internet requirements ??? pls help

[wide angle]

hi guys

im a new babe in this field but im so eager to open a small internet cafe.

i have 14 workstations (P!!! 900) and planning to have 1 server 1.4 AMD athlon or P4. all pcs with NIC cards and i have already HUB with 24ports.

1) what else i need? do i have to buy switch ???
2) which modem is good for the server? internal or external?

if someone could advice me a good software to monitor the log-on or usage of each computer will be much appreciated.

please advice. thanks a lot

henry

[Statica]

Its impossible to narrow it down without knowing the following at least to begin with..
1) Type of connection
2) Operating system - clients, server (the OS that you are proficient with vs the amount you want to spend on your network vs the services you need to provide)
3) Type of network desired
4) Type of authentication & auditing
5) Type of security desired
6) Type of access provided / level of service

.. wow this is only scratching the surface. there are many more queries. these queries are not meant that u should exclusively answer them here .. but that these are the queries you should look to answer yourself so that you can get an idea of what you require.

Right of the bat, I can comment on one thing though, with the only bit of information you provided .. the Hub just wont do, unless you want to get the high score at the packet collision game

[Mr N8]

I would go with a P4 1.6A on an intel motherboard for the server. This will provide you with the best possible stability for your customers. Do you have broadband in your area? I would personally go with a high speed connection for that many computers. If you are looking at modems, go with an external modem. They tend to be much faster than an internal PCI modem. A hub should be fine for your use, but a switch would make you much happier.

Nate

[doctorgonzo]

If you used a hub and, say, DSL, wouldn't you need an IP address for each PC that you had? Wouldn't this get to be a bit pricey?

[Mr N8]

If you go with a client/server setup, you can set up internal IPs that all share the internet connection. The DSL modem/router would have its assigned IP from the ISP, and all of the client PCs would be hidden behind that. For instance, your server is connected to the internet via the modem. The modem contains its assigned IP. All of the internal PCs on the LAN have their own IPs for connectivity to the server. They would all share the same IP to link to the internet. This is the way I would understand it to be setup with either Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Nate

[doctorgonzo]

Makes sense to me. I guess I was envisioning a setup where the modem is directly connected to the hub, not to a server.

[Statica]

I dont know too much about the network requirements of this person, but I'd still reiterate a hub is NOT the way to go. A 10Mbps switched network is even faster than a shared 100mbps network that you are considering with a hub. Personally I would go for this setup:

P4/Athlon (its 6 of one half-dozen of the other) as the server/firewall. Run RedHat on it. If you using modems use internal modem hardware modem .. and use at least 2 and do a multilink! With 24 potential clients you might as well pay for a 2nd account. If its DSL then I guess you have no issues. But connect the DSL modem (WAN) to the server on NIC1 and the LAN (switch) on NIC0. You could even try something like Argus, or Angel-Admin http://wiw.org/~paganini/angel/ or (as an overkill for your particular network but a dang awesome tool) http://cricket.sourceforge.net/ to monitor.


Then use a switch behind the server to connect the rest of the client computers. The operating system now doesnt matter.

With RedHat you can build on the features you need, and do a whole lot more for no money than you can with a clunky insecure 2K/XP. You'd be better off networking for real than the "Internet Connection Sharing" deal!