Small Network - VLAN ?

[starzen]

Currently I have a network that consists of a wired and wireless network. Nothing special, simple cable modem, wifi router, switch, voip phone, a few laptops and desktops, etc.

One thing we do is Christmas lights to music. Last year I had a wired LAN outside that was connected directly to my inside LAN. not a good thing obviously so I am looking to change that

I would like my outdoor network which needs to be wired as well as wireless to be separated from my internal network but both should have access to the internet.

furthermore it would be great if I would have access to at least one computer on the 'outside' network to do uploads.

Would a VLAN be the solution and if so what hardware would you suggest to set this up?

thanks

Mike

 

[abailey]

What wifi router and what switch do you have now? When you say " it would be great if I would have access to at least one computer on the 'outside' network to do uploads", do you mean access from a computer on your internal network to your external network (or can you simply plug in a laptop to your external network when you need to do uploads)?

 

[starzen]

What wifi router and what switch do you have now? When you say " it would be great if I would have access to at least one computer on the 'outside' network to do uploads", do you mean access from a computer on your internal network to your external network (or can you simply plug in a laptop to your external network when you need to do uploads)?

I am going to have to get something new. Right now I use a standard cisco/Linksys wifi router and Motorola cable modem and an unmanaged switch

would be nice if I could have a route from the internal to one device/port on the external network. During the lighting season I do lots of uploads and it wouldn't be fun if I had to run with my laptop all the time. The one machine I would connect to is protected inside the garage.

thanks again

Mike

 

[coxhaus]

The easy thing to do is setup VLANs on your cisco/Linksys router. They usually have VLAN support. Run your unmanaged switch on one VLAN and add a second switch to the other VLAN. Create access list in the router to share resources like your PC.
The other option is to add a layer 2 switch or layer 3 switch to handle the VLAN traffic.

 

[starzen]

my current Linksys router (4200) does not support VLANs so I will need to get a new one

 

[abailey]

I agree with Coxhaus that the easiest way would probably be to use 2 separate networks connected to a router that can handle multiple networks. Personally I use pro or prosumer routers at home like Ubiquiti or Zyxel or Microtik. But I see your E4200 router does support DD-WRT firmware. I am no expert on DD-WRT but I believe it would allow you to run multiple networks and set up access list. I am not sure about the wireless portion though, you may have to add a WAP on one of the networks for wireless access.

 

[starzen]

I don't mind getting a new router. My idea would be to have a good router that supports VLANs off the cable modem then have a switch inside for my inside network and a WIFI AP for inside. Then have another switch in the garage that is used for the outside network and a second AP that sits on the outside of the building

Any suggestions on router ? Maybe one that supports a VPN as well. Right now I am using a software VPN client and I wouldn't mind getting rid of it

 

[Cloud200]

Why not get a managed switch that you can lock down the port to a single MAC address?
10/100 seems fine for your needs so even something used will do the trick.

 

[abailey]

Why not get a managed switch that you can lock down the port to a single MAC address?
10/100 seems fine for your needs so even something used will do the trick.

This is also a good solution. I think this would be the easier solution if you are not interested in learning about VLANs and routing on a new router.

 

[abailey]

I don't mind getting a new router. My idea would be to have a good router that supports VLANs off the cable modem then have a switch inside for my inside network and a WIFI AP for inside. Then have another switch in the garage that is used for the outside network and a second AP that sits on the outside of the building

Any suggestions on router ? Maybe one that supports a VPN as well. Right now I am using a software VPN client and I wouldn't mind getting rid of it

The two I have tried using VPN are the Ubiquiti Edgerouter Lite and the Zyxel USG40. Of the two the Zyxel was MUCH easier to configure when it comes to VPN. In fact I never got an SSL VPN working on the Edgerouter (I did get a L2TP VPN working). Anyway the Zyxel USG40 does many things and is kind of pricy if you don't use those capabilities but I believe Zyxel has some less expensive routers with VPN that use the same interface as the USG40.