Goey: It's the Xincom 402 model. Tiger Direct has it for $99.
I managed to get both modems and both of my current routers all up on the same network tonight. Zixette's computer goes thru DSL, mine and the server still go thru cable. That'll change Thursday when I get to take it back down and put it back together again under the load balancer...
Oh, and the Hawking FR24 is about half the price of the Xincom even... but I like the Xincom's features better. The Hawking is basically a failover share instead of a full-time both-pipe share.
Awesome, Zixar. Will this work with two DSL connections or two cable connections as well?
Can you post a link or a picture of a "load balancing" or dual sharing router? I have never heard of this before but I like the idea.
My current routers are typical where you plug the Internet into the WAN port. So....does your routers have a double Wan port or something?
I have used cable and DSL. I like DSL better here. They are both pretty good but the cable was less stable. DSL is not shared really like cable. Another thing I like about DSL at least here is that the IP address changes very infrequently for some reason. I am a PC Anywhere user so this becomes significant to me. At one location the IP address has remained the same for two months. My cable used to change almost every day. (I know there are other solutions but this worked for me.)
Anyway around here cable and DSL both run $35 to $40 per month. In your setup it would cost $80 to have tremendous speed and stability. Not bad if you need that. How does your connection speed compare to a T-1 line?
How fast is it? Do some tests and lets compare. Try this site:
Do any of you guys know of a router that I can use for both my windows pc and apple computers? I want one router so that I can use my dsl line for both computers (windows and apple). The computers don't have to operate at the same for mys dsl line. However, I want to set the Router and wires up one time for both and not have to change them when I go back and forth from Windows to apple and vice versa.
I am going to my favorite place on earth tomorrow, Yosemite. I will be away from my computer for a few days. Thanks for any suggestions.
Mark- I have an old power pc with mac os9- It works fine and set itself up witout any problems runs along side my windows computers fine..
I have linksys wireless B router and a westell dsl modem. If your router is using dhcp any type of computer, windows mac or linux should work fine on the same network as far as internet access. getting them to recognize each other and share files is more complicated.
Actually if you have an external modem like the westell you might be able to go in and configure it yourself using your web browser to run multiple computers. Then you would just need a switch or hub.
John: Yes, you can use 2 DSL connections or two cable connections, it doesn't matter, although you'd be competing for bandwidth with yourself if you had two modems connected to the same cable/phone. (Not an issue if your neighborhood is sparsely broadbanded.) However, it does mean that if one provider goes out, BOTH lines would go out. If you get different providers, you get the added security of multiple routes, since traffic automatically failsover to the other port if one drops. (The router emails you, too, when one drops out. I tried yanking the plug on both modems one at a time, and sure enough it sent an email to the OTHER account.)
Here's a link to the router I got. Xincom 402 $99 at TigerDirect.com
Basically, it's just like any other router except it has 2 WAN ports. You can configure it to have bound connections (i.e., whichever line you grab for your 1st traffic, all your traffic stays on that line) or load-balancing (where any packet will go out on the least-used line at the moment.) If your broadbands are of two different speeds (mine are--cable is 3.0 Mbps, DSL is 1.5 Mbps) you can set up the percentage of traffic you wish each line to handle (I set it 65/35 cable/DSL, which is optimal).
You can also tell it to force certain apps to always use one port exclusively. This is good for outgoing email, since while most ISPs will let another connect to read mail, you can only send if you're connected to their network. With two load-balanced lines, you could never be sure which one it would go to. Turn on SMTP forced forwarding to one provider, and all your outgoing email will use that line. (Neat!)
There's all sorts of stuff it can do that I haven't delved into yet, but it was amazing how little setup it took before I was off and running.
I now have 4.5 Mbps of aggregate downstream bandwidth and 640 Kbps upstream, which is fine for what we do. Of course, any single connection can only have the max of one of the providers, but if you have a download accelerator which uses multiple file requests, you can actually download at the full 4.5.
Since a T1 line is only 1.544 Mbps (both ways), I have 3x the DL speed and 1/2 the upload speed of T1. Much coolness!
The Westell DSL modem actually contains a small router to act as a firewall. It also has its own DHCP server, which is usually activated when you get it. All you need to do is get a small 4-port 10/100Mb Ethernet hub and connect its Uplink port to the DSL modem, then plug your other 2 computers into the hub. Turn the computers on, and you're done. The modem will assign each an IP address so the two computers can see each other, then the modem takes care of sending and receiving the traffic to each computer via network-address translation, or NAT.
That's an easy network to set up.
Mine, on the other hand, has four different routers for two broadband connections, although only two are acting as routers at the moment. If I activated the other two, I'd have three complete subnetworks that I'd have to set up static routes for, and that's a bit much to maintain for five computers, a PS2, and an Xbox. So, I use my old wireless router as an access point and a 4-port switch, and my old wired router as a bridging hub to connect to the wireless Ethernet bridge. It does let me get every single computer onto the 192.168.0.x network without having to subnet. It was a bit of a brainteaser to set up, but it works just fine. I still have 5 open wired ports for future expansion, and as many as I can jam down the wireless.
John, the folks who host websites usually have T1, fractional T3, or full T3 lines. The problem is that websites need the opposite of users, more upload speed than download speed.
Business DSL flavors like SDSL can provide this for small sites. SDSL is synchronous, having the same UL as DL speed.
The test doesn't really show how fast my setup is, because it can only use one of the two modems, so naturally it's going to be around 3.0Mbps because that's the normal speed of the cable modem. When the request can be split into several smaller requests, like all the different pictures on a web page, both run full blast.
For home sites, you need some networking knowhow to set up your own web server, but it's not that hard, nor does it require a super PC. That network diagram above? Each time you see it, it's being provided by my Linux server. That's possible even with a Dynamic IP address because of a service called Dynamic DNS, which I get for free (anyone can) from a source called dynu.com. A small client runs on the server (although the Xincom router can be setup to do it without the client now) and checks every few seconds if the IP of the cable modem has changed and reports the new value to the dynu.com server. Whenever anyone asks for zixar.dynu.com, it goes straight to my server, regardless of how the IP may change.
Zix, you shoud do this for a living! Set up networks for businesses and homes. You'll make a bundle, with your knowledge.
DNYU basic appears to be free. Nice! You can host you own website even with a static IP address like with our DSL and cable modems.
We use a company called Hostsave. It is only about $9 a month. In our small service business I need to outsource at that price. I do not need another distraction, but it is tempting.
But tell me, Zixar, how might I use this free service for using PC Anywhere? In order to connect to my remote computer, the IP address is needed. Sometimes it changes as you know. I am a little confused as to how or IF I can implement DNYU in this simple situation.
Thanks,
JR
PS - Zixar, are we truly protected from hackers by using an everyday router such as Linksys or D-Link? Are those computers behind those routers truly anonymous and hidden or not...... Oh never mind, I'll just start a new thread on that topic.
John: ABout pcAnywhere, that's easy. Log on to dynu, and it will tell you your server's current IP. Use that for pcA, and you're set. It usually doesn't change very often in most cases.
I've been working with networks for 15 years, doing everything from server administration to pulling Ethernet cable through the walls of office buildings. I just don't have the business sense to go out on my own. Maybe we should team up. ;)-->
I came in at 1419.6 and I'm very pleasednwith that.
Cable can slow down when "everybody's" using it...but my Cable Co. "fixed" that by assigning only 250 locations per "point of contact"...whatever that means. I've had it a year now and I find it great.
I use Cablevision - I'm not so sure we'll get an upgrade soon - this only went into operation about 8 or 9 months ago!
Bye the Bye - After using Firefox for a few days - I notice a definite increase in sped - especially in some of the very large web sites. I doubt that is due to all the adblocking - 'cause I have an adware blocker - but it is faster on GS too sometimes.
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Tom Strange
sweet... berry sweet!
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Zixar
The DSL modem arrived today, the router arrives on Thursday.
Mmmmmm...complicated toys...
:)-->
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Goey
Zix,
Out of curiosity what router did you order? I see one from Linksys(RV042)for about $150.
99 bucks seems like a real bargain.
Goey
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Zixar
Goey: It's the Xincom 402 model. Tiger Direct has it for $99.
I managed to get both modems and both of my current routers all up on the same network tonight. Zixette's computer goes thru DSL, mine and the server still go thru cable. That'll change Thursday when I get to take it back down and put it back together again under the load balancer...
Some peoples' idea of fun, eh?
:D-->
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Zixar
Oh, and the Hawking FR24 is about half the price of the Xincom even... but I like the Xincom's features better. The Hawking is basically a failover share instead of a full-time both-pipe share.
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Zixar
Oh. My. God.
Just got the whole load-balancing dual-WAN router set up.
GSC just blasts onto the screen now, since one connection loads the text and the other loads all the icons and whatnot simultaneously.
Seamlessly.
SWEET!
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igotout
Awesome, Zixar. Will this work with two DSL connections or two cable connections as well?
Can you post a link or a picture of a "load balancing" or dual sharing router? I have never heard of this before but I like the idea.
My current routers are typical where you plug the Internet into the WAN port. So....does your routers have a double Wan port or something?
I have used cable and DSL. I like DSL better here. They are both pretty good but the cable was less stable. DSL is not shared really like cable. Another thing I like about DSL at least here is that the IP address changes very infrequently for some reason. I am a PC Anywhere user so this becomes significant to me. At one location the IP address has remained the same for two months. My cable used to change almost every day. (I know there are other solutions but this worked for me.)
Anyway around here cable and DSL both run $35 to $40 per month. In your setup it would cost $80 to have tremendous speed and stability. Not bad if you need that. How does your connection speed compare to a T-1 line?
How fast is it? Do some tests and lets compare. Try this site:
Internet speed test
Mine comes in at 1220.1 kbps, 2nd time was 1203.5 kbps
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Mark Sanguinetti
Do any of you guys know of a router that I can use for both my windows pc and apple computers? I want one router so that I can use my dsl line for both computers (windows and apple). The computers don't have to operate at the same for mys dsl line. However, I want to set the Router and wires up one time for both and not have to change them when I go back and forth from Windows to apple and vice versa.
I am going to my favorite place on earth tomorrow, Yosemite. I will be away from my computer for a few days. Thanks for any suggestions.
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ckeer
Mark- I have an old power pc with mac os9- It works fine and set itself up witout any problems runs along side my windows computers fine..
I have linksys wireless B router and a westell dsl modem. If your router is using dhcp any type of computer, windows mac or linux should work fine on the same network as far as internet access. getting them to recognize each other and share files is more complicated.
Actually if you have an external modem like the westell you might be able to go in and configure it yourself using your web browser to run multiple computers. Then you would just need a switch or hub.
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Zixar
John: Yes, you can use 2 DSL connections or two cable connections, it doesn't matter, although you'd be competing for bandwidth with yourself if you had two modems connected to the same cable/phone. (Not an issue if your neighborhood is sparsely broadbanded.) However, it does mean that if one provider goes out, BOTH lines would go out. If you get different providers, you get the added security of multiple routes, since traffic automatically failsover to the other port if one drops. (The router emails you, too, when one drops out. I tried yanking the plug on both modems one at a time, and sure enough it sent an email to the OTHER account.)
Here's a link to the router I got. Xincom 402 $99 at TigerDirect.com
Basically, it's just like any other router except it has 2 WAN ports. You can configure it to have bound connections (i.e., whichever line you grab for your 1st traffic, all your traffic stays on that line) or load-balancing (where any packet will go out on the least-used line at the moment.) If your broadbands are of two different speeds (mine are--cable is 3.0 Mbps, DSL is 1.5 Mbps) you can set up the percentage of traffic you wish each line to handle (I set it 65/35 cable/DSL, which is optimal).
You can also tell it to force certain apps to always use one port exclusively. This is good for outgoing email, since while most ISPs will let another connect to read mail, you can only send if you're connected to their network. With two load-balanced lines, you could never be sure which one it would go to. Turn on SMTP forced forwarding to one provider, and all your outgoing email will use that line. (Neat!)
There's all sorts of stuff it can do that I haven't delved into yet, but it was amazing how little setup it took before I was off and running.
I now have 4.5 Mbps of aggregate downstream bandwidth and 640 Kbps upstream, which is fine for what we do. Of course, any single connection can only have the max of one of the providers, but if you have a download accelerator which uses multiple file requests, you can actually download at the full 4.5.
Since a T1 line is only 1.544 Mbps (both ways), I have 3x the DL speed and 1/2 the upload speed of T1. Much coolness!
I'll run that test tonight.
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Zixar
The Westell DSL modem actually contains a small router to act as a firewall. It also has its own DHCP server, which is usually activated when you get it. All you need to do is get a small 4-port 10/100Mb Ethernet hub and connect its Uplink port to the DSL modem, then plug your other 2 computers into the hub. Turn the computers on, and you're done. The modem will assign each an IP address so the two computers can see each other, then the modem takes care of sending and receiving the traffic to each computer via network-address translation, or NAT.
That's an easy network to set up.
Mine, on the other hand, has four different routers for two broadband connections, although only two are acting as routers at the moment. If I activated the other two, I'd have three complete subnetworks that I'd have to set up static routes for, and that's a bit much to maintain for five computers, a PS2, and an Xbox. So, I use my old wireless router as an access point and a 4-port switch, and my old wired router as a bridging hub to connect to the wireless Ethernet bridge. It does let me get every single computer onto the 192.168.0.x network without having to subnet. It was a bit of a brainteaser to set up, but it works just fine. I still have 5 open wired ports for future expansion, and as many as I can jam down the wireless.
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Zixar
Here's a diagram of how it all looks at the moment.
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Tom Strange
HegotHope... I did the test and came in at 1560.8... is that good? (on my laptop, with B, connected with the linksysG router)...
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Zixar
John: If you have BellSouth DSL, you can get 3Mb service for only $5 more a month now.
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Zixar
Mine is 2839.2 kbps.
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igotout
WOw, Zixar that is quite a setup. I have never seen a device like that before.
Pretty fast too. Looks like people would opt for this instead of a T1 line. What do people use who host websites?
Tom Strange that appears to be faster than mine and I am somewhat satisfied with this connection. You must be in a good area.
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Tom Strange
I guess it depends on 'traffic'... I just got an 1150.9... but it's still OK for me...
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Zixar
John, the folks who host websites usually have T1, fractional T3, or full T3 lines. The problem is that websites need the opposite of users, more upload speed than download speed.
Business DSL flavors like SDSL can provide this for small sites. SDSL is synchronous, having the same UL as DL speed.
The test doesn't really show how fast my setup is, because it can only use one of the two modems, so naturally it's going to be around 3.0Mbps because that's the normal speed of the cable modem. When the request can be split into several smaller requests, like all the different pictures on a web page, both run full blast.
For home sites, you need some networking knowhow to set up your own web server, but it's not that hard, nor does it require a super PC. That network diagram above? Each time you see it, it's being provided by my Linux server. That's possible even with a Dynamic IP address because of a service called Dynamic DNS, which I get for free (anyone can) from a source called dynu.com. A small client runs on the server (although the Xincom router can be setup to do it without the client now) and checks every few seconds if the IP of the cable modem has changed and reports the new value to the dynu.com server. Whenever anyone asks for zixar.dynu.com, it goes straight to my server, regardless of how the IP may change.
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igotout
Zix, you shoud do this for a living! Set up networks for businesses and homes. You'll make a bundle, with your knowledge.
DNYU basic appears to be free. Nice! You can host you own website even with a static IP address like with our DSL and cable modems.
We use a company called Hostsave. It is only about $9 a month. In our small service business I need to outsource at that price. I do not need another distraction, but it is tempting.
But tell me, Zixar, how might I use this free service for using PC Anywhere? In order to connect to my remote computer, the IP address is needed. Sometimes it changes as you know. I am a little confused as to how or IF I can implement DNYU in this simple situation.
Thanks,
JR
PS - Zixar, are we truly protected from hackers by using an everyday router such as Linksys or D-Link? Are those computers behind those routers truly anonymous and hidden or not...... Oh never mind, I'll just start a new thread on that topic.
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Zixar
John: ABout pcAnywhere, that's easy. Log on to dynu, and it will tell you your server's current IP. Use that for pcA, and you're set. It usually doesn't change very often in most cases.
I've been working with networks for 15 years, doing everything from server administration to pulling Ethernet cable through the walls of office buildings. I just don't have the business sense to go out on my own. Maybe we should team up.
;)-->
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krys
I came in at 1419.6 and I'm very pleasednwith that.
Cable can slow down when "everybody's" using it...but my Cable Co. "fixed" that by assigning only 250 locations per "point of contact"...whatever that means. I've had it a year now and I find it great.
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Zixar
krys: Maybe you'll get a free upgrade to 3Mbps cable soon. Which provider do you use?
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krys
I use Cablevision - I'm not so sure we'll get an upgrade soon - this only went into operation about 8 or 9 months ago!
Bye the Bye - After using Firefox for a few days - I notice a definite increase in sped - especially in some of the very large web sites. I doubt that is due to all the adblocking - 'cause I have an adware blocker - but it is faster on GS too sometimes.
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Zixar
krys: That's typical. FF has far less bloated code in it than IE, so it doesn't have to jump through as many hoops to get to the good stuff.
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