Network Setup Q

[Tbirdan]

Right now I have a computer in my basement and one in my room (upstairs). In about a week we'll be getting cable, so naturally I'll set it up to share it. I also want to get a file server to backup my files with. and share movies, music, and applications. My files I'm making on my PC will be 3D/video/large graphic stuff. (Not stuff from MS Paint) I want to start my own web designing company, so I'll need to recieve files from over the net from my clients (stuff like emails and graphics) I assume email attachments will suffice. But, what kind of setup will I need?

This is the design I had in my mind. I'd connect my 2 PCs and the file server to a switch. Then, that would get connected to the router. I prefer to call the external server a "VPN Host". It wouldn't really be a server, but something to temporarly hold somebody's web site, and stuf they and other people send me across the net. It would be safer to do that anyway.

My Diagram

 

[Nothinman]

so I'll need to recieve files from over the net from my clients (stuff like emails and graphics) I assume email attachments will suffice. But, what kind of setup will I need?

Running a domain name and mail server is pretty easy, and if you they're sending semi-large files they'll probably be larger than the mailbox your ISP provides. You need to find out if your ISP allows this, probably not but if you feel daring enough to do it anyway a medium sized Linux box does this very easily. I do this on @Home (now it's ATTBI, probably will be Comcast soon) and it works great, better than trusting their sh!tty mail servers.

I prefer to call the external server a "VPN Host"

Well, it's not really doing anything VPN related in your diagram but that's not that important.

It wouldn't really be a server, but something to temporarly hold somebody's web site, and stuf they and other people send me across the net. It would be safer to do that anyway.

What do you mean by this? Do you mean it'll be hosting their site for previewing by them or it will be the host recieving the mail so you can look at it before it enters your network? If it's not the mail server will just you or the clients be adding files to it?

 

[Tbirdan]

Guess I ought to have explained that better. :frown: Anywho, it would be a temporary place from a client to house their site for testing purposes. When everything is finished, the site would then be transfered to a permanent host. The server would also do other jobs such as email (personal), light hosting for a personal site or 2, maybe some VPN. It's something I want to put in a DMZ outside my network to keep my internal network safe.

 

[bigshooter]

Do you really want to put a computer storing a clients website outside of your firewall? That probably wouldn't be the best move.

 

[Nothinman]

Do you really want to put a computer storing a clients website outside of your firewall? That probably wouldn't be the best move.

I agree, and there doesn't seem to be a reason for it to be in the DMZ, except maybe the VPN stuff. If it was me I would either have a sepreate/dedicated VPN machine or the firewall would do it if I didn't have an extra machine.

 

[Tbirdan]

Well, I want it out of the internal network because I'll be using it for a multitude of things. It'll do VPN, light web serving, email, act as a game server, and any other jobs that might come up in the future. I thought having something like that inside the network would be unsafe.

 

[jacklutz]

<< Well, I want it out of the internal network because I'll be using it for a multitude of things. It'll do VPN, light web serving, email, act as a game server, and any other jobs that might come up in the future. I thought having something like that inside the network would be unsafe. >>



If you run a Linux distro, and stay pretty well updated, I don't think you have all that much to worry about.

 

[Tbirdan]

<< If you run a Linux distro, and stay pretty well updated, I don't think you have all that much to worry about. >>



I dunno about Linux, I don't have any experience with it. I thought about learning it, but don't have the time. Besides, because I'll have a lot of crucial data inside the network, I don't want to take the chance that some crackerass will mess around with it.

 

[Tbirdan]

bump

 

[Nothinman]

In the long run it'll probably take less time to learn how to run Linux and Apache well than it will to keep up with all the MS security patches for IIS =)