Help - Home Network

[MishMash]

Hi All, I have just joined this forum as I have an interest in getting a home network up and running. Hello to everyone............


Im not an IT professional but have some basic skills and have an intermediate understanding of computers and technology.

Im wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the set up I would like to have at home. I have the following bits and pieces.....

Dell Dimenion 9150 desktop that is used as the home computer and the music server. It is connected to my Samsung Plasma and Yamaha amplifier.

I also use 2 other laptops in the house, both Dells one of which is a latitude XT tablet.

I have a wireless broadband set up throughout the house but may need to add something to expand the coverage. Its a Linksys wireless G ADSL gateway (would consider changing this if you have a suggestion).

I also have a printer attached to the desktop. A Sony HD DVD recorder, Sattelite Pay TV, Playstation 2, Xbox and a screenplay projector. I have a logitech Harmony 1000i Advanced Universal Remote for controlling the system and a Di Novo keyboard for controlling the PC when using the Plasma and listening to music through ITunes......

I have just bought a Thecus N3200 NAS after reading Tims review which is also how I found the forum. Now some may say that I have limited what I can do etc with that purchase and thats fine, but its already on its way so it is here to stay.

Basically I want to set up the house to fully utilise the gadgets I have and to stream music efficiently / smoothly. I am up for spending more money to get this right and can add more devices to get the best set up for the family.

I have no experience with home networks and probably am missing other options that this network may provide.

If anyone can help I would really appreciate it. Even if it is via email.

Thanks in advance.

 

[thiggins]

What isn't working and/or what "options" are you looking for?

 

[MishMash]

The main problem I have now is that the internet is hit and miss when the N3200 is connected. Im guessing I have some sort of IP conflict going on and perhaps I need a static IP to resolve the issue?

I have the N3200 connected directly to my Dell PC via the network port on the PC to the WAN port on the NAS. Originally I had it connected to the LAN port on the NAS but the internet would not work this way.........Now that it is connected to the WAN port I can at least connect to the Internet but it appears to be slow.........

Any ideas on how I can go back to using the LAN port to get the increased speed benefit?

Thanks in advance.

 

[thiggins]

Don't mess with the N3200's built-in "sharing". Make sure DHCP server is shut off in the N3200. Connect its WAN port to a port on your router's switch. If you are out of router ports, go buy an inexpensive switch and uplink it to a port on the router.

 

[MishMash]

Cheers mate.........

I actually dont have it connected to my router, the wireless router is in another room due to the availability of the phone connection being in there.

So I have the NAS cabled directly to the PC that I use for my multimedia setup. Then if I want to access the NAS from another pc or laptop I just connect to the drive on the Desktop PC........

Im a novice with this stuff......would I be better off working out a way to get my router to the PC and then connecting everything wired? Would this increase my internet speed up by much?

Im using a Netgear Rangemax ADSL router but I also have a spare Dlink DSL-G604T and also I have a spare Linksys WAG54G v3 sitting around doing nothing. Perhaps I can take advantage of them somehow also?

Thanks for your help.

 

[thiggins]

So the "desktop" machine is connected to your network (and Internet) via wireless and connects to the N3200 via an Ethernet port?

If this is the case, try bridging the two network adapters.