handles the loads just fine. I use samba to share files but I might consider switching to NFS during the holidays...

[nuclearsnake2]

Well Im looking at getting this place setup like a real corporate network since thats what we're going to be covering in school in about 2 months.

Im looking for more then just a shares on a server...

[magical]

Well Im looking at getting this place setup like a real corporate network since thats what we're going to be covering in school in about 2 months.

Im looking for more then just a shares on a server...

I do a lot of networking, and I don't understand why you have segregated your network into multiple segments...

I mean you have a 16 port switch yet you run another switch in your network? I dont understand why... if you are doing it for security this might be necessary (breaking it up into segments), but again dont understand...

If you were setting up a corporate network, you'd probably want roaming profiles and want some sort of server-level security system in place...

good luck...

[nuclearsnake2]

I mean you have a 16 port switch yet you run another switch in your network? I dont understand why... if you are doing it for security this might be necessary (breaking it up into segments), but again dont understand...

It was because I orginally only had one the 01 Server, and one 4 port switch, and I was overly concerned about security, but thanks to a great Dell RFD I was able to pick up the PowerEdge 830 at a good price and it came with a 16 port switch.
Another reason for the two switches is because the two servers, as they are setup now, are in a different room from the Smoothwall Router the 16 port switch and I didn't want to run another wire to the 2nd server..

I know its not the best setup, but thats why Im asking for some help...

If you were setting up a corporate network, you'd probably want roaming profiles and want some sort of server-level security system in place...
I did a little search, and am I correct in saying that I need active directory installed 1st to get roaming profiles setup?

[Scooter]

Hello nuclearsnake,

Active Directory and Roaming Profiles are definitely what you are after. Put at least 512MB of RAM in the Win2003 server (more if possible) and set it up as a domain controller with active directory. Your workstations will need to be running Windows XP Professional to join the domain. You may also need to put the servers on the same subnet as the workstations. If you want to do it exactly like the pros, you can also set up the Win2003 as the DHCP server for your network. It's a bit more tricky, and in real businesses it's better to have a dedicated DHCP server, but it's good practice to try as much as you can.

As for replacing Smoothwall, you could set up Windows 2003 server with Internet Security and Acceleration Server (might not be within your budget though). I suspect that more businesses are using Cisco equipment rather than an actual computer for switching packets, though an actual computer is not necessarily a bad idea because it can filter at all 7 OSI layers instead of just three.

[nuclearsnake2]

Hello nuclearsnake,

Active Directory and Roaming Profiles are definitely what you are after. Put at least 512MB of RAM in the Win2003 server (more if possible) and set it up as a domain controller with active directory. Your workstations will need to be running Windows XP Professional to join the domain. You may also need to put the servers on the same subnet as the workstations. If you want to do it exactly like the pros, you can also set up the Win2003 as the DHCP server for your network. It's a bit more tricky, and in real businesses it's better to have a dedicated DHCP server, but it's good practice to try as much as you can.
Thanks for the reply!
I just ordered 1GB of DDR2 for the Dell server.

Would you recomend not using the 830 to serve files if it is going to be an AD/DHCP/Whateverelse server?
What else should I be looking into both in terms of other things I can do/learn with the server and in terms of set-up on the server side, and on the client side to get everything configured.

Also, will the xbox's still be able to get on the network? Im thinking yes, but I guess Ill have to give them static IPs then.

As for replacing Smoothwall, you could set up Windows 2003 server with Internet Security and Acceleration Server (might not be within your budget though). I suspect that more businesses are using Cisco equipment rather than an actual computer for switching packets, though an actual computer is not necessarily a bad idea because it can filter at all 7 OSI layers instead of just three.
Ill leave smoothwall where it is for now, but turn off its DHCP service, and use the Dell with 2K3 to manage DHCP.

On a side note, I have seen some really cool networking drawing around, I know they are made with MS Viso, but I can't seem to find the ..icons or templates they use... Any idea where I could pick some up?

[TenzoR]

i see it on my visio 2003

just click on the network tab?

[magical]

Thanks for the reply!
I just ordered 1GB of DDR2 for the Dell server.

Would you recomend not using the 830 to serve files if it is going to be an AD/DHCP/Whateverelse server?
What else should I be looking into both in terms of other things I can do/learn with the server and in terms of set-up on the server side, and on the client side to get everything configured.

Also, will the xbox's still be able to get on the network? Im thinking yes, but I guess Ill have to give them static IPs then.


Ill leave smoothwall where it is for now, but turn off its DHCP service, and use the Dell with 2K3 to manage DHCP.

On a side note, I have seen some really cool networking drawing around, I know they are made with MS Viso, but I can't seem to find the ..icons or templates they use... Any idea where I could pick some up?

Personally If I were you I'd turf your linux router in favor of a linksys WRT54G ... run the other switch you have into your other 16 port switch, and go from there... less power and can run linux on the linksys, plus it has built in wireless capabilitys...

[nuclearsnake2]

Personally If I were you I'd turf your linux router in favor of a linksys WRT54G ... run the other switch you have into your other 16 port switch, and go from there... less power and can run linux on the linksys, plus it has built in wireless capabilitys...
I was thinking about removing the Smoothwall, but it would not be in favor of a linksys. If I do anything in terms of changing the router, it would be getting a Cisco router to learn off of.
I don't use my wireless all that much so its a moot point to spend any money on better wifi equipment.

[Menace]

Linksys router is the way to go.

If you find a firewall hardware box which can handle firewall, vpn and dhcp, you can learn more about network security.

I was thinking about removing the Smoothwall, but it would not be in favor of a linksys. If I do anything in terms of changing the router, it would be getting a Cisco router to learn off of.
I don't use my wireless all that much so its a moot point to spend any money on better wifi equipment.