Gigabit LAN and router/swtich question.

EddScott

EddScott

EddScott

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I need to upgrade our work network and need a quick question answered.

We have 6 machines all running XP. One machine is always on and is where all other machines save and retrieve word/excel etc files. This machine is also the direct connection to the net.

Some of our larger excel files take an age to open from other machines(sometimes not at all). When accessing the main machine via windows explorer its pretty much impossible.

If we were to upgrade the speed of our LAN to 1 gigabit, would this cure the problems?

Now this question leads to my next. We need to get a router with firewall protection. We also need something that will allow us to link up all the machines at 1 gigabit.

Is it possible to get an 8 port router which has the ability to run our LAN at 1 gigabit. Or do we get a router AND an 8 port 1gigabit switch?

Really appreciate any help.

Thanks
 
I presume your net connection is ADSL?
If so then I rate netgear ADSL routers, the firewall is quite good and you can also apply your own rules if you wish.
You can then get a 8 port gigabit switch, use one of the ports on it to uplink to the router then plug all the PC's into the switch itself.
This will then give your network a gigabit connection and all the PC's can then accesss the net.
Obviously you'd need to make sure each PCs LAN card can support gigbit.
If not then gigabit PCI LAN cards are not expensive there days.

It sounds to me like you need a dedicated file server as it sounds like the PC where you access the files is a day today user PC.
If this is the case then that PC will be running like a dog.
 
To answer the question posed - get a firewall/router and separate switch. Most SOHO routers are only 4-port 10/100. If there is confidential business data on the "network" look at getting something more secure than an SOHO SPI/NAT router. The loss of business from an incident far outweights the cost of a more suitable router.

I'm going to make an assumption and guess the the PCs are all peer to peer networked. If so get yourself out of the Windows 3.11 era and get a bloody server. Something low-end from Dell with Windows 2003 SBS sounds ideal.
 
well it all depends on the budget for this gear really.

well you could either go for something like this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-102-NG

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-122-NG

which should meet your needs plus keeps everything on gigabit network.

or if your looking for something with a little more security you could go for something like a watchguard firewall but that may be overkill for only 6 PC's but gives you a bit more futureproofing for if your network is to increase a lot in the near future.

It seems that your business may benefit from a server if you have lots of data and this would mean you could lock down your client machines to prevent your users installing all sorts of things depending on what IT policies you have. It could also double up as other things such as print server, web server, AV server the list is almost endless.


Utimately you should be able to get away with a gigabit backbone with 10/100 fast ethernet switch to your clients.


If your not interested in getting a server how about a NAS box on the network again you could store all your files there and have a second box as a backup. Plus if you went for something like the buffalo station or Synology disk station it gives you scope for upgrading again in the future.

One thing to consider is the additional costs of support contracts for any major purchases but thats one thing that I am sure you have factored in to any IT purchases.


These are just a few thoughts I had for you on this matter hope it helps.
 
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