Setting up a Home Network

[fencingdude101]

Hey everyone,

 

I've been a member of the forum since it was created, checking out the news section, but never really had a reason to post. Now I guess I do!

 

I'm planning to set up a home network with a home server (Running Windows Server 2012) at its heart. This'll be used for file storage to be accessed by everything else in my house (Like Linus' setup: File backups, general ease of use instead of each device having its own files/storage). I also want to connect everything to the internet. So, here are my questions...

 

1) Can I just connect everything via ethernet cable to a switch and have everything work?

2) If I connect my router to the switch as well, will every other device connected to the switch be able to access the internet?

3) Will I be able to access my files from my home server via the internet if it is connected to the internet?

4) Is there a wireless "broadcaster" or something I can buy so I can connect it to the switch and connect something like my laptop/tablet/phone to it wirelessly? Could I use my router?

5) Will I need a special type of switch? (I was planning on getting one unmanaged)

6) Will I be able so send files to the server (Via ethernet/"broadcaster") from my devices or will I need special crossover cables or something?

 

I know some of the basics of networking (Basic topologies and such) and am a computer programmer, so I have some understanding on how technology works. I just want to make sure things will work before spending a thousand dollars on a switch, a bunch of NIC's, and a server.

 

Here's a visual representation of what I am looking at doing: 

 

Thanks everyone!

[Bonsai99]

Sounds like you really don't need a Home Server, all you need is a NAS. If you only have 4 wired devices there is no need for a switch. Pretty much all wireless routers have atleast 4 ethernet ports. What model is your router?

 

It seems like you made things way more complicated than necessary.

[fencingdude101]

Sounds like you really don't need a Home Server, all you need is a NAS. If you only have 4 wired devices there is no need for a switch. Pretty much all wireless routers have atleast 4 ethernet ports. What model is your router?

 

It seems like you made things way more complicated than necessary.

I thought about that, but I think I want more than a NAS and a simple router. I do a bunch of video editing with large files and want the expandability and customization of a full home server. Also, I'll be putting a quad NIC on my rendering PC and server (Hence the four lines off the switch) for the extra bandwidth as I would need/benefit from it. 

There are some other reasons, but there's two. I may still consider it though, thanks.

[thunder9231]

I have the the same setup that you are talking about in my own home. Except I have a couple of old routers that I converted into switches, though I wish they were Gigabit and not 10/100...

To answer:

1) A regular ethernet cable work just fine. Just be sure it's Cat 5e. Cat 6 can be used though it's a bit overkill for home use but it doesn't hurt!
2) Getting an unmanged switch, 5 port or 8 port (your choice) from Netgear. Run 1 cable to the switch from the router. The switch will take care of everything.
3) If you set up Windows Server 2012 correctly and Anywhere Access, you'll be able to view, download, and add files to and from the server. It just take's time to setup. A lot of time. (I'm running Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2 and it saves me a few steps if you're using the Standard) [since you're using 2012, do this command in an elevated (administrator) on your client computers 'reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Server\ClientDeployment" /v SkipDomainJoin /t REG_DWORD /d 1' if you don't want your computers to join a domain since it forces when running the connector]

4) That depends on how big your house is and how big of a radius of your router will emit. If you think that you'll need a wireless repeater, buy one.
5) Like I mentioned in 2, unmanged.

6) Sharing folders/drives on the server and then mapping them on Windows machines will do perfectly fine. 

Source: Personal experience, Microsoft and networking major, Google
 

[fencingdude101]

I have the the same setup that you are talking about in my own home. Except I have a couple of old routers that I converted into switches, though I wish they were Gigabit and not 10/100...

To answer:

1) A regular ethernet cable work just fine. Just be sure it's Cat 5e. Cat 6 can be used though it's a bit overkill for home use but it doesn't hurt!

2) Getting an unmanged switch, 5 port or 8 port (your choice) from Netgear. Run 1 cable to the switch from the router. The switch will take care of everything.

3) If you set up Windows Server 2012 correctly and Anywhere Access, you'll be able to view, download, and add files to and from the server. It just take's time to setup. A lot of time. (I'm running Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2 and it saves me a few steps if you're using the Standard) [since you're using 2012, do this command in an elevated (administrator) on your client computers 'reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Server\ClientDeployment" /v SkipDomainJoin /t REG_DWORD /d 1' if you don't want your computers to join a domain since it forces when running the connector]

4) That depends on how big your house is and how big of a radius of your router will emit. If you think that you'll need a wireless repeater, buy one.

5) Like I mentioned in 2, unmanged.

6) Sharing folders/drives on the server and then mapping them on Windows machines will do perfectly fine. 

Source: Personal experience, Microsoft and networking major, Google

 

Hey thanks a bunch, just wanted someone to clarify everything and make sure things would work.

That answers what I got, thanks again.

[thunder9231]

No problem!
 

Also, I'll be putting a quad NIC on my rendering PC and server (Hence the four lines off the switch) for the extra bandwidth as I would need/benefit from it. 

 

This you do not need.
 

A single gigabit NIC that is either built in on the motherboard or a single gigabit expansion NIC will suit your needs plenty. As long as everything in the configuration is gigabit (10/100/1000), you will have very good transfer speeds within the network. A 100 MB file will transfer in 1 or 2 seconds on gigabit.

[fencingdude101]

A single gigabit NIC that is either built in on the motherboard or a single gigabit expansion NIC will suit your needs plenty.

So just wondering, why does Linus have a quad NIC in both his sever and PC? Is there something that setup would be useful for? 

[intronate67]

So just wondering, why does Linus have a quad NIC in both his sever and PC? Is there something that setup would be useful for? 

Because he can...

[JohnnyGrey]

So just wondering, why does Linus have a quad NIC in both his sever and PC? Is there something that setup would be useful for? 

 

Also keep in mind, you need quite the raid setup in order to provide enough write speed to saturate a quad gigabit connection. With a single gigabit connection, you're looking at a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 125 megabytes per second. So, depending on your storage and raid setup in your server, it may be pointless to go with a quad gigabit card.

 

As far as a wireless repeater, you'd have to have a rather large property or solid oak walls for a higher end recent router to not reach. But if there are places in your home that your router won't reach, the it may be useful. Keep in mind that wireless repeaters increase latency, so if you're doing anything like gaming, you'll see it in ping times.

 

As far as price, keep in mind the cost difference between laying one ethernet cord from the switch to three devices versus laying four cables for three devices. Depending on length, you may end up spending a couple hundred dollars in cabling for quad gigabit connections between three devices.

[thunder9231]

So just wondering, why does Linus have a quad NIC in both his sever and PC? Is there something that setup would be useful for? 

 

The only NIC I know of that he uses is a 10 gigabit in the server and PC. I couldn't find anything about a quad NIC in his setups. The only time I think you would use a quad NIC is if your turning a computer into a router with PfSense. 

 

Also keep in mind, you need quite the raid setup in order to provide enough write speed to saturate a quad gigabit connection. With a single gigabit connection, you're looking at a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 125 megabytes per second. So, depending on your storage and raid setup in your server, it may be pointless to go with a quad gigabit card.

 

I forgot about the speed of the drives in raid. 

[fencingdude101]

The only NIC I know of that he uses is a 10 gigabit in the server and PC. I couldn't find anything about a quad NIC in his setups. The only time I think you would use a quad NIC is if your turning a computer into a router with PfSense. 

http://youtu.be/KjXH0S2iqTA?t=7m53s

 

In his old setup he has a quad NIC, but I think he switched to 10 gigabit around when he started Linus Media Group.

Still, since I'm only planning on raid 10 for the time being, I may just get an extra single NIC from the server as there's no reason for more.