Network topologies

I am planning to design a home network for a cable internet connection.

I have two choices that I would like your opinion on….
Down below I have an attachment of an image file that I have created. Please let me know the advantage and disadvantage of each….


1. I am connecting 3 – 5 computers
2. I will be using cable internet
3. I plan to hook up a wireless later but to expensive right now.
4. three of the computers are laptops
5. I will be using Cat-5 with standerd RJ-45 connectors
8. I will be using Windows XP on all computers

I am planning to design a home network for a cable internet connection.

I have two choices that I would like your opinion on….
Down below I have an attachment of an image file that I have created. Please let me know the advantage and disadvantage of each….


1. I am connecting 3 – 5 computers
2. I will be using cable internet
3. I plan to hook up a wireless later but to expensive right now.
4. three of the computers are laptops
5. I will be using Cat-5 with standerd RJ-45 connectors
8. I will be using Windows XP on all computers

Basically, you save a piece of hardware if you go with the linksys nat device/switch combo. Switched networks are also superior since there is no packet replication. A hub sends packets to every connected device, a switch sends it only to the device with the appropriate MAC address. Option 2 is better for those reasons. Option 1 would be better if you are wanting to setup a proxy server or something on the gateway/firewall computer. If you already have a hub and the spare hardware for the gateway/firewall, option 1 could prove to be less expensive, otherwise it would be more expensive.

Basically, you save a piece of hardware if you go with the linksys nat device/switch combo. Switched networks are also superior since there is no packet replication. A hub sends packets to every connected device, a switch sends it only to the device with the appropriate MAC address. Option 2 is better for those reasons. Option 1 would be better if you are wanting to setup a proxy server or something on the gateway/firewall computer. If you already have a hub and the spare hardware for the gateway/firewall, option 1 could prove to be less expensive, otherwise it would be more expensive.

Hubs generally in my opinion arent great as they allow for ease of sniffing easier.

on my home network, I have something like this

modem-->firewall(486 box)-->switch--->computers

it works fine and it was very cheap...

what are you thinking of using for the firewall?

i2c

Hubs generally in my opinion arent great as they allow for ease of sniffing easier.

on my home network, I have something like this

modem-->firewall(486 box)-->switch--->computers

it works fine and it was very cheap...

what are you thinking of using for the firewall?

i2c

my network looks very similar to the second picture. i have a linksys cable modem that goes into a linksys 802.11g broadband wireless router (has both wired and wireless capabilities). My 2 desktops are wired to the router and my laptop is wireless.

The linksys router has a built in firewall which i guess is good, but i still have a software firewall running on each computer.

As for wireless being too expensive.. I think the difference from the normal router and the wireless one i am using was like $30. So i'd rather spend $90 now than 60 for a router then another 60 for wireless later. Of course, with the 802.11i spec comming out, waiting might be to your advantage. It just depends what you are looking at into the future.

of course, with any wireless discussion... there's the necessary security rant... WEP or WAP, mac address filtering... etc...

BTW: what happened to items 6 and 7?

my network looks very similar to the second picture. i have a linksys cable modem that goes into a linksys 802.11g broadband wireless router (has both wired and wireless capabilities). My 2 desktops are wired to the router and my laptop is wireless.

The linksys router has a built in firewall which i guess is good, but i still have a software firewall running on each computer.

As for wireless being too expensive.. I think the difference from the normal router and the wireless one i am using was like $30. So i'd rather spend $90 now than 60 for a router then another 60 for wireless later. Of course, with the 802.11i spec comming out, waiting might be to your advantage. It just depends what you are looking at into the future.

of course, with any wireless discussion... there's the necessary security rant... WEP or WAP, mac address filtering... etc...

BTW: what happened to items 6 and 7?

For a topolgy
Mesh? lol

I gotta go with chsh on this one and say #2 is a good choice.
Even if you are wanting to have some sort of server set up you can always do port forwarding via the the linksys.
I think it would be simpler to go with #2 as well and is pretty easy to set up.

My network setup on my home and office is like this

home
DSL --- Linksys Router --- PC's

work
Satelite Modem --- Cisco 831 router/firewall --- 24 port switch --- 20 PC's

For a topolgy
Mesh? lol

I gotta go with chsh on this one and say #2 is a good choice.
Even if you are wanting to have some sort of server set up you can always do port forwarding via the the linksys.
I think it would be simpler to go with #2 as well and is pretty easy to set up.

My network setup on my home and office is like this

home
DSL --- Linksys Router --- PC's

work
Satelite Modem --- Cisco 831 router/firewall --- 24 port switch --- 20 PC's