Need some advice for a new Home Network (1 Viewer)

Skar

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July 28, 2008
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Hello everyone,

since we are moving into our new flat soon i want to optimize our home network structure.

About the wanted Setup and the Flat Structure:

The Flat has 2 floors. The lower floor will contain the living room and the kitchen.
The Upper Floor will contain 2 personal rooms for me and my girlfriend. (Also the bathroom and bedroom but those are irrelevant)
All rooms have at least one LAN-Socket in the wall(s)!

I aim for a setup like this: one HTPC in the living room for all my HiFi needs. One PC each in the personal rooms, where my PC is a Desktop and my gf has a Laptop.
Another PC should play the role of a Data-Server where id like to store all my movies, pictures and Music Files. This one will also be used for downloading. The Server will most probably be in my personal room.
I also want a WLAN connection in all rooms.

Basically it would be easy to connect them all with just a router, but then only the Area around the Router would have stable WLAN probably (the flat is quite big)

So whats the best way to connect it all while ensuring the following:
- Stable WLAN in all rooms
- the downloading does not interfere with Streaming or copying between the Network PCs, especially HD-movie Streaming between the Server and the HTPC has to be 100% interference-free


Problems i already have or expect:

At the moment my Network setup is 1 D/L PC and my Desktop connected via LAN through a mocem/router combo, and my HTPC in the living room (contains also media files on local HD) connected via WLAN.
When i want to copy a movie from the D/L PC to the desktop it basically eats all network resources pushing the copy speed to maximum.
As i am a hobby user i only have limited knowledge of Network structures so i am unsure how to optimize all this.

Is it beneficial to have the D/l and server PC have 2 Network cards? one connected to the internet and one just for the local Network?
If so, how would the internet connection be shared to all the other PCs?


Any suggestions are very welcome!
Im happy if you mention any other Problems i might be having, which i didnt even think about yet!

Thanks in advance
ciao
Skar
 

geov

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  • November 1, 2006
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    Hi

    I would recommend that you make use of gigabit switch(s) to manage your normal network traffic. The great thing about a gigabit switch is that it’s really fast and it manages the traffic between devices without interfering with the rest of the network. Just make sure that cabling can handle gigabit traffic.... Your router will also plug into the switch to manage your Internet and Wireless traffic. Then also some people say that using static IP-addresses cut down on unnecessary DHCP lookup traffic...but I think its nonsense. Two network cards are usually only used for when one installs a firewall to protect an internal network from the outside world; I don’t see any benefit for your setup.
     

    Skar

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    July 28, 2008
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    Thank you.
    I also thought about using a managed gigabyte switch for the network.

    How can i see if the cabling is fine for that? the family who rented the flat before has no clue about this stuff.
     

    Peter2

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  • September 18, 2006
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    If there is a cabled network already, you will most likely get better speeds compared to wifi - even if you only get 100Mbit.
    Gigabit switches are mainstream and by installing one, you will notice what the cables can have. Worst case, you could use existing cables to pull new one but I would definitely go for wired LAN.
     

    Skar

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    July 28, 2008
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    AW: Need some advice for a new Home Network

    Of course i will use LAN.. The WLan is only a bonus for an android pad and my handy or guests witha laptop/handy.
     

    mr4hughz

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    August 23, 2008
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    To see if cabling is fine, easy trick is just connect 2 "gigabit" enabled devices (each to 1 side)
    if you get a report its "100mbit" then they have "cheap" cables ..

    to replace the wires is 50/50 worth the effort you put in to it .. if you want the cable isn't expensive .. the sockets are ..
    if they have 4 pins in each socket you are looking at prices of 40euro and up per socket .. to upgrade.
    (make dual of them if you are working)

    a gigibit switch 5 port is 10 euro, good luck finding a 100mbit :D they are out there but just watch for that extra 0
    just count the ports you need .. and buy ..
     

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