THSCC Forums

I know most people on here are IT/Comp Science type folks, so I would greatly appreciate some expert advice....

No, not how to fix my PC, but on how to get reasonably educated about home networking/IT stuff. I would like to be as non-reliant on calling tech support/help desks etc, so I figure if I can learn some of this myself, at least I have a shot at fixing netowrk issues as they crop up (or recognizing when someone is blowing smoke if I do have to ask for help.) I don't necessarily need/want hand-holding, but would like some direction toward good resources (online or paper) in regards to how home networks function, set-up and troubleshooting, wireless devices, etc etc.

I have been looking into expanding my home network, but after reading some of the tech forums it's pretty clear that my level of ignorance requires remedial training before I can understand what all the acronyms mean, let alone understand the conversations.

Any/all suggestions are appreciated---thanks!

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Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

How are you looking to expand it? Are you going to be all wireless or do you want wired? Most don't need wired as wireless is fast enough, but it can easier and marginally more secure.

if we can get a few people together who want it, i'll gladly put together a "networking 101" seminar

Thanks, Jason...that's very kind of you. I was actually hoping not to bother anyone with something that in-depth, but if you're giving--I'm taking!

If anyone's read a good book on networking basics/intermediate stuff, that'd help too. The impetus for this whole thing was discovering that the Sonos wireless music system doesn't work well with AT&T Uverse--something about STP, roots, DHCP, wireless bridges and whatnot. I love me some good acronyms and abbreviations as much as the next dude, but that lost me right there--- hence the request. I can do some basic wireless network-ish type stuff which I liken to rebooting and offering a sacrifice to Bill G and the gods of Cisco. Somehow it works, but I don't know why. I don't like that I don't know why, so I want to learn since it appears I'm becoming a bit of an accidental admin at home.

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Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

I think running into STP issues in a home network is a new one to me. I can't think of any home/small office kit that can even do STP out of the box.

As far as decent documentation, there is a ton of information on cisco.com if you dig around a bit. It'll be very Cisco centric but a lot of it applies in general. I don't know of any decent books off the top of my head. The best way for me to learn was hands on by tooling around with various servers/switches. I was learning it to make money off the skills though so you might not be as interested in spending as much time as I did.

At work we do use http://www.safaribooksonline.com/ when we actually need a reference book. Monthly subscription and you can view 10 full books/month at a time. It has, possibly the full collection of, Cisco press and O'Reilly which should cover just about everything you would ever want to know about networks. Not everyone can read from a PC screen though which is where I struggle with it a bit.

Steven,
While I can't claim to be a network guru I have had some experience getting my computer to play nice with the stereo. I found that with the logitech squeezebox touch it runs much more reliably when wired rather than over the wireless network. I'm not sure why but since I hardwired it I'm not having to restart my router nearly as often.

Just my $0.02

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Emmett

Chevrolet Cobalt SS

Thanks Emmett,

I have considered Squeezebox as well, but don't really like how it requires a PC to be on while running. Sonos can run as a standalone system, is expandable, and can play your music from a NAS device--even iTunes. Sonos can be controlled from PC/iPhone/iPad/Android systems so you don't need a singular remote. Sonos lets you play different music in multiple locations simultaneously from one network, while Squeezebox doesn't (this may have changed recently, but was the case last I checked.) But, I haven't bought anything yet so if I bail on Sonos the Logitech products will certainly do a great job.

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Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

I added wired 100base network to the house last fall and LOVE IT!!!

Cable modem and Linksys 160NL Router in the garage. Having wired speed between the computers upstairs and the pc tied to the TV is amazing.

No cable or dish. Just Netflix and Hulu, youtube, ect.

160NL has openvpn so I can get back into the house if needed. Also 160NL works as a really good low power NAS and media sharing.

I'll take some pictures of the install but it was pretty easy to put together.

-Scott

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