I'm planning a network for a 500 user housing community, purely to give internet access (no servers). I'm looking at the basic Dell rack-mount switches - any comments?
Theoretically, I could just set up a simple NAT router, but I want to prevent users running servers from within the building.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Joe
Get a good firewall. A real one. Nothing made by liksys, netgear or dlink.
I would recommend a sonicwall pro series - a model 4060 might sound like overkill to some, but I would argue that for what you plan it is not.
You want something with good security features for this sort of thing - virus and spyware blocking. Either that, or hire a very good legal dept. ;-)
It looks like we'll be using cable internet access, so each group of about 40 users will share a connection. All we're giving them is a wall socket and a DHCP IP address - from there on they're on their own - no support. Given this info, wouldn't a basic unmanaged switch and a "home" style NAT router be enought? They'll also be made to sign a usage agreement to cover us if they get sued by RIAA.
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