Wireless Home Network

Gangsta

Im looking to setup a wireless network in my house but have no idea what and where to get it. I want to be able to watch DVD's and other video on my TV downloaded on my PC, play my mp3's from my PC on my Hi-Fi and be able to share a DSL/Cable connection throughout my house (Wireless Router??). I think a good idea would be to have a central server with all this data stored on it instead of the PC incase I get a virus/system crash and lose everything. Any1 know where to start and what to get?

netman

Well, you can start with a wireless DSL router, that will take care of the networking part in the house.

Next, you can set up a fileserver on linux, thus getting around all the windows vulnerabilities. You can get windows file sharing support on linux by installing samba, so that gets around sharing all those files you download between all the windows pc's in the house.

And then you either opt to have cables running from your PC to your Hi-Fi / TV, or you get something like a media center PC, a small form factor computer with a wireless card that can connect to your fileserver and play the music / videos etc. This is of course assuming your PC is in a different room and that you'd have cables running all over the place to hook it up to the HiFi/TV.

Unless you have a bunch of PC's in the house, I don't really see the need to go overboard like that. You could just have a DSL router with a firewall, connected to your PC, and up-to-date antivirus software. Norton Antivirus will set you back something like 30 euro, a lot less than what you'd pay for everything else. Then connect the PC to your HiFi and TV, and if it's close you can use one of the RF remotes to control it. RF goes through walls etc, it doesn't need a line of sight like the IR ones.

Gangsta

If i get a server and put the DSL connection on that and the wireless router, wud it be susceptable to viruses and wud Linux or Win2000 be more stable and safe?

vibe666

the hauppauge media mvp http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_mediamvp.html will do most of what you want, and then you just need a wifi bridge to do the rest http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=241.

once you have that you're more or less all set apart from the dsl router/gateway which has already been mentioned is available in wifi format. one word of advice is stick to 802.11g, as anything slower could give choppy output if the signal isn't 100% all the time.

make that two words of advice. unless you already know what you're doing with linux, steer clear or you may find that any benefits you would get from linux's extra security would be pointless without the skills to make the most of them, and you may well end up leaving yourself wide open to the sort of stuff you're trying to avoid.

if windows is what you know stick to it, and get youself a decent firewall and read up on wireless security.

netman

I don't quite understand what you mean, so let's cover all the options...

1) If you get a server and put the DSL connection on it
You're probably thinking of getting a DSL modem, either PCI or USB. In that case your server is directly connected to the internet and open to all attacks. This can be dealt with by installing software firewalls, but as the name says, they're only software, and depend on the operating system running properly and safely. I don't put much trust in software firewalls, a hardware solution is always better. You'd be better off getting a DSL router with a built-in firewall and protecting your network by only allowing incoming traffic for the ports you want. (80 for web, for example)

2) If you get a server would it be susceptible to viruses
If it's a Windows server, yes.
If it's a Linux server, not really. There are exploits (hacks) for some services running on linux, but no viruses. After all, on linux you need the right level of access, so a virus running under a user account can't do much damage. Besides, there's no Internet Explorer or Outlook Express for linux so it's a hell of a lot safer

3) Would Linux or Win2000 be more stable
Depends what you were thinking of running on your server first.
Windows 2000 is pretty stable.. It does suffer from bad memory management, as all windows operating systems do, so it will require a reboot every few months. I doubt that would be a problem for you.
Linux has a proven stability track record, and unless you mess it up by doing something crazy, it will run rock solid and can be left for months or even years.

Gangsta

Originally posted by vibe666
the hauppauge media mvp http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_mediamvp.html will do most of what you want, and then you just need a wifi bridge to do the rest http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=241.

I need that to be wireless, the smc one looks good.

About the server, I mainly want it to keep data (mp3's,movies etc.) on the hdd and be accessable to the Hi-Fi, PC's and TV. I don't know much about Linux but i have a mate and lots of time on my hands. Any links for a server?

vibe666

you'll be hard pushed to find anything to equal the hauppauge mvp that has wifi built in, which is why i posted the other link to the dlink wifi bridge. it's designed to take any ethernet connection and make it wireless. i.e. a playstation with wired ethernet, a pc, a network printer or as i was suggesting the mvp.

Gangsta

This SMC one looks good, the Wireless Multimedia Receiver SMCWMR-AG http://www.smc-europe.com/english/index.html

I'm nearly good to go.How bout a link to a server?

netman

I don't know why you're pushing for a server so much...

I mean you can just stick a few big drives into a mini tower case, put in some spare components and install linux which will run on pretty much anything.

If you really want a server, and the main use would be sharing a large number of files, have a look at NAS (Network Attached Storage). Microwarehouse have some cheap models from TEAC.

NAS category:
http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/searchresult.aspx?Action=CategoryDD&CatCode=RSF5%2cHSF5

TEAC 240GB NAS server:
http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/product.aspx?SKU=E479694

TEAC wireless card:
http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/product.aspx?SKU=E444345

netman

Here's what I have, and what I'm thinking of.. pretty much the same goal as yours:

PC upstairs, about 160 GB of storage, can run 24h and it's pretty quiet (water cooled).

Phone connection upstairs, where the PC is.
Got DSL, and bought a DSL router with a 4-port ethernet switch and WiFi access point, firewall built in. (Netopia from eircom, cost 150 euro) Netopia apparently have patented a 3D reach technology, basically it's two antennaes and in tests they've got the best signal quality out of all products tested. PC hooked up to the 100mbit switch.

Laptop, which moves around the house, wifi enabled.
Signal quality is always reported as "excellent" no matter where you go, even back garden. So I guess the 3D reach proves true

Telly downstairs, HiFi downstairs...

Now, the only bit missing in this setup is some box downstairs that would play all the movies / music. I'm currently looking into:
http://www.asus.com/products/desktop/pundit/overview.htm

It's small nice and quiet.. It's also Asus, which guarantees great quality. It has two PCI slots and USB, so I can hook up a WiFi adapter. It already has a sound card and video card, with composide and S-Video outputs, so it has everything I need. I'll just but a cheap P4-celeron and some cheapy memory and off I go. I don't think it needs a hard drive either, I should be able to boot off the network. Not sure how it works with WiFi, I know it works fine with ethernet. If there's problems booting off WiFi I can always get a cheap second-hand hard disk of a few GB for a few euro and I'm all set.

Hauppage also looks nice but lacks support for DivX, Xvid, OGG etc. With a windows or linux box downstairs I won't have to worry about different formats and compatibility.

voxpop

I was looking into one of these multimedia type boxes a while ago, check out this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138553

A good site for the mini form cases is

http://www.mini-itx.com/

lots of interesting stuff there.


Once note about the wifi side of things, as far as i know l802.11g is not supported on linux cus the companies developing it dont want their code open source - so for the linux box the best solution is 802.11b. You can get wifi access points that will work with both and use 802.11g on your windows boxes

hostyle

Have a look at slimp3 - it does what you want, though I havent tries out the video plugin.

I only use the software server side of it for streaming mp3s (ala web radio) between wirelessly linked PCs / laptops, and I don't have a TV. It does sound like what you're looking for though.

You could also look into VideoLan, Freevo and MythTV (both linux based solutions, look em up on google)

Finally, for video streaming wirelessly you need 802.11g ie. the G standard (A would also work but is more expensive). The B standard will work for mp3s, but not video.

I have a Netgear DG834G plugged into my neighbours phone / ADSl line; with a Netgear WG311 and a few Netgear WG511's. We both have backed up DVDs, which we can stream between walls, and watch flicker-free.

daveJAM

A chipped Xbox would probably be the best option for hooking up to the TV. You definately get more bang for your buck than the hauppauge or SMC solutions.

MagicBusDriver

The Kiss dp500 is the best option for divx, xvid or mp3 on TV. You can get it from amazon. I bought one a few month ago and I love it. It has an ethernet port to connect to a Windows/Linux server. see Kiss forum

Gangsta

plz no ethernet, i am looking for 802.11g devices. btw price is not an issue, my dad is rich:D

daveJAM

Then get a chipped Xbox and a wireless bridge. A chipped Xbox, properly setup, will be better than anything else you can get.