| Author |
Topic |
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SpaceBoy
Full Member
USA
631 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 12:08:51
Howdy, folks!
Well, come Tuesday, I'm finally gonna be getting... a cable modem setup! Wheee! My girlfriend and I decided to spring for the full-blast 3 megabit cable internet service, and it's gonna be installed on Tues.
In the meantime, I'm working on getting all the parts to put together a home network for my PowerBook G4, my GF's iBook, two desktop WinTel PC's, and a whole range of old/antique Mac's - my Quadra 950, some PCI PowerMacs, etc.So far (using what's left from this semesters financial aid), I've purchased (as of yesterday) one AirPort card (for the iBook), one generic PCMCIA wireless LAN card (for the PowerBook - this card is 802.11a/b/g compatible - so it should work with both plain AirPort and AirPort Extreme), one new AirPort Extreme basestation (direct from Apple, with edu discount - and I made sure to get the pricier one that has an external antenna port).
Also, last night we stopped into Office Depot and found a brand-new D-Link 8-port switch on clearance for only $24, which I think was a good deal.
So, other then a bunch of ethernet cables, what else/more do I need? I'm sorta confused - with the 8-port switch (model DSS-8+) and the Airport base, will I still need a router to get all the various computers online? Or will the base act as a router for all the computers connected to the switch?
Clearly, I have an idea of what I'm doing... but I'm a little fuzzy on the details, so any help/warnings/tips/advice would be awesome. I know you folks have set up more complicated networks then this....... right?
Thanks!
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cory5412
68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms
USA
4679 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 19:14:05
The base will act as the router, it has two ports, internet in and homenetwork-out... so you'll put that port into an uplink of the switch (if I recall correctly at least)good luck! and cool setup! Official 68k videographer
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q950
Junior Member
USA
135 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 19:20:21
Sounds like you've got everything that you need except the router. without it, you will only be able to run as many computers as your ISP gives you IP addresses for. Generally, they either give you one or three. Since they are macs and not PCs, you dont have to worry about security as much but choose secure 8+ character passwords that arent based on words or anything, esp for any OS X boxes. When you setup the airport basestation, enable as much security as you can on it. Wardrivers, warchalkers and whoever else could just walk by and sit down on your network if you dont secure it. You may think that you are secure once the firewall/router is installed, but the 802.11 would be backdoor into your network. Anyways, just plug all the stuff in and maybe you will get lucky and get three IPs. Good luck on it all.Logan Quadra 950, Workgroup Server 9150, Performa 6400, Powerbook 2300c, 4x Quadra 700's, iBook |
cory5412
68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms
USA
4679 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 19:32:10
The airport base station is the router, he got a model that has a modem, antanna port and two ethernet ports
one goes to the internet, one goes to his switch.
his setup is perfect, and the most effective I can think of. Official 68k videographer
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Da Penguin
Senior Member
USA
1094 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 21:03:45
you *could* get the modem/router/wireless all in one box, that would be more efficient, but u lose quality.but yeah, spaceboy, all looks good. Just set up internet sharing and whatnot on the airport, should work fine. The airrport admin whatever will help with that. Goodluck, hope to be seeeing more of you now  ~The Penguin **| Want free 68kmla email? Drop me a line |**
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The Balance Of Judgement
Senior Member
Ivory Coast
1006 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 22:14:28
If you wish any of the machines to have thier own IP address (without being behind a router) for example if you wanted to run a server or ran applications like games that don't play nice with Routers or NAT Technology, you can plug them directly into the Switch.The switch should be connected to the ISP first if this is the case. The Airbase would then plug into the switch like a normal computer and would obtain an IP and serve the wireless clients. Some games or applications don't like being behind routers and some are faster if they aren't. You would need to check this out with the readme for any applications you run. So, just so you know, this setup should only be used if you have something that won't play nice with the Airbase/router or you need a computer to have a direct connection to the net unfettered.
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cory5412
68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms
USA
4679 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 23:11:42
I forgot, do switches have DHCP capabilities built in?that's why you'd need the base station to be the one connected to the modem, unless your particular switch has DHCP... Official 68k videographer
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The Lightning Stalker
Full Member
USA
747 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2003 : 19:05:39
The modem usually has DHCP built in.The Lightning Stalker Performa 631CD, 7.5.5
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cory5412
68KMLA Comrade-in-Arms
USA
4679 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2003 : 19:22:34
I would never have known...One day I'll take a look into stuff like this  Official 68k videographer
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