Advice on what to do please with hardware and wireless

buggs1a · #1 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 12:45 AM

Sorry for posting another thread. I think I should based on it's a bit different then my previous one.

I am having some issues with my current router and would appreciate it if you guys could give me your advice and help me, a newbie I guess.

My network looks like this.

Cable modem dhcp into linksys WRVS4400N router. Router to switch. 1 pc that is windows xp pro sp3 wired and it is on all the time. macbook pro led 15" that i use wireless and wired. it has 802.11n. Wii which is wireless only. PS3 which is wireless and ethernet. Xbox 360 which is wireless and ethernet. ipod touch 8gb 2nd generation wireless.

My brand new linksys router seems to have wireless issues. I have to reconnect to wireless from my mac sometimes and i used to have a dlink dgl-4300 where I did not have this issue. my ipod has to reconnect also many times. I'll be surfing then it will stop working till I reconnect to the network. Wireless signal strength is maybe 67% or so.

The linksys WRVS4400N seems to maybe be outdated/old and won't be supported in firmware fixes etc. I see no phone number or anything either. I am interested in their TrendMicro security service thing, but can't find any buying info on it. So I want the security.

I have a couple things I am thinking of and this is where I need your advice please.

1: I can build a pc from seperate parts from the only local store here that sells seperates. Fry's Home Electronics | Computer Parts & Accessories, Software, Games, TVs, Cameras - Frys.com . I've mentioned before. Here is what I would get.

case. I prefer the shuttle type. Is this called mini-itx or something? I can get a normal case too.
I would want 2gb ram
cdrom
2nic.
wireless.n
hard drive
cpu

I'll be torrenting sometimes, not often. gaming of course so ps network and xbox live and then wii. I also would be doing some heavy downloading and uploading once in a while, but not that often. I mean heavy as in using my full bandwidth. I have a 16mb down and 2mb up connection. Wii will be wireless always. Mac laptop will be wireless 99% of the time and once in a while for lan to lan transfers wired. If I need to transfer large files. PS3 will be wired and wireless, not sure about what percent though. Xbox 360 will be wired 99% of the time.

I can get by with slowest cpu, smallest hard drive, 1-2gb ram, cheapest cdrom thing, cheapest shuttle type case or whatever case.

Then I would need to get a wireless .n access point. I don't know which one would be good for this.

I could use whatever nic comes on the mobo and then 1 or 2 others if needed. I have a dlink nic that works in ASG. So would I need 1 nic for WAN, one nic for LAN and one nic for wireless access point?

What i'd do basically is go to Fry's Home Electronics | Computer Parts & Accessories, Software, Games, TVs, Cameras - Frys.com and pick the cheapest of everything that would work with Astaro and stuff. However I don't know what will work or not based on what is at Fry's Home Electronics | Computer Parts & Accessories, Software, Games, TVs, Cameras - Frys.com . My parents want to do this all locally and Fry's Home Electronics | Computer Parts & Accessories, Software, Games, TVs, Cameras - Frys.com is the only place local with seperate parts. i can buy a $250-$350 pc they sell and use it and wipe it clean with ASG, but don't know which will work with ASG.

I want to run IPS, AV and content filtering to block only ****. I also will wanna use the reporting to report how much we download and upload on the wan.

The next option is taking the router back and get a different wireless .n router that won't have security and then if I can, put Astaro on my dads pc running windows xp pro sp3 and use Astaro for the AV, IPS, content filtering and reports. My dads pc has 2 nics I think and if not I can add some. It has enough power to run windows and the Astaro in a VM.

I don't know how to do this so I would need step by step instructions and I would in fact want to bless you and return the favor by possibly giving you some money for helping me out with all of this.

I'm not sure what to do and this is where your advice is needed. Financially I guess it is better to exchange my router for another wireless .n that might have good wireless and then use Astaro on my dads pc for the security and stuff, except I need help with this.

Being our network is not fully working right now the sooner the better to take care of this of course.

Also, I think once this was working ok I probably can help test the Astaro beta releases. Or at least I would like to.

Anyhow, thanks for listening and helping and truly I say to you, God Bless you. I mean that sincerely and truly.

Joe

BarryG · #2 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 01:01 AM

Hi, a used computer normally works fine, but newer hardware sometimes doesn't have full driver support in Linux / Astaro yet.

The machine in my signature works great, and there are less expensive Atom boards as well.

Barry

dilandau · #3 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 01:03 AM

Hi Joe,

Astaro does not support wireless cards, so you would need to have a wireless router/ap in your network either way, so I would recommend returning the wireless router even if you want to run astaro.

I don't think the way you want to setup astaro in vmware will work how you want it to. To work properly to filter all traffic in the network astaro needs to be placed in a position in the network where all traffic must flow through it to access the internet, so having it on your dad's computer may not accomplish this. Don't get me wrong astaro runs perfectly fine running in vmware, it just needs to be placed appropriately in your network topology.

buggs1a · #4 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 01:20 AM

So should I concentrate on just buying the parts then and build the pc for Astaro to be the gateway?
Here's so far what I'm looking at now on www.frys.com

mini-atx cases
http://www.frys.com/search?cat=-51592&pType=pDisplay

mobo
http://www.frys.com/catreq/-1536

shuttle cases
http://www.frys.com/product/5699461?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Shuttle SG31G2 XPC BB
* Specifications:
* FORM FACTOR:
* Shuttle Form Factor
* PROCESSOR:
* Intel Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo,Dual-Core,Celeron 400 Serial Support
* FSB:
* 800/1066/1333*MHz Support
* (*Native Support)
* CHIPSET:
* Intel G31 + ICH7
* MEMORY:
* 2 x 240 pin DDR2 DIMM slots,2GB per DIMM (Max 4GB)
* Dual Channel: DDR2 667/800
* VGA Built-In: Intel GMA 3100 256bit 3D engine with a powerful 400MHz core and DirectX 9.0
* Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0 supports up to 384MB of video memory
* AUDIO:
* Realtek ALC888
* 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio Support Digital S/PDIF in/out
* ETHERNET:
* Marvell 88E8056
* IEEE 802.3u 100Base-T specification revision 1.0
* 100Mb/s and 1Gb/s Operation
* Support Wake-On-LAN Function
* IEEE1394 (FireWire) TI TSB43AB22A
* Complise with 1394 OHCI specification revision 1.0
* Support: 400Mb/s,200Mb/s,100Mb/s transfer rate
* STORAGE INTERFACE:
* (3) 3.0Gb/s bandwidth SATA II
* (1) Ultra DMA/100 IDE channel
* (1) Floppy
* ONBOARD CONNECTORS:
* (3) SATA connectors
* (1) ATA100 bus IDE connector
* (2) 2x5 pin USB 2.0 header
* (1) Floppy connector
* (1) ATX main power connector
* (1) ATX 12V power connector
* (1) set 4pin fan connectors
* (1) set 3pin fan connectors
* FRONT PANEL:
* (2) UBS 2.0 ports
* (1) mini IEEE 1394 port
* (1) Microphone-In
* (1) Earphone-Out
* Power-On button
* Reset button
* Power LED
* HDD LED
* BACK PANEL:
* (1) PCI-E x16 slot
* (1) PCI slot
* (1) RJ45 Gigabit LAN port
* (1) D-sub VGA port
* (1) DVI-D VGA port
* (4) USB 2.0 ports
* (1) PS/2 keyboard port
* (1) PS/2 mouse port
* (1) Line-in port
* (1) Front out port
* (1) Side Surround out port
* (1) Rear Surround out port
* (1) Center/Bass port
* (1) IEEE1394 port
* (1) Clear CMOS button
* (1) Printer port fixture
* (1) Wireless Antenna fixture
* EXPANSION BAY:
* (2) 3.5' bay
* (1) 5.25' bay
* DIMENSIONS:
* 300(L) x 200(W) x 185(H) mm
* POWER Supply:
* 250W
* Input:
* 100-240V AC
* Dimensions:
* 190(L) x 82(W) x 43(H) mm
* ACCESSORIES:
* XPC Multilanguage Quick User Guide
* XPC CD Driver (XP and Vista 32 / 64 bit)
* 1* Power cord
* 1* IDE cable (pre-install)
* 1* SATA cable (pre-install)
* 1* Floppy cable
* Screws
* Heatsink Compound

http://www.frys.com/product/5661311?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Shuttle KPC K-48 Black
* Specifications:
* Brand: Shuttle
* Series: "G7" Chassis
* Model: K48
* Color: Black
* CPU Supported:
* CPU Type: Intel Core 2 Duo / Dual-Core E2*** / Celeron D
* CPU Socket: Intel Socket T(LGA775)
* FSB: 1066/800MHz
* Chipset:
* North Bridge Intel 945GC
* South Bridge ICH7
* Memory Supported:
* Memory slot: 2 x 240Pin
* Memory Type Supported: DDR2 533/667
* Max Memory Supported: 4GB
* Dual Channel Memory Supported: Yes
* Storage:
* IDE ATA 1 x ATA 100
* Serial ATA 2 x SATAII 300
* Graphics:
* Onboard Video: Intel GMA 950
* Audio:
* Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC662
* Channel: 6-Channel
* Communications:
* First LAN Marvell 88E8056(10/100/1000Mbps)
* Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps
* Extension Bays:
* 3.5" Internal bays 2
* 5.25" External bays 1
* Back Panel Ports:
* PS/2 2
* COM 1
* VGA 1 x D-Sub + 1 x DVI
* Rear USB 4
* RJ45 1
* Rear Audio Ports 3 jacks
* Physical SPEC:
* Dimensions: 11.6" x 7.9" x 7.3"
* Packaging:
* Package Contents:
* KPC Multilanguage Quick User Guide
* KPC CD Driver (XP and Vista 32 / 64 bit)
* 1x Power cord
* 1x IDE cable
* 1x SATA cable
* Screws