Whats the best way of doing this

[Kush]

alright guys lets say that i have an internet cafe of a office with some computers in them, and i want to use a switch and a router for dsl or cable, what would be the best setup so the computers that arent being sent data dont still use network utilization?

would it be like
dsl modem>Router>switch>pcs?

or is a router not needed, becuase in my dads office they put it like this dsl modem>switch>pcs, and that way i think it screwed up the static ip since its trying to add those ips to the isp right?

can someone plz include a ascII drawing?

because everytime i went to www.whatismyip.com the ip would change and they are suppose to have a fixed ip, and this was changing even everytime i pressed refresh like 2 seconds after the try before that

 

[Zedric]

If your ISP gives you one IP do this:

  DSL
   |
 Router
   |
 Switch
 //||\\
Computers

If your ISP gives as many IP:s as there are computers do this (like your dad's office):

  DSL
   |
 Switch
 //||\\
Computers

I don't see what you mean by "the computers that arent being sent data dont still use network utilization?". They are on the network, they must "use the networks utilization". Am I missunderstanding?

 

[NetRyder]

In fact, you could even eliminate a switch from the setup altogether, if you get a router with multiple ports. It would look like this:

  DSL
   |
 Router
 //||\\
Computers

The router's DHCP server would then assign internal IP addresses to every computer on the network.
Whether or not you need a switch depends on how many computers you plan to have on the network. If it's not too many, a single router should work fine.

I haven't understood the part about network utilization either. Maybe you could explain it more in detail?

 

[Kush]

i knew it, cuz the isp gave my dad one ip. and they put a damn switch so it tried to connect the network as part of the isp. well there are only 3 pc's but i was thinking that i should do it like zedric said exactly thats what was in my mind

DSL
|
Router
|
Switch
//||\\
Computers

 

[NetRyder]

Well, if you already have the router and switch, go ahead and use them both.
Just thought I'd let you know that it works without a switch if you have a router with multiple ports.

 

[Kush]

yeah i knew that but they have the switch already but not the router, well get that. but well use the switch since they have it. thats better so they dont use network bandwidth when they arent doing much, by the way how does the switch make it so the packets only go to the desired pc, and if so will the little link light on lan card blink only when the packets are going to it? cuz on a hub they are always lighting

 

[Friend of Bill]

"what would be the best setup so the computers that arent being sent data dont still use network utilization"

Set to "Block All" with an advanced firewall rule.

 

[Kush]

no thats what a switch is for right?

 

[NetRyder]

Why would computers on the network utilize bandwidth if they aren't using the connection?

 

[Zedric]

I think I understand where he's going with this.

A hub sends data to all ports when something is transferred ("network utilization is used" as mafia said). It's a dumb splitter device.

A switch has a list of connected MAC addresses on every port. So if a package comes in, it knows on which port to send it out. The rest of the network won't notice anything.

A normal SOHO router with multiple LAN ports have a switch built in (hence the multiple ports). So it's not like a hub. It won't "disturb" the other computers. So since you only have 3 computers, the extra switch is unnecessary since the router allready provides one.

Got it?

 

[Kush]

thanks zedric thats exactly what i was talking about. so the router does the same thing as the switch already? ahh i didnt know that. cool Zedric u read my mind thanks for the help!

 

[Kush]

see the setup my dad had in the office was like this

DSL MODEM----- Switch ----- pc's

so its not even under each other in the tree everything is hooked up in the switch

 

[Zedric]

Then his ISP gives more than one IP. It has to.

 

[Kush]

thats what messed up everything between the head office in the states and the isp in saudi they didnt undresstand anything between each other and i knew the whole mess. but the net goes really slowly, and if someone does somthjing on the other pc the net i think stops working on another but for sure they had only one ip from the isp, but then i guess it screwed up the isp's network thats why it kept changing the ip on www.whatismyip.com

 

[Kush]

hey so zedric your saying that the router automatically does the same thing as a switch? if u said a normal soho router, what else is there? HOE HOE ? hehee lol

 

[NetRyder]

Yes, as Zedric and I already mentioned, a multiple port router contains a built-in switch. So you don't need another switch at all. Just plug in each computer to the ports on the router, connect the DSL modem to the uplink port on the router, and you're all set.

A SOHO router, btw, is a router meant for Small Offices and Home Offices (SOHO)
That's the kind of router you get in stores quite cheap. There are other routers available (for example from CISCO) that are used by large corporations. They have many more ports, and better security controls. For your setup, a SOHO router would be perfect.

 

[Zedric]

And the "big" routers don't use NAT and all that. They just bind networks together and find routes through the mess of cables the Internet is.

Basically a multiport router is a router and a switch glued together. So yes, it will do the same thing as a switch on the LAN side of the router.

 

[Kush]

yeah ok so ill just take the switch hehe... anyone wanna buy a d-link switch?

 

[Zedric]

You mean "just the router", right?

 

[Kush]

nope the switch...