[ale] Home Network

[Daniel Howard]

ale-request at ale.org wrote:
> 
> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2007 09:03:01 -0500
> From: Jeff Hubbs <hbbs at comcast.net>
> 
> Jim -
> 
> What I'd do is basically this.  Set up your router to serve up DHCP on
> the house LAN but set aside a range of addresses (say, whatever.2 to
> whatever.100, given that the router's inside-facing interface is set to
> whatever.1) for static-IP use.  Then, set up one RAIDed system as a
> Samba file server for both the Windows and the Linux machines, with its
> IP address set somewhere within that static range.  You can set up the
> file server to be one of the desktops, but personally, I have greatly
> preferred having my file server do that and only that - I don't even run
> X on mine, and I've had an uptime of over 300 days on it.  It's a good
> job for a near-junker, as long as you can throw plenty of drives into
> it.  Mine is a Socket 7 with an AMD K6-2+/550MHz, a dual ATA card, and
> two 160GB drives set up as RAID1.
> 

I am similarly redoing my home network, here's what I'm thinking, 
comments solicited:

Needs:
   K12LTSP server to hang thin clients off of
   Automated backup (online vs. home DVD based?)
   File server accessible by Linux, Mac and Win PCs
   Centralized all in one printer/scanner/fax (HP OfficeJet T45) 
accessible by all PCs for at least color printing
   Networked Brother Laser printer accessible by all
   Flatbed scanner attached to file server or other Linux PC so scanned 
files can be saved to file server for access by all home PCs
   Home pics and home video in MPEG format accessible by all PCs off of 
file server
   Win 98 or Win 2K PC connected to network for playback of .wmv files 
and mainly for huge library of kid's CD ROM software, but prevented from 
accessing the Internet for security reasons.  Kids will use Linux PCs or 
thin clients for Internet access.
   Most home PCs see filtered Internet via Squidgard/Dansguardian. 
Maybe one PC gets unfiltered feed.

Initial architecture design:
Cable modem feeds Linksys router which then feeds Vonage VOIP box and 
Linux gateway/file server/web content filter.  This box is a P4 2.7 GHz 
with 1 Gig RAM and conventional 300 Gig Hard drive, and has DVD/CD 
burner.  Samba and RAID on this box, as well as Bacula or similar are my 
thinking, but from the posts, maybe I should make the file server 
separate?  Would also hang OfficeJet printer and flatbed scanner off of it.

Linux gateway then feeds rest of home network via Gig Switch.  Mac, Win, 
and Linux PCs, including a K12LTSP server would all hang off of this 
box, as well as the Brother networked laser printer.

Thoughts?  I've got lots of old PII/PIII boxes I can press into service, 
was planning to use them as thin clients.

Regards, Daniel

-- 
Daniel Howard
President and CEO
Georgia Open Source Education Foundation