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    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

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  1. scotty

    Ethernet cabling...

    Monoprice FTW! Jdabbs pretty much summarized it. The 'PVC Solid' (second from left) looks like it's pretty much the same as the plenum type, but using a PVC jacket instead of plenum (in other words, not fire rated). The stranded PVC seems like the 'basic' option, and the 'Shielded PVC' has an...
  2. scotty

    Ethernet cabling...

    Most Cat5/6 cable is made to go in walls, but essentially you want to try to get Plenum or FT4 rated cabling, which is the fire rating Tim mentions. It's heat resistant and generally fares better than other types in walls. In areas where there are codes, they typically specify Plenum or FT4...
  3. scotty

    Gigabit Wireless N Router with a print server?

    I've noticed the same, scanning is hit and miss with print servers. If the MFP device doesn't already come with a print server built in, it will likely only support scanning via. USB. Without it integrated, there's nothing in the driver code to support scanning over the network.
  4. scotty

    Anyone ever try out the linksys spa400 ?

    I've done a fair amount of VIOP systems, but never had experience with most of Linksys' products (they took over Sipura, so they're basically sipura products). I don't know of too many people using an SPA400 because it seems to not fit terribly well into a lot of product categories (too much for...
  5. scotty

    Vista / XP home workgroup setup?

    Couple things: 1. Make sure file/print sharing is allowed in the XP firewall (or for the purposes of testing, disable the firewall entirely). 2. Make a test share on the XP machine, allowing network users to change files. Sometimes running through the silly 'set up a home network'...
  6. scotty

    Router vs. Firewall

    As stonecat said, for something with Anti-Virus built in, you need a UTM device, which will typically be a bit more of a 'business class' device. Watchguards are my favoritve, but there there's others as Stonecat mentions. For something that's supposed to handle "100mbps", you're probably going...
  7. scotty

    Gigabit CAT6 Kit for Installing & Testing: Terminiation, Crimping etc.

    Wow, great article. I'm surprised I had never read it before... It gives me some ideas for my new house. On top of the great advice in the article, the only thing I would add is buying good tools, particularly a good crimper. I originally had a cheapo belkin crimper and quite frankly it gave...
  8. scotty

    I think I need a bridge...

    One of the smartest things I did in my IT consulting days was getting to know good electricians. It never ceases to amaze me how much fear there is surrounding running a few cat5's. In your case since there's VOIP involved, I would be very cautious about using wireless. Voice is one of those...
  9. scotty

    Windows Home Server, Yay or nay?

    Although I was kind of excited to hear the name 'home server', I never really payed much attention to it. Add on top of that the major data corruption bug and I've pretty much ignored it completely. Now that SP1 is out and 'fixes' it, remind me again what WHS is supposed to do for me? I...
  10. scotty

    Building a HTPC cloud for home

    That's pretty much hitting the nail on the head. I've struggled with this over the years and all you can really do is find the lowest common denominator file format and work from there. Even then, you'll have some rogue device that does something really well, but its really hard to get it to...
  11. scotty

    Good backup DNS servers and backup gateways?

    I personally like OpenDNS, at least in the SOHO environment. Business wise, I usually have multiple DNS servers and the like. I've almost never had problems with my local ISPs DNS servers though, so I can't say it's been an issue that much. I would think in a home environment, OpenDNS is...
  12. scotty

    I think I need a bridge...

    Hopefully nobody is going to be using the phone much. I've done almost this exact setup for a past client (albeit in a metal building, no wood) because they were ardently opposed to running wire. Basically, it never worked terribly well, and it really showed in the VOIP calls. It was a fairly...
  13. scotty

    HTPC or Set Top Box

    Don't think so. Streaming DVD it pretty straight forward. I streamed straight ripped VOB's from other PC's and it worked just fine. You should be OK until you start dabbling into HD, and even then there's not too much to worry about there.
  14. scotty

    Putting together the SNB RAID NAS Explorer

    Thanks for doing this. This is along the lines of what I want to test (or see tested). - As far as OS - Definately Vista, WHS, and Server 08. It would be nice to see how something like OpenNAS compares, as well as a basic Linux distro like Ubuntu (seeing as Linux is hailed by many for its...
  15. scotty

    HTPC or Set Top Box

    Yep, I do have it with my A/V equipment. It's not noisy at all. It throws off a little heat, but nothing excessive. Plus, I don't have anything even close to 'energy efficient' or quiet components in there. It was built as a gaming PC first, and just happen to end up working out well as an HTPC...
  16. scotty

    HTPC or Set Top Box

    I use a Shuttle with XP Media Center. Streams just fine, plays everything, displays photos, plays movies, the whole nine yards. The shuttle is a very small package. Silverstone and Temjin make a variety of HTPC cases that look very slick. Plus, on a 1080P TV, you can use it as a monitor. I'm not...
  17. scotty

    Building NAS from scratch?

    Unfortunately, I might not have the NAS running for a couple weeks (moving into a new house, etc), so I might not be able to get some results for a little while. I would definately like to test and get some more official numbers of what a desktop OS can do versus a NAS. My rough impressions from...
  18. scotty

    Complicated Networking Problem

    I had a friend in a roughly similar scenario 6 months ago - very connected home needing a 'little more' throughput everywhere (as well as adding another proprietary 2.4GHz home automation system, and plans for lots more to come in the coming months). We ended up pondering a few different...
  19. scotty

    11g degredation with 11n?

    Tim can maybe shed a bit more light on it, but there do seem to be known degredation problems running G and N together. It seems as though you're best using the DAP-1522 in G only mode. Edit: Found the full SNB write up here. Specifically: "The bad news is that its 2.4 GHz operation draft 11n...
  20. scotty

    Ad frame creating white space

    That's actually not a bad idea. I just don't have a place to post said article. Perhaps you could create a section called 'user reviews and articles'. I just moved from Vista to Ubuntu (and very impressed) and I'm tempted to scribe some thoughts. I have lots of pet projects and such I want to...
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