Up until now I have avoided using Wireless LANs as far as possible, I find wired ethernet much easier to understand and get my head around.
We have occasionally turned on the Wireless on the router to allow my wife's laptop to connect when she's out in the garden but have always turned it off again after use.
I now want/need to do something a bit more difficult and really don't quite know how wireless will handle it (or even if it can). I'll try and explain what I want to do.
I have two phone lines each with ADSL from two different ISPs. Currently it's all hard wired with a Draytek Vigor 2820n on one and a BT Business Hub (2Wire) on the other. The 2820n provides simple load balancing sharing requests between its ADSL and the BT/2Wire ADSL which is connected to the second WAN port on the 2820n.
What I want to do is do load balancing/sharing in a Linux 'server' box rather than using the 2820n as the 2820n's load balancing is a bit limited and I think that (maybe) I can do better using something like Zeroshell or Smoothwall in a dedicated Linux box.
I'm aiming to try using an Acer Aspire Revo as the 'server' box but it only has one wired ethernet NIC (as do nearly all reasonably priced low power boxes) so I'll need to use its wireless LAN too. I'd like to use its hardwired Gigabit interface to connect to my existing LAN with our desktop machines, NAS etc.
So, I want to use the wireless LAN on the Acer Aspire Revo to talk to both the routers, is this possible? I.e. will they all talk together in the same way as they would if plugged into a switch? Or would I be better off getting the Revo to talk to one of the routers using wireless and then use the switch in that router to get the other router onto the same subnet?
Any all advice welcome (if anyone has waded through this so far!).
On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 09:51:04PM +0000, Chris G wrote: [snip ramblings]
So, I want to use the wireless LAN on the Acer Aspire Revo to talk to both the routers, is this possible? I.e. will they all talk together in the same way as they would if plugged into a switch? Or would I be better off getting the Revo to talk to one of the routers using wireless and then use the switch in that router to get the other router onto the same subnet?
Any all advice welcome (if anyone has waded through this so far!).
I think I have found the answer, only one of the devices on the wireless network can be in 'master mode'. As I understand it, by default, routers tend to be in 'master mode' when you turn their Wireless on so it's doubtful if I can turn wireless on in both the 2Wire and the 2820n and expect it to work.
I can't see any problem with turning on just, say, the 2820n and connecting the 2Wire to the 2820n via UTP though. Can anyone see any issues with doing this? I'll need to turn off DHCP in one of them and make sure the subnet is different from that being used on the other side of the 'server' but it should work then shouldn't it?
Chris G wrote:
Up until now I have avoided using Wireless LANs as far as possible, I find wired ethernet much easier to understand and get my head around.
We have occasionally turned on the Wireless on the router to allow my wife's laptop to connect when she's out in the garden but have always turned it off again after use.
I now want/need to do something a bit more difficult and really don't quite know how wireless will handle it (or even if it can). I'll try and explain what I want to do.
I have two phone lines each with ADSL from two different ISPs. Currently it's all hard wired with a Draytek Vigor 2820n on one and a BT Business Hub (2Wire) on the other. The 2820n provides simple load balancing sharing requests between its ADSL and the BT/2Wire ADSL which is connected to the second WAN port on the 2820n.
What I want to do is do load balancing/sharing in a Linux 'server' box rather than using the 2820n as the 2820n's load balancing is a bit limited and I think that (maybe) I can do better using something like Zeroshell or Smoothwall in a dedicated Linux box.
I'm aiming to try using an Acer Aspire Revo as the 'server' box but it only has one wired ethernet NIC (as do nearly all reasonably priced low power boxes) so I'll need to use its wireless LAN too. I'd like to use its hardwired Gigabit interface to connect to my existing LAN with our desktop machines, NAS etc.
So, I want to use the wireless LAN on the Acer Aspire Revo to talk to both the routers, is this possible? I.e. will they all talk together in the same way as they would if plugged into a switch? Or would I be better off getting the Revo to talk to one of the routers using wireless and then use the switch in that router to get the other router onto the same subnet?
Any all advice welcome (if anyone has waded through this so far!).
Hi Chris,
Instead of using wireless, why don't you get yourself a cheap managed switch (eg DELL Powerconnect 2716) and configure VLAN's. Have the two ADSL modems each on their own VLAN (connected to untagged ports), and have the linux server NIC connected to a tagged port.
I use this setup at home (is having VLAN's at home a sign of the true geek?). Although I only have one ADSL modem. I have my wifi access point in one VLAN, VOIP phones in another, Myth tv stuff in another, etc etc.
HTH
Chris
On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 12:54:51AM +0000, Chris Glover wrote:
So, I want to use the wireless LAN on the Acer Aspire Revo to talk to both the routers, is this possible? I.e. will they all talk together in the same way as they would if plugged into a switch? Or would I be better off getting the Revo to talk to one of the routers using wireless and then use the switch in that router to get the other router onto the same subnet?
Any all advice welcome (if anyone has waded through this so far!).
Hi Chris,
Instead of using wireless, why don't you get yourself a cheap managed switch (eg DELL Powerconnect 2716) and configure VLAN's. Have the two ADSL modems each on their own VLAN (connected to untagged ports), and have the linux server NIC connected to a tagged port.
Are VLANs effectively using the same physical network for multiple subnets or is there more to it than that? If that's what they are then I was going to ask whether such a thing existed - so you may have pointed me in the right direction, thanks.
... thinks. My 2820N router has virtual LAN ability, I'll read up about that.
I use this setup at home (is having VLAN's at home a sign of the true geek?). Although I only have one ADSL modem. I have my wifi access point in one VLAN, VOIP phones in another, Myth tv stuff in another, etc etc.
What's the advantage of doing this in your situation?
On 26 Oct 21:51, Chris G wrote:
I'm aiming to try using an Acer Aspire Revo as the 'server' box but it only has one wired ethernet NIC (as do nearly all reasonably priced low power boxes) so I'll need to use its wireless LAN too. I'd like to use its hardwired Gigabit interface to connect to my existing LAN with our desktop machines, NAS etc.
Hmm, for that sortof thing we tend to use soekris boxes... though, they're not as cheap but they do work... otherwise, just pick up something from: http://linitx.com/viewcategory.php?catid=79&pp=79
Most should be able to have other operating systems on 'em (actually, I think the first 3 come with nowt on 'em, and you'd want to buy a CF card to install to).
Cheers,
On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 08:10:09AM +0000, Brett Parker wrote:
On 26 Oct 21:51, Chris G wrote:
I'm aiming to try using an Acer Aspire Revo as the 'server' box but it only has one wired ethernet NIC (as do nearly all reasonably priced low power boxes) so I'll need to use its wireless LAN too. I'd like to use its hardwired Gigabit interface to connect to my existing LAN with our desktop machines, NAS etc.
Hmm, for that sortof thing we tend to use soekris boxes... though, they're not as cheap but they do work... otherwise, just pick up something from: http://linitx.com/viewcategory.php?catid=79&pp=79
Most should be able to have other operating systems on 'em (actually, I think the first 3 come with nowt on 'em, and you'd want to buy a CF card to install to).
I hunted around and around LinITX but didn't really find anything that filled the bill at a reasonable price. What actually started me on this quest was the Fit-PC but that's over £300 for a Linux one with hard disk. I then found the Viewsonic VOT120 which is around £160 for a similar configuration but no one has a 'No OS' one in stock and paying £50 more to MS for something I don't want seemed a bit much. So, after a bit of searching around, I found eBuyer had the Revo for £149 including carriage so I've gone for that. It takes a little bit more power than the Fit-PC and VOT120 but the difference (10 watts or so) will only cost about £10/year by my calculations.
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Brett Parker -
Chris G -
Chris Glover