could someone help reccomend hardware for thi network?

jasperok

I am having a little trouble choosing the correct hardware to set up a network- i'll be using 12 pc's (that all have a 10/100 nic) and i would like them to be all able to take or put files on the a 13th pc which will be mine- on this would be lesson materials mostly no bigger than 5mbs. i was thinking of using maybe 3 swithces with 4 pcs connected to each swithch and then i was wondering if i could hook those 3 switches up to a dhcp broadband router (though it wont be used for internet just to automatic assign ips) and then from that router into my pc which will have gblan and a harddrive that is only used as a network drive, i will most definately be shopping from komplett but am not sure yet if i have chosen the right way to setup the network for my situation as i have no networking experience at all.- if anyone knows anything about this sort of thing or could reccomend the right gear i'd really appreciate the help
cheers
liamo

rolion

Hello,


I don't think that your problem relies only in the "h/ware" section !!

Even the setup which you talked about it has to be changed.
MSoft advise that for more than 10 (ten) PCs ,to use a server and to migrate from "workgroup" scenarious to "domain" type setup.
Basic,you will need a switch,maybe a 24 ports unmanaged switch will do it just fine.
Then ,the setup of your LAN,has to be put it down on the paper and taken from there.
You don't need a router if you don't have / need Web access,as you could use static IP addresses,to save your money on the router (you loose time in setting up the PCs,which anyway you have to do it !!).
Highly advising to get the 13th PC as a server,with all the required network services then installed and configured on it !!Of course,the licence it will cost you,but if you are a student or educational institution i could give you a good deal on MSoft products / licences !!

To save money for Server licences you could go for Linux,as well !!

If you need any more help ,i could do the job for you,just give me a buzz!!

Regards...

jasperok

cheers, tht sounds a bit heavy though, i mean only the odd picture for photoshop will be a few megs- usually files will be a few kb if at all, surely i dont need to go the full hog with the server route do i? i mean i only need the 12 pc's to see the shared drive on the teachers pc and not each other- is my switch and router idea actually impossible- tha would only cost about 220 for 3 switches and a router from komplett,... a server class pc and os is a bit out of my league, is there no way i can get away with a workgrup?

rolion

From my previous experience and based on the Msoft reccomandations ,i had a LAN setup with 20 WinNT4 worksations and one of them was acting as a Print server.
Time 2 time,on the other client PCs ,a popup was saying that "no more connections to that device is possible" (sorry,don't remember the exact text,it was long time ago),when i have tried to print or to access the shares.

After i did my homework,i have upgraded the LAN to Domain (client - server) and my network worked...flawless !! !!

If you are a school or simmilar,the OS licence is around $3-400 for a server and 15 CALs.The PC...you have it !!
The work of designing,implementing,managing and administering...it's all my pleasure !!
I'm willing to share the "experience" with U,but if you get the books and do the "homework" in about 4 weeks ,you could do it yourself !!

Keep in touch !

jasperok

Thanks roliol i appreciate your time. so is it like 40o dollars for windows 2003 server edition i would have to get and then just install that on the good (high end teachers pc) which would be hooked to the 24 port switch and i am set then? you wouldn't know any beginners websites that are particuaary good do you? its just that i'll have to learn how to set it up

rolion

jasperok wrote:

Thanks roliol i appreciate your time. so is it like 40o dollars for windows 2003 server edition i would have to get and then just install that on the good (high end teachers pc) which would be hooked to the 24 port switch and i am set then? you wouldn't know any beginners websites that are particuaary good do you? its just that i'll have to learn how to set it up

Oh,well my old friend...buying a car doesn't necessary means that you will be able to drive it......

No,once you acquire the necessary OS license...your problems begins... to show up !!

Give me a PM with your phone number and if you are in Dublin,i could sort it out 4 U !!


Regards...

Capt'n Midnight

The 10 PC limit only occurs with windows and is there to encourage you to buy the server.

On the 13th PC setup FTP and a Web server and internet connection sharing (ICS)
This will allow the users to download and upload files and it will also handle DHCP see the stickies for plenty of third party FTP apps - since they don't use microsoft shares they should not be artifically limited to 10 connections.
For web use Apache.
Also have a look at http://www.tinyted.net/eddie/wiki/ - very handy for collaborative learning

[edit] if it is for a school , you might be able to get an old NT4 server with licenses from some company that's dumping them - the one nice thing about non-transferrable OEM licenses means that when the PC gets donated the license follows too.

(though haveing 3 switches and an ADSL router that acts as a switch might cause network problems if too many hops - configure the switches as a star from one unit rather than as a daisy-chain)