New modem + wireless + firewall + managed switch - Comments/Opinions.

Hi All,

It was time to bump my security up to a stateful inspection firewall solution with ADSL 2/2+ modem and 802.11 N wireless capability. I would like to hear feedback of what people think of this router, if you have any experience with Cisco routers, your feedback is appreciated.

The main reason for purchasing the Cisco 867W is that it had been reduced by half in price.

$ 1251 is the RRP, I purchased it for 609.

The reason for the drop in price is a new model is to be released in Q3 2011, so I saw this as a real bargain.

Techbuy Australia:
http://shop.techbuy.com.au/p/144008/NETWORK_WIRELESS_ROUTER_MODEM/Cisco/CISCO867W-GN-E-K9.asp

Here is the datasheet:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps380/data_sheet_c78_461543.html

PDF version:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps380/data_sheet_c78_461543.pdf

Yes I realise this is probably totally overkill for a SOHO solution, however with cyber-crime outstriping drug trafficing today, the added security can never be a bad thing.

Cheers,
Viper

 

The wireless adapters I am looking to use in the notebooks ~ $ 55 each

Website:
http://www.buffalo-asia.com/cgi-bin/products/detail.cgi?country=ar&code=4&id=400

Techbuy:
http://shop.techbuy.com.au/p/168388/NETWORK_WIRELESS_ADAPTERS_-_USB/Buffalo/WLI-UC-GNHP.asp

Overview:

Any suggestions of a better option to use would be appreciated.
I have not at this time purchased the adapters.

Cheers,
Viper

 

After further consideration, I feel it may be best to keep with Cisco products.

Cisco AE1000 Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Network Adapter ~ $ 65 each

Techbuy:
http://shop.techbuy.com.au/p/171730/NETWORK_WIRELESS_ADAPTERS_-_USB/Cisco/AE1000.asp

If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to add them.

Thanks,
Viper

 

Hey Khaos, being a proper managed switch, I would only be looking for 100Mb link support.

1 Gb managed switches cost a whole lot more and would likely be out the budget I would be willing to spend.

If you have any other product suggestions, I would be more than happy to have a look. I do not receive this new router until the 14th of July, so there is plenty of time to cancel if necessary ;)

What I am looking for is:

1. Hardware firewall - The more feature rich the better.
2. ADSL2/2+ modem integrated
3. Managed switched LAN 100Mb or above.
4. Minimum Wireless 802.11 N with backward compatibility to support B/G

 

Yes that is correct, N is 150Mb, Draft N 2.0 is 300Mb.

The wireless connectivity to 3 notebooks and 1 PC around the house will be primarily for internet connectivity only (20Mb/sec ADSL-2), not for transferring files.

My own PC which I use to play Entropia will be connected via Ethernet.

With the upcoming upgrade I will be receiving to the NBN 100Mb/sec internet service.
Link - http://www.nbn.gov.au/frequently-asked-questions/nbn/how-much-faster-will-the-nbn-be/

This managed switch/router/firewall should still do the job ... I hope :)

 

Hi Aridash,

I intend to setup 2 VLANs - 1 Private and 1 general family/friends network, 1 permanent VPN tunnel for a remote login and VPN tunnels for remote logins for if we go on holidays likely using AES256 encryption (3DES is a little overkill and a little hardcore on processing). The firewall is the most important part of this package tbh; and SNMP trapping/monitoring will be used to check on the network at a glance using some basic tools I have from BTTSoftware (Free to use)

I may look into hosting a web server down the track once I receive the fibre NBN 100Mbit internet connection, however this would be more for hobby/family purposes than anything commercial.

Setting up the Cisco 800 series seems to be a lot easier than the old 600/700 series that i have worked with at work.

I was mainly looking for opinions on other brands & models with similar spec that people may have had experience with.

Cheers,
Viper

 

Looking into other models from Cisco and brand models from Alcatel Lucent, I have decided to stick with the 867W for the price it has been purchased at. It is unlikely I will find a competitive model for under the $ 1000 mark that is as feature rich.

I have also decided to go with the buffalo Draft 2.0 802.11N wireless adapter for best compatibility and security.
It is a little more expensive at ~ 90 per USB adapter, but worth the money spent.

http://www.buffalo-asia.com/cgi-bin/products/detail.cgi?country=ar&code=4&id=201

 

Remote VPN logins (& Permanent VPNs) will likely use the following product:

Cisco RV120W Wireless-N VPN Firewall - 4-Port 10/100Mbps, 10/100Mbps WAN ~ $ 130 each
http://shop.techbuy.com.au/p/152622/NETWORKING_FIREWALLS/Cisco/RV120W-A-AU.asp

(VPN Site) Notebook <> Wireless USB adapter <> VPN Firewall <> Modem ADSL-2/NBN 100Mbit <>

via Internet VPN through the ISP network

<> Cisco 867W <> VLAN 2 (Family & Friends) <> Server System (My Place)

Any other recommendations are appreciated, it only needs to be a cheap solution for VPN sites, however it needs to be secure.

 

Hi Amber,

There are a few cardbus options, however some of these are limited with not being Draft 2.0 802.11N certified.

The USB 2.0 option seems to be the easiest to go with and easiest to replace if some fault occurs.

After speaking to Buffalo today, they suggested the better option would be to go with their high powered (amplified) version which will give me ranges upto 100M+ from the Cisco 867W access point.

So I think I will go with their suggestion:
http://www.buffalo-asia.com/cgi-bin/products/detail.cgi?country=ar&code=4&id=339

It has a nifty adjustable antenna & signal strength indicator on the unit, which is always helpful when your roaming around the house or backyard.

It is the same price ~ $ 90, runs with Win 7 64-Bit and is WHQL certified (Windows certified)

 

hehe, yep :D If anything it will be fun to play with and learn the new technology, so worth the money in that sense :)

 

Good news, I have received my Cisco 867W router on Friday and works like a dream :)

I have it setup doing basic network stuff and wireless thus far and have consigned a cisco engineer help me out with setting up the VLans, security and VPNs for a small fee of $ 50 and hour, 6 hours work roughly with 2 hour training included :) I have proved to be a little rusty in my cisco IOS knowledge.

Now for my next project, Project X - Sister moving in to my house :D

The mission: To move my complete bedroom (Furniture and all) into the computer room (Which is already packed)

 

Project X - Sister moving in - Part 2.

Today I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to downsize two rooms to fit into one.

Goal : To give my sister my bedroom (smaller) and to take over the world ... erhm ...
To take over the computer room and make it my bedroom come office.

That being to fit my bedroom with 8 pieces of furniture:
2 small tables, 2 tallboys, 1 cupboard, 1 filing cabinet, 1 cd/books display cabinet, 1 King size bed

Into my computer room with 4 pieces of furniture in it:
2 very large/long tables, 1 filing cabinet, 1 sofa lounge.

 

Project-X - Solutions so far.

Today I shopped for a new bed, this one here to be specific, it arrives tomorrow :cloud9:
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/prod...maker-posturezone-body-support-queen-ensemble

My sister scores my king size bed, which mind you totally rocks for good night sleeps.

All the other furniture fits into the office once I remove the sofa lounge & two very long desks which have both computer systems on them, printer, scanner & routing/network/comms hardware.

The problem that I am faced with is that I have nowhere to place the computer equipment using standard furniture and only have ~ 2.5 square metres of space left, 1.5M x 1.5M in one corner of the room.

The spice must flow, where to put the computers & equipment in such a small space !

The solution .... Rackmount It ! :D Which is much like buying a big storage chest in EU

 

Tonight I have been racking my brains out looking at suitable solutions and found this so far:

32RU Tall Network Cabinet - 600 x 800 mm - 007 ~ $ 1180 inc gst delivered
http://www.rackworld.com.au/detail.asp?pid=2587&cid=1051,1063



I also looked into SRA - Server Racks Australia
http://www.server-racks-australia.c...asp?act=AddRack&width=600&height=36&depth=900

However their quote was several hundred dollars more expensive than the above model from RWS. Even though the SRA was a 36RU unit, I didn't think the extra 4RUs would be so expensive.

The computers will be housed in new rackmount casing:

Antec 4U22ATX 4U Rackmount Chassis ~ $ 200 each (3 needed)
Inc. 7x Fixed Hard Drive Bays
Supports ATX & EATX Motherboards
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/40034/CASINGS_SERVER_-_4U/Antec/CSR-4U22ATX.asp



So now I will have a big blue box in the corner of my room humming away.

It is all a disguise, what I really bought was this ;)



For those who think I am crazy .... little do you know ... I am Muhahahaha !

Damn today was an expensive day for shopping