SmallNetBuilder is an enormously helpful resource. I've learned so much by drilling through the Charts, Reviews, How-To's, Basics, and Fora. A Huge Thank You, Tim, Doug & Crew.
I would be most grateful if someone could confirm that I've accurately synthesized SNB's recommendations and insight, as it would apply to my network-build in progress. Also, any pointers or suggestions on network topology would be great. I have yet to finalize a hardware solution to look after routing and wireless duties and I could use some guidance selecting the best hardware strategy to stitch everything together.
Some background:
I need to upgrade my small office network to better handle the expected increase in network traffic from our new backup solution. It’s a client-driven system with a NAS target. The NAS will serve exclusively as a designated backup device. No media streaming or torrent duties. Any file sharing is done peer-to-peer; we don’t run a server OS. Scheduled backups will consist of user-data folders and drive images --- both full and incremental. File archives will happen with a series of drives in rotation, separate from the NAS, and will be kept off-site. Back-up routines will happen both via wire and (regrettably) over the air.
NAS Hardware:
Intel Entry Level Storage System - SS4200-E (stock unit; and as reviewed by Craig Ellison, June 18, 2008. Noting its limitations and listed CONS, it meets are needs.)
2 disk drives; RAID 1 (mirror) (heeding, “Smart SOHO’s Don’t Do RAID”)
NAS Software:
Bundled NAS’s EMC Retrospect client software for PC/Mac
Network Clients:
1 Intel Entry Level Storage – SS4200-E; 10/100/1000 Mbps; No Jumbo Frame support
1 Desktop PC; Windows 7; 10/100/1000 Mbps
2 Network Printers: embedded print servers: 10/100 Mbps
1 Laptop; WinXP Pro; Intel 2200BG; Wireless B/G
2 Laptops; Mac OS 10.5; Wireless A/B/G/N
1 iPhone; Wireless B/G
Network Performance Goals:
Like it’s done for so many people, my WRT54G continues to perform without fail. I prize it for its rock solid stability (v.3.1). Power cycle, what’s that? However, given that my new back-up solution includes moving an order of magnitude more data (ie. including full drive images) via copper and airwaves, it’s time to move to a Gigabit LAN with Wireless N in the mix. Here’s where I could use some guidance on network structure:
Conceptually, thanks to, “Add, Don’t Replace When Upgrading to 802.11n” I now understand the importance of putting legacy A/B/G clients on a different radio than N clients (and to use WPA2-AES encryption to maintain 11n performance). To that end, there are two methods to achieve the split: I could use a simultaneous dual-band Wireless N Gigabit router and have the 11n clients use the 5 GHz band and the 11a/b/g clients use the 2.4 GHz band.
Alternatively, I could use a two-device method --- a Wireless Router and an Access Point. Use a single-band Wireless N Gigabit router to handle the 11n clients and a Wireless G router (turned Access Point) to handle the 11a/b/g clients. As I see it with this second method, there are three flavours to this strategy.
Conceivably, there’s another method with a few flavours of its own: use two access points and a wired router. I’ll assume that though there may be perceivable performance benefits on a larger wired and wireless network with this method, I’m not going to see any material performance impact on what is, my small and humble network.
Outside of looking to The Charts to see which wireless routers offer the best throughput (with Uplink results weighted a little heavier, as most our laptops’ heavy WiFi traffic will come from Retrospect uploading a drive image to our NAS back-up unit), is there anything I can do to improve long-term network reliability and stability?
(Initial capital cost is always a consideration, naturally, but I have no trouble spending money on some equipment commensurate with, or a bit over the top for my needs that will have the highest chance of problem-free networking. As is the case for so many people, the personal frustration and financial penalty is too great when using a slow or worse, an unreliable network. I take one of SNB editorial points that SOHO switches and routers to a large extent are now commodities, separated only by a handful of features, personal brand affinity, price, quality level of technical support, and warranty service.)
For instance, with the view that running any device at 100% for extended periods is never a good thing, do I materially increase a wireless router’s longevity if I relieve some of its switching duties by adding a downstream Gigabit switch and connect all my wired clients --- including the 10/100 Mbps printers and the dedicated Access Point for legacy a/b/g clients --- to the switch?
Presumably, and as I understand it given that I’m still chewing (choking) through the OSI model, by using a standalone store-and-forward switch, which reads the packet frame’s header containing (amongst other things) the respective sending and receiving client’s MAC address and forwards it accordingly (downstream if the client MAC address is connected to the switch; upstream to the wireless router’s switch for further redirection), I can reduce the wireless router’s processor workload and resulting thermal stress. Yes, I introduce a new point of failure and some microsecond latency for the extra hop between devices but I benefit from fewer potential packet collisions and mitigate saturating the wireless routers switching capability. If I’ve correctly synthesized the broad-strokes to Layer 2 data link switches in a LAN, generally speaking, is it a good practice to use a switch (unmanaged or managed) to handle all peer-to-peer clients on the same subnet? Or, are there times --- solely from a LAN perspective --- that it makes sense to connect some clients directly to the wireless router and others to a downstream switch?
So, hopefully you can see that there are some things I know; some things I don’t know; some things I think I know but don’t know; and, some things I don’t know that I don’t know. All told, I may be needlessly splitting hairs given my modest network needs and limited knowledge, but it’s all in an effort to ensure maximum network health, performance, and stability; to demystify the unseen work behind those blinking LEDs and the deeply-buried menu options; to cut-through marketing hype; to avoid feeling hostage to a network structure I don’t understand; plus, it’s fun!
I’m keen to learn, so any thoughts, tips or pointers in whole or in part on my rather long but hopefully detailed enough post would be most welcome.
At the very least, thank you for reading.
Some notes:
A. Uncongested airspace: 1 neighbouring 2.4 GHz WLAN
B. Some files sent to the printer exceed 40 MB.
C. No need for VPN support
D. Internet broadband speed: ~4.5 Mbps (ADSL)
I would be most grateful if someone could confirm that I've accurately synthesized SNB's recommendations and insight, as it would apply to my network-build in progress. Also, any pointers or suggestions on network topology would be great. I have yet to finalize a hardware solution to look after routing and wireless duties and I could use some guidance selecting the best hardware strategy to stitch everything together.
Some background:
I need to upgrade my small office network to better handle the expected increase in network traffic from our new backup solution. It’s a client-driven system with a NAS target. The NAS will serve exclusively as a designated backup device. No media streaming or torrent duties. Any file sharing is done peer-to-peer; we don’t run a server OS. Scheduled backups will consist of user-data folders and drive images --- both full and incremental. File archives will happen with a series of drives in rotation, separate from the NAS, and will be kept off-site. Back-up routines will happen both via wire and (regrettably) over the air.
NAS Hardware:
Intel Entry Level Storage System - SS4200-E (stock unit; and as reviewed by Craig Ellison, June 18, 2008. Noting its limitations and listed CONS, it meets are needs.)
2 disk drives; RAID 1 (mirror) (heeding, “Smart SOHO’s Don’t Do RAID”)
NAS Software:
Bundled NAS’s EMC Retrospect client software for PC/Mac
Network Clients:
1 Intel Entry Level Storage – SS4200-E; 10/100/1000 Mbps; No Jumbo Frame support
1 Desktop PC; Windows 7; 10/100/1000 Mbps
2 Network Printers: embedded print servers: 10/100 Mbps
1 Laptop; WinXP Pro; Intel 2200BG; Wireless B/G
2 Laptops; Mac OS 10.5; Wireless A/B/G/N
1 iPhone; Wireless B/G
Network Performance Goals:
Like it’s done for so many people, my WRT54G continues to perform without fail. I prize it for its rock solid stability (v.3.1). Power cycle, what’s that? However, given that my new back-up solution includes moving an order of magnitude more data (ie. including full drive images) via copper and airwaves, it’s time to move to a Gigabit LAN with Wireless N in the mix. Here’s where I could use some guidance on network structure:
Conceptually, thanks to, “Add, Don’t Replace When Upgrading to 802.11n” I now understand the importance of putting legacy A/B/G clients on a different radio than N clients (and to use WPA2-AES encryption to maintain 11n performance). To that end, there are two methods to achieve the split: I could use a simultaneous dual-band Wireless N Gigabit router and have the 11n clients use the 5 GHz band and the 11a/b/g clients use the 2.4 GHz band.
Alternatively, I could use a two-device method --- a Wireless Router and an Access Point. Use a single-band Wireless N Gigabit router to handle the 11n clients and a Wireless G router (turned Access Point) to handle the 11a/b/g clients. As I see it with this second method, there are three flavours to this strategy.
1. Use a single-band, 2.4 GHz Wireless N Gigabit router and a single band 2.4 GHz Wireless G Access Point (ie. my reconfigured WRT54G), and ensure that each unit is fixed to non-overlapping Channels (1, 6, or 11).
2. Use a dual-band, single radio Wireless N Gigabit router and a single band 2.4 GHz Wireless G Access Point (ie. my reconfigured WRT54G). I fix the dual-band unit to use the 2.4 GHz radio frequency and ensure that each unit is fixed to a non-overlapping Channel (1, 6, or 11).
3. Use a dual-band, single radio Wireless N Gigabit router and a single band 2.4 GHz Wireless G Access Point (ie. my reconfigured WRT54G). I fix the dual-band unit to use the 5.0 GHz radio frequency, setting its channel selection to Auto-Select to enable channel-bonding. The 2.4 GHz Access Point’s channel is set to the least congested non-overlapping channel from any neighbouring wireless networks that may be present.
2. Use a dual-band, single radio Wireless N Gigabit router and a single band 2.4 GHz Wireless G Access Point (ie. my reconfigured WRT54G). I fix the dual-band unit to use the 2.4 GHz radio frequency and ensure that each unit is fixed to a non-overlapping Channel (1, 6, or 11).
3. Use a dual-band, single radio Wireless N Gigabit router and a single band 2.4 GHz Wireless G Access Point (ie. my reconfigured WRT54G). I fix the dual-band unit to use the 5.0 GHz radio frequency, setting its channel selection to Auto-Select to enable channel-bonding. The 2.4 GHz Access Point’s channel is set to the least congested non-overlapping channel from any neighbouring wireless networks that may be present.
Conceivably, there’s another method with a few flavours of its own: use two access points and a wired router. I’ll assume that though there may be perceivable performance benefits on a larger wired and wireless network with this method, I’m not going to see any material performance impact on what is, my small and humble network.
Outside of looking to The Charts to see which wireless routers offer the best throughput (with Uplink results weighted a little heavier, as most our laptops’ heavy WiFi traffic will come from Retrospect uploading a drive image to our NAS back-up unit), is there anything I can do to improve long-term network reliability and stability?
(Initial capital cost is always a consideration, naturally, but I have no trouble spending money on some equipment commensurate with, or a bit over the top for my needs that will have the highest chance of problem-free networking. As is the case for so many people, the personal frustration and financial penalty is too great when using a slow or worse, an unreliable network. I take one of SNB editorial points that SOHO switches and routers to a large extent are now commodities, separated only by a handful of features, personal brand affinity, price, quality level of technical support, and warranty service.)
For instance, with the view that running any device at 100% for extended periods is never a good thing, do I materially increase a wireless router’s longevity if I relieve some of its switching duties by adding a downstream Gigabit switch and connect all my wired clients --- including the 10/100 Mbps printers and the dedicated Access Point for legacy a/b/g clients --- to the switch?
Presumably, and as I understand it given that I’m still chewing (choking) through the OSI model, by using a standalone store-and-forward switch, which reads the packet frame’s header containing (amongst other things) the respective sending and receiving client’s MAC address and forwards it accordingly (downstream if the client MAC address is connected to the switch; upstream to the wireless router’s switch for further redirection), I can reduce the wireless router’s processor workload and resulting thermal stress. Yes, I introduce a new point of failure and some microsecond latency for the extra hop between devices but I benefit from fewer potential packet collisions and mitigate saturating the wireless routers switching capability. If I’ve correctly synthesized the broad-strokes to Layer 2 data link switches in a LAN, generally speaking, is it a good practice to use a switch (unmanaged or managed) to handle all peer-to-peer clients on the same subnet? Or, are there times --- solely from a LAN perspective --- that it makes sense to connect some clients directly to the wireless router and others to a downstream switch?
(Parenthetically, I’m not sure if anybody remembers the old Schoolhouse Rock musical cartoon, “I am just a Bill”, which chronicles a legislative bill as it moves through both Congress and the executive branch in Washington D.C., but I’d love to watch a “I am just a Packet?” as a packet is moved through a LAN, then into a WAN, and beyond. Imagine the complexities of Washington. Now think of the 7-layer OSI model. Gee, I not sure which is more complicated…….)
So, hopefully you can see that there are some things I know; some things I don’t know; some things I think I know but don’t know; and, some things I don’t know that I don’t know. All told, I may be needlessly splitting hairs given my modest network needs and limited knowledge, but it’s all in an effort to ensure maximum network health, performance, and stability; to demystify the unseen work behind those blinking LEDs and the deeply-buried menu options; to cut-through marketing hype; to avoid feeling hostage to a network structure I don’t understand; plus, it’s fun!
I’m keen to learn, so any thoughts, tips or pointers in whole or in part on my rather long but hopefully detailed enough post would be most welcome.
At the very least, thank you for reading.
Some notes:
A. Uncongested airspace: 1 neighbouring 2.4 GHz WLAN
B. Some files sent to the printer exceed 40 MB.
C. No need for VPN support
D. Internet broadband speed: ~4.5 Mbps (ADSL)