The best way to set up my home network ?

Mr. May

Mr. May

Mr. May

Soldato
Joined
23 Apr 2009
Posts
3,473
Location
Derby
Hi and welcome i need some advice as i am kinda new to the whole networking stuff the most i've done is set up a work group on my pc's.

Heres my dilemma i have a lot of files and 2 main pc's and i find my self forever updating and organising both machines this feel's like wasted energy so what i would like to do is .....


Make a server/NAS with all my main drives in which consists off

2 x 500gb 4x 1tb f1's 2 x1.5tb segates

heres my questions what would be best suited for my needs making a server/NAS

1. What is a NAS ?

2. i would like to house all my movies music and raw game info on this so i would like it to steam fast to my pc's say about 50/mbs minimum

3. also i have these spare parts to build a machine with ....

e5200....2gb ddr 800mhz .....550w antec psu ...old case and fans

would these be suitable to make a server out off ? (Bare in mind it will never be turned off)

4. Could i Install all my games on a server then access the from ant machine ?



Refering back to question 2. My network atm is ran through a belkin wirless G router with 4 hard wired connections (i dont use the wireless) as I have hard wired cat5e around the house to supply the other machines.

Which consists of

My Mums...... Sisters........My Main Rig.... My HTPC


Heres my problem with this set up transfer speeds between the pc' are painfully slow 10-11mb/sso here are my question .....

1.What router/Port would you recomend for less then £50 second hand ?

I am looking for.....

A. Fast transfer speeds hopefully gigabyte transfer rate ( i know this is limited by my HHD's which can do 100mb/s)
B. Is compatable with my Virgin modem which is a 20mb fibre package


I am lost what to do as i really dont know what to do for the best and like to spend my money sensibly so dont want to spend loads of time and money for little gains


Many thanks for looking
 
what do you mean my that ? megabyte's/second is what the transfer speed is rated at isnt it ?

isnt megabytes per second what network bits run at as a standard ?
 
Network speeds are rated in bits/sec.

8 bits to the byte, so a 100mbps network can shift data at about 12.5 megabytes/sec (minus overheads).

You may already be clear on the differences, but your original post seemed a bit confused.
 
Last edited:
It’s a Gigabit switch so it’ll be as fast as you realistically get in a home network.

Assuming your other equipment supports Gigabit then you should be able to see transfer rates somewhere between 30 and 60 megabytes/sec. This isn’t the full bandwidth available from a Gigabit connection, but it’s a realistic figure.
 
how come only half the rated speed is there anyway to increase that to get any where near 100megabytes/s ?

also would i be able to plug my virgin modem straight into a switch or will i need router ?
 
You can get 100MB from a home server...

giga.png


Client = Rig in sig
Server = e2160 (1.8ghz) 2GB Ram and 4x1.5TB F2 Eco drives in raid 10
 
You will still need a router.

It is possible to saturate a Gigabit connection but it needs fast disks (or disk arrays) at both ends. The speed you’ll see will also depend on the type of data, lots of small files is slower than a few big files.

Jumbo frames can also help with transfer rates if all the equipment is compatible. Getting Jumbo frames to work can be a pain so research it before you start.
 
most of the files i copy back and forth ar well over 1gb so that shouldnt be a problem and all the HDD's i use have 90-100mb read/write speeds so hdd speed's shouldnt be an issue
 
thats still not bad i could live with that :)

also would you recomend installing the my game files to a harddrive on the server and sharing across the network ?
 
Mr. May said:
also would i be able to plug my virgin modem straight into a switch or will i need router ?
Click to expand...

you will need a router unless you have a VM Superhub but if you want an all in one system i would go for a D-Link 4300 (quite old now tho) or somthing like this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-103-EX&groupid=46&catid=1596&subcat=

Mr. May said:
arrhhh get you so if i bought this ...http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=1626&subcat=

would that work for what i need ?
Click to expand...

I Have one of these and it works quite well With My Dlink 615 router, speeds are between 40MB/sec and 100MB/sec depending on file size

Mr. May said:
also would you recomend installing the my game files to a harddrive on the server and sharing across the network ?
Click to expand...

It may work but loading speed's would be awful
 
The list of part in the original post would probably make quite a reasonable server for your needs. Its only downside would be the potential power consumption.

Assuming the special offers are still available the HP Microserver could be what you’re looking for. There are many threads out about them.
 
i use gigabit, but can still stream 1080p movie from one computer to another stutter free using 100mb's gigabit will be MORE than enough, everyone above me have stated everything else,

but the main factor is drive speeds, i.e my laptop wired at gigabit speeds only gets 24 - 30mb's (as the drive is only 5400rpm) but my desktop copying to another desktop can easily get 60 - 80mb's (both 7200rpm drives) that is without jumbo frames btw
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom