Router Recomendation for a Large Home Network (12+ Ports)

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foltzie

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Same question as posed in this thread here. However, I have recently finished refurbishing my house and now I have 12+ Ethernet ports with the possibility of adding more as I finish my basement and garage.

Therefore I am open to suggestions about what router/switch/gateway to use as my backend. I would like something manageable, and easy enough to get working with odd equipment like a Xbox or Tivo.

I know some routers are using Linux based firmware and that is an interesting option, but I don’t know anything about Linux myself, but I would be willing to dive in to whatever OS the unit is using.

Do any CAGers have experience with almost small business setup?
 
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http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-130-105&depa=0

I have one of these at home. Its been working perfectly fo rme for a year and a half now. What kind of cable did you run? Cat 5e or 6? If thats the case, then you may want to spend a hundred or so and get a gigabit switch.

How its setup is:

cable/dsl modem to the wan port of the router, then one port of the switch gets connected to one port on the router. Simple enough.
 
I ran 4 strands of Cat5e to each room and terminated 3 lines with ethernet Keystone plugs and 1 line with a regular phone Keystone plug.
 
[quote name='iufoltzie']I ran 4 strands of Cat5e to each room and terminated 3 lines with ethernet Keystone plugs and 1 line with a regular phone Keystone plug.[/QUOTE]

In that case, you may want to get a gigabit switch, or atleast a 5 port one. That way you are all set for the future.
 
[quote name='bignick']In that case, you may want to get a gigabit switch, or atleast a 5 port one. That way you are all set for the future.[/QUOTE]

Any suggestions as to a brand?

I would also like to delve into the topic a little more, but searching for variants on home networking on Google is turning up scores of random seller sites and nothing substantive, I might have to go find an ORielly book on the topic at this rate.
 
There really isnt much to home networking. Every cable gets plugged into the switch, and then every computer can see each other. It really is plug and play. Your router will be a DHCP server. This means that it will assign an IP address to every computer on your network.

Lastly, to share files, you simply creat a share on one of your computers. Say you had a mp3 folder, you right click on it and select sharing and security. Select share this folder. Make sure not to check allow network users to change my files. Then, on your other machines, you can map a network drive to that share. //computer_name/share_name

As far as a brand, its tough to say. You cant go wrong with linksys or netgear. That Zonet one I have has been great.
 
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