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Hi,

We are using a freebie Verizon DSL modem / Router to handle our small office. Clearly, it's not a business-grade router solution. We sometimes have trouble with Remote Web Access, etc. I'd like to put this device to "bridge" mode (or whatever the terminology is), so that it only handles the DSL connection. We then want to buy a more robust router to handle all the rest.

Any cost-effective recommendations for a small office that will be more reliable?

For us the majority of the network traffic is at the switch. Do you use wired or wireless? If you're big on wireless, I would check out one of those new 802.11AC routers. I often opt for the middle ground between those dual band N/AC routers and your basic Wireless G routers with a D-Link DIR-655. Solid wireless performance and simple interface. Probably one of the easiest routers to port forward on. For switches, I typically go with Cisco Small Business Switches or a D-Link Switch.

Verizon/Westell Modem/Routers have one of the worst interfaces for port forwarding. It's an extremely cumbersome task to forward ports on those things.

If you're using wired, the majority of the traffic should stay at the switch rather than the router. Refer to the diagram in the Networking Fundamentals Thread.

I'd suggest checking out the networking fundamentals too:
http://amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php/topics/45875/Networking_Fundamentals#Post45875

Alright - you haven't steered me wrong yet. We'll try the DIR-655.

We do have wireless capabilities, but all of our AC work is done via wired. And yes, a switch does handle most of the traffic.

This does lead me to another question though. Because we didn't have enough drops, our wiring scheme is a bit convoluted. In one area of the office (where the server is located), there is only one ethernet drop that needs to be shared by the server, a couple of workstations, and a printer. So, we use a 5-port Trendnet Green Gig switch to split and share the one drop.

At the patch panel (I think that's what it's called, there are about 6 ethernet connections. So again, they go into a Trendnet 8-port Gig switch, and that is connected to the Actiontec DSL modem/router.

Am I compromising server LAN speed this way? Should I connect the Server straight to the Trendnet 8-port switch? or maybe even the Actiontec DSL modem/router?

I ask because every once in a while, I'll get a little warning in the tray that says, "The server is not connected to the internet." (or something like that).

Finally, are the Trendnet switches not up to snuff? should we go with the 8-port DLink stuff? Maybe go with a couple of The D-Link DGS-108? They seem to be the baby brothers of one of the D-Link switches on your recommended list:

D-Link DGS-1008

Thanks.

The short answer is yes, the real question is how much.

You can dig *alot* deeper into this, but a incremental step is to pick up a layer 2 or layer 3 switch that will allow you to do port monitoring (first), and then think about implementing VLANs as a way to address traffic congestion. There are several options once you have a layer 3 switch, but there is going to be a learning curve. more if you go with a layer 3 switch with a CLI.

Oh, this is *not* what you want to see. I recommend against the DSL router - use that more as a edge device (edge of the network), and run your own network inside of it, so that you can add another edge device in tandem, or replace it/them without disrupting your network.

I'd think about another layer 2 or better device (Gig ports) located there.

BTW - can you get cable modem service at your location? DSL is not your friend, unless you have no choice of other friends.

OK - so it sounds like I should be doing something like this:

1. Replace the consumer-grade Trendnet Gig switch with a better switch.
2. Connect the server straight to that better switch.
3. Connect something like the D-Link DIR-655 to that better switch for router and wireless functions (as an "edge" device).

Now the question is, do I connect the DSL modem (or maybe cable modem) to the Switch or the D-Link DIR-655?

Generally your modem would connect to your/router firewall, which then connects to the switch. All of your client computers AND your server connect to the switch otherwise they wouldn't be able to talk to each other. This is a basic, simple network.

Obviously the best solution would be to run more cable. Should be relatively simple if you have a drop ceiling. What you're doing is called daisy chaining. If you think about it, each port takes 1 gigabit. So 5 other devices are splitting that 1 gigabit with the server. Also, power backup becomes more difficult. If the switch at the back were to lose power and there was no UPS in the back, the connected workstations would go down. Even if it was momentary outage, all the connections would be lost. In the end, once you take into account all the benefits (power, full bandwith, simplicity, etc.), it's often good to just run the wires esp. if you have a drop ceiling.

We have DSL and the consumer-grade "gateway" they provide at signup, bridged to a Cisco small business router which provides the network addresses.

There was quite a discussion about whether the Server or the Router should be providing addresses, but after considerable research, we settled on the Router (for SBS Essentials, at least)

This is all hooked to a Gigabyte switch and a TrendNet wireless access point for me to roam around. Most everyone else is wired.
We haven't had any network problems for a long time.

Sandeep... years ago I was told that running any cable (like Ethernet) in drop ceilings required use of plenum (fire retardant/fire resistant?) cables, which are much more expensive than "regular" Ethernet cables. Any thoughts on this?

Not all drop ceilings are plenum ceilings, but most are. You can use plenum cable almost anywhere. Most of the time it's just safe to assume they are plenum air spaces so you are protected.

Unfortunately it is 2-3X the cost of solid/riser cable. Cat5E plenum 1000 Feet is about $200, CAT6 plenum is about $300. Usually you can do a small office with one box (maybe 2 if you take our advice to always do more drops than you need). The key is to be smart about the patch panel location. You want to put it in the place where there are the most devices.