Home Network w/ Cable Modem

[Jonathan Hutchins, Rune Webmaster]

---- Original Message ----- > Forwarded from/for Tom Margrave,

> Ok,  I am leaving KC this weekend and heading for
> Chesapeake VA.  I have Cox Cable set up on 4/30 to
> come out and install Cable TV, High Speed Access,
> and Digital Phone.  I am not sure what I should
> get for this install.   Question are to follow:

> 1. The Cox wants to sell me a cable modem for $199,
> is that a good deal or should i get something else?

How much support do you get from Cox if there's a problem?  TW/RoadRunner KC
will replace the modem, but you don't buy it from them.  I'll have to buy
one for a client in Topeka, but I haven't researched it yet.  $200 sounds
about average.

> 2.  I will have a need for a hub /switch  I was think
> about Linksys BEFW11S4 - EtherFast Wireless AP +
> Cable/DSL Router w/ 4-Port Switch at www.linksys.com.
> (buy.com has it for $248.95) Any Comments or
> suggestions?

SMC makes it's "Barricade" series which combine a router, firewall, and 4 or
8 port hub.  They are administered from a web interface and seem to work
very well, no performance hit on two I've tested.  They come with a sharable
printer port and (I think) a sharable modem port that can be a back-up
internet connection.  Easy for the novice to configure correctly, defaults
to most secure, but is a little difficult to do subtle things with - the
only way to run something like NetMeeting from an internal machine is to
have the firewall place it logically outside the firewall - no protection
until you change it back.  (I think these are well under $200 for the four
port.)

I've built a number of successful Linux routers using RH6.2 on a P120 w/16M
RAM, a 1.2G HD, and two NIC's.  I have had no trouble running MS VPN through
them.  I haven't tried other flavors of VPN, but documentation/reviews make
it look very easy.  If you're serious about Linux, I woud do something like
this.

A Linux firewall is far more configurable than the web-administered
appliances, but you do have to go through and secure it, set up IPChains,
etc.  It does mean a seperate PC, a monitor and keyboard or KVM switch, and
a UPS that can support at least the PC, whereas a Barricade can piggyback on
your server or workstation UPS.

Having the firewall/router seperate from the hub/switch means you can get a
5 port 100M switch for under $100.  If you're going to do file
sharing/serving on the home net, I would recommend 100M.

With a Linux firewall, you can decide to add things as you learn and grow,
like filters or logging for the kid's PC's, intrusion detection, caching
DNS, etc.