'Big' routers?

[mart_man00]

Has any one seen a big(16+ ports, 24 would be nice) router that doesnt cost a fortune?

I cant seem to find a good one, are they made(cheap home ones)?

I dont want to use a switch, I dont want some connections to be made. I also dont want to daisy chain some routers together.

Im thinking buying a couple of these (http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/5ad1/) these might be cheaper.

Seen anything?

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

I've not seen anything on the cheap side with that capability.

What do you have against using a switch? An older machine, like a Pentium 120 with 2 NICs and a switch with as many ports as you'd like would work out just fine to connect a bunch of machines together. If you want to disallow certain connections, you could use the firewalling tools with whatever OS you install on the Pentium 120.

You could probably get this setup running for under $150 if you eBay'ed it. This setup is similar to what I use, except my Pentium box is also bridging two LAN ethernet segments together. It works without a hitch, and it's reasonably simple to set up. Heck, I got the my Pentium 120, 16MB RAM machine for free, so I only paid $50 for two 10/100 switches!

Even if you got 4 of those cards to have 16 ports, you'd still have to bridge those cards together in the OS. Linux and FreeBSD do it, but I've never done it on a machine with more than 2 NIC cards in it under FreeBSD.

[mart_man00]

I dont really want to use a switch since i think it will make security alittle easier.

Some of my computers should never have internet, others just have no need to talk to each other.

I was hoping i could avoid having a firewall on every machine since i would have to keep everything updated(they would all be just alittle different). Plus i figured if they made this it would be kool to play with :D

Is the problem that they dont make it or that its just more business class?

Are there smart switches that can do basic router like things? Other hardware I should be thinking of?

Thanks

[nextbillgates]

Buying a 24-port switch and throwing IPCop on an old computer would be far cheaper, and probably far more secure, than if you were to buy a 24-port router.

In fact, I don't know of any router/switch with more than 8 ports at the consumer level. Getting a router with the port capacity of what you want leaves you with Cisco, Juniper, and maybe HP as possible choices, and you'd be looking at a cost of about $10,000+.

[mart_man00]

Buying a 24-port switch and throwing IPCop on an old computer would be far cheaper, and probably far more secure, than if you were to buy a 24-port router.
How?

Im new at networking, wouldnt the switch allow any connection? Or do you mean every connection go threw the computer first? How is that possible(some machines will be windows and macs, software will be a problem).

Im not sure what you mean.

[nextbillgates]

Originally posted by mart_man00
How?

Im new at networking, wouldnt the switch allow any connection? Or do you mean every connection go threw the computer first? How is that possible(some machines will be windows and macs, software will be a problem).

Modern networks follow a model called the OSI model, which defines which layer does what. Without getting into a detailed explanation, all a switch does is allow devices connected to it to communicate with each other. Some people need extra security at the layer the switch operates at, but for most, security is performed at higher layers.

If it helps, think of a switch as a hub on steroids.

[mart_man00]

If it helps, think of a switch as a hub on steroids.
Yeah, that what i thought. Im was actually reading some info on the OSI model before(I have a CISCO learning disc).

So is there any alternatives besides having a firewall on every PC? Anything else i can do?

[hard candy]

Looking throught Google I saw 24 port routers used for $400 up and 24 port switches or $250 on up.
How will you run cable for 24 ports?

[nextbillgates]

Just pipe your internet connection through your firewall/router (eg the IPCop box I suggested earlier) and put your machines on a private subnet. You don't need a firewall on every machine in a network like that.

[mart_man00]

Looking throught Google I saw 24 port routers used for $400 up and 24 port switches or $250 on up.
That seems good for the router and bad for the switch.

Ill try Google, I just did a couple of Yahoos. I figured Yahoo stores would make it easier

How will you run cable for 24 ports?
I want to run more ethernet in my house. A couple of jacks in almost every room. Plus i want to have a couple extra, so 24 ports is perfect. Ill have basicly everything pluged in it. I doubt they will all be used.



+------------+
| Computer A |
/ +------------+
|
+------------+ +------------+ +------------+ | +------------+
| Internet | - |Firewall | - | Switch | --- | Computer B |
+------------+ +------------+ +------------+ | +------------+
|
\ +------------+
| Computer C |
+------------+


So something like my diagram. Only Computers A and B will need to file share while Computer C never needs to see the others.

[undeadska]

Your best bet would be to use a 24 port switch because the speed will be a little better than a router and use subnets. That will take out all of the work with the firewall/permissions and allowing the machines to talk with one another. If you are going all out and buy a large switch you might also consider VLAN's.:)

[Nuada Storm]

Linksys makes a 16 port switch that might work for you.

You could either use it and an 8 port or two 16 port ones to make your network. Personally, I would go Wireless for most rooms and hardwire ethernet where it is necessary and then wouldn't need as many ports.

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

If you really wanted to get spiffy, Cisco's higher end switches do some forms of filtering.

They allow you to block certain ports from sending data to other ports, and you can do things like denying access based on MAC addresses, the hardcoded address within every Ethernet adapter.

At least, that's the last time I used one. I think it was a Catalyst series switch or something...

[mart_man00]

Anything Cisco is probally great, but pricey.

Im checking out cdr.com (www.cdw.com), they seem to have alot of hardware for this. Whats kind of switch is 'smart' enough for what i want? I mean whats it called(the kind of switch or the feature im looking for)?

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

I think it's called an intelligent switch. I don't know of any other vendor that offers it aside from Cisco. That doesn't mean there aren't others, though.

According to the OSI model, a switch is a layer 2 device. An intelligent switch can perform some layer 3 functions in addition to the Layer 2 stuff. So, that means you can sometimes configure access control lists based on IP addresses.

I would recommend checking eBay for a catalyst series switch. You can use them to make VLANs, virtual LANS, that segment different ports, so it almost seems like you have multiple switches in a single box, as you can isolate say, 5 ports from the rest of the switch. It's a really neat thing. If you put Machine C on its own VLAN, it wouldn't see the other boxes.

[nextbillgates]

Cisco hardware is okay, but way overpriced. Even a low-end Catalyst switch will cost you several hundred dollers.

Unless you really want to play with networking, you're better off just getting a consumer-level switch from Netgear or D-Link, etc.

[freakmn]

Maybe this one for $63 plus ~$10 shipping? (http://www.pcimicro.com/.sc/ms/dd/1050711616103849/9/nc/Network-Hub%5E2FSwitch%5E2FRouter--Genernic/890/Link-Max%252024-Port%252010%5E2F100Mbps%2520Fast%2520Ethernet%2520 Switch)

[mart_man00]

Maybe this one for $63 plus ~$10 shipping?
That does look like a good switch freakmn, but it doesnt seem router like(or does it?). Basicly I want a switch that can fake being a router.

Maybe i can find a good action.

Thanks guys.

[mart_man00]

Sorry to bump a old thread, but i have a question about a switches vlan.

Using my diagram, would the switch let Computer A not see B but still see C? Can i mix setups like that?

[nextbillgates]

Originally posted by mart_man00
Sorry to bump a old thread, but i have a question about a switches vlan.

Using my diagram, would the switch let Computer A not see B but still see C? Can i mix setups like that?

Yes. However, keep in mind that vlans are seperate networks and need some sort of router to communicate with each other.

[mart_man00]

So each vlan is its own network? I only need one 24 port switch?

Thanks

[andysimmons]

Sorry if this has been suggested before; I just skimmed the thread. Why not just use the 24 port switch to get the connections you need, then go to a cheap 4 port router? That will only give you 20 useable ports, but at least you can just route the 4 subnets however you want without buying an expensive switch.

[mart_man00]

I was thinking of daisy chaining them, but im not thrilled about that.

I would need a couple of routers. It would be kind of annoying since i would have to update each on seperately. Plus I would have to remember to turn them all on :D

Plus, im a nerd. I want to play :D

[andysimmons]

In that case get a Cisco. It's good to know how to program those anyway, and they are really fun to play with.