Hi,
Have a bit of a quandary as to how to set up an office network. Currently it's a simple SOHO config with one Cisco 837 ADSL router on a simple one-subnet network. Just the usual Internet access for the office.
Currently, there is a bandwidth issue that we cannot address as it's supported by a seperate company. At certain times of the, the local traffic limits the download rates for a group of PCs in a seperate part of the office that needs a guaranteed bandwidth for it's work.
Further, this group of PCs still needs to be on the same subnet as the other machines.
We do not have the option at the moment to configure the existing router with any kind of QoS or backup connection so we are left with the following option:
Obtain a second ADSL line specifically for these PCs.
- Either stick an extra NIC in each and use to connect to a dedicated router for the new ADSL line.
- Put the new ADSL router on the existing subnet and manually set up the routing tables on the group of PCs
- Connect all the particular PCs to it's own router/switch/bridge that also connects to the existing subnet but also has it's own ADSL connection.
of the technology/configuration required for it:
Lets call the specific group of PCs 'group b' and the remainder of the office subnet, 'group a'.
group-b ----- 'device'------ group-a ---------- cisco 837 -------- internet-1 | | | internet-2
With this config, no changes need to be made to the group-a PCs, and neither the local DHCP server etc.
The 'device' will allow the group-b machines to obtain dynamic IPs from the office DHCP server; connect and interact fully with the group-a PCs (file share, remote access, terminal services etc) but allow Internet access from the seperate connection 'internet-2'.
I understand that the group-b machines may need manual changes to their routing tables to use this connection.
Can you recommend any alternatives; spot glaring errors; recommend hardware for the 'device'?
Many thanks,
Steve C