Home networking help

[cyberdoo78]

Please take into account that over a year has passed since I have used DD-WRT and OpenWRT.

The biggest difference for me, was configuration. While OpenWRT allows for a web interface, DD-WRT is formed around their web interface. DD-WRT pre-installed alot of the commonly used programs as well.

When it came down to it, OpenWRT to me was like a concrete slab, you could build anything you wanted with it, provided you did all the work.

DD-WRT on the other hand, was a coffee-shop ready to go, you just had to decide where you wanted everything setup.

Depending on your needs, you could do many different things with each. However you could do more with Open-WRT then with DD-WRT, however DD-WRT had most of what you want.

Its the difference between Debian Linux and Ubuntu Linux. Debian is more general, and Ubuntu is more specific.

[error]

Heh, in that case, I'm sticking with OpenWRT. Especially since your description of DD-WRT applies so well to OpenWRT.

[cyberdoo78]

Hey, its your liberty.

Personally I prefered DD-WRT over OpenWRT because the guy who does DD-WRT also has a graphical stats generator that connects to DD-WRT right nicely. But if you don't operate a hotspot it doesn't really matter then.

[MaineShark]

Do you want an embedded solution or just firewall/router software for an old junky PC with a couple of network cards? If the latter, I recommend IP Cop. It's easy to set up, is stable, and is pretty secure. I don't do anything crazy @ my place, but it stands up to people doing stupid stuff all the time. As for hardware, I used to use a Linksys wireless eady 10/100 switch back in the day, but I prefer the more flexible linux box solution better. If you're really savvy, you can have the best of both worlds: embedded linux on a hardware router. I just read a cool article about this yesterday or the day before, but I can't find the link anymore. Search osnews.com, Linux Today, or eWeek Linux. It was in my RSS aggregator, and those three are in there. It has to be on one of those sites

Probably looking for hardware.  I have some spare computers laying around, but I don't want to power up a whole extra computer on my UPS.

The Linux on the router thing definitely sounds interesting.

Um. First, you buy VoIP service wholesale. Then you buy an old computer on eBay and set up your own softswitch on it. Finally, you hook up your ATA and a phone.

I'm experimenting with putting the softswitch directly into the firmware in an off the shelf wireless router, so that you can dispense with the computer, and get Wi-Fi out of it too. The final setup looks much like this:

The advantage of this method is that you aren't sending UDP packets back and forth over the network, so it's much easier to prioritize your phone calls, and to punch them through your firewall (there's just one TCP port instead of a thousand UDP ports). If the softswitch is outside your firewall (as it is with Vonage, and every other provider) then you may occasionally have problems getting your calls to go through your firewall.

How's the cost compare to the retail VoIP services?  Realistically, we need two voice lines and one fax line.  If necessary, we can go with one of those fax/email services, but I think the option to just use a regular fax machine is better.

You can get as many voice or fax lines as you want from them.  They just send you an adapter per line, or if you can find a DTA-410 unit, which they don't sell anymore, on eBay or wherever, you can get two lines on a single adapter.

I was thinking cost-wise.  As in, do they have a discounted rate for the second voice line?  Or is it full-price?

Joe

[Dan]

Factory out of the box the cable-router likely runs either linux or netbsd.  They just hide it.

We have such great access to the linksys because someone noticed they were violating the General Public License, and linksys did the right thing.

[error]

Um. First, you buy VoIP service wholesale. Then you buy an old computer on eBay and set up your own softswitch on it. Finally, you hook up your ATA and a phone.

I'm experimenting with putting the softswitch directly into the firmware in an off the shelf wireless router, so that you can dispense with the computer, and get Wi-Fi out of it too. The final setup looks much like this:

The advantage of this method is that you aren't sending UDP packets back and forth over the network, so it's much easier to prioritize your phone calls, and to punch them through your firewall (there's just one TCP port instead of a thousand UDP ports). If the softswitch is outside your firewall (as it is with Vonage, and every other provider) then you may occasionally have problems getting your calls to go through your firewall.

How's the cost compare to the retail VoIP services?  Realistically, we need two voice lines and one fax line.  If necessary, we can go with one of those fax/email services, but I think the option to just use a regular fax machine is better.

Depends how much you use it. I probably spend $20 every couple of months on four lines. But then again I don't spend very much time on the phone.

[MaineShark]

Depends how much you use it. I probably spend $20 every couple of months on four lines. But then again I don't spend very much time on the phone.

How would I find out about pricing?

Joe

[error]

Depends how much you use it. I probably spend $20 every couple of months on four lines. But then again I don't spend very much time on the phone.

How would I find out about pricing?

See this thread.

[MaineShark]

How would I find out about pricing?

See this thread.

I thought you weren't going to offer the service?

Joe

[error]

Mainly I was holding off until I could see how the Vonage-Verizon dispute played out. That seems to be over now, so I'll be looking into it again shortly.

[MaineShark]

Mainly I was holding off until I could see how the Vonage-Verizon dispute played out. That seems to be over now, so I'll be looking into it again shortly.

Well, let us know.  We're looking to do this very soon, as using cell phones for business is getting to be an issue.

Joe

[error]

Mainly I was holding off until I could see how the Vonage-Verizon dispute played out. That seems to be over now, so I'll be looking into it again shortly.

Well, let us know.  We're looking to do this very soon, as using cell phones for business is getting to be an issue.

Depends whether you want to be a guinea pig or not. This mainly would involve occasionally swapping out bits of hardware and occasionally not having service in the middle of the night, or for a minute or two at a time here and there. You also need a good Internet connection preferably with a fast upload rate.

And for faxing, I have no idea. Haven't even tested it.

[MaineShark]

Depends whether you want to be a guinea pig or not. This mainly would involve occasionally swapping out bits of hardware and occasionally not having service in the middle of the night, or for a minute or two at a time here and there. You also need a good Internet connection preferably with a fast upload rate.

And for faxing, I have no idea. Haven't even tested it.

I don't get many business calls in the middle of the night

The primary reason we're looking for VoIP instead of PSTN is primarily reliability.  The Verizon service around has gone down at least twice during the year that we're lived here (maybe more times; since we don't have a Verizon account, we only know it was down if someone mentions it).  Once we got some initial IP issues fixed with Metrocast, we've never lost Internet access.  With the 1500va UPS, we can even go a while in case of power failure.

So yeah, we don't mind being guinea pigs.  We'll probably do two lines initially, and deal with fax/email since that would cost less than an additional line, and I'm not inclined to want a traditional fax machine sitting there wasting paper on fax spam...

How do we test the upload rate, and what does it need to be?

Joe

[CNHT]

A wireless network carries with it a whole mess of undesirable issues, such as lower throughput, higher susceptibility to RF interference, a whole slew of potential vulnerabilities (disruption, infiltration, etc.).

There's just one thing wireless has going for it: convenience. If someone is willing to put forth the effort to properly wire a location with cat5e/6, all the above problems are pretty much a non-issue.

I don't have any of those problems.... I do have ethernet points in every room but only one computer is on one of them, and serves as my signal broadcaster. Most guests and residents use the WiFi.

Question: In order for someone to break into your WiFi don't they have to be within range? And if you don't live in a building in the city, they would then have to be sitting in your driveway to get this signal and you would see them?

In our office I have it protected but not at home...

[MaineShark]

Question: In order for someone to break into your WiFi don't they have to be within range? And if you don't live in a building in the city, they would then have to be sitting in your driveway to get this signal and you would see them?

Or have a repeater that is within range.  Which could be much smaller and less easy to spot.

Joe