6-MAR-09

I had to order a new switch – the old NetGear switch was driving me nuts with the fans.  eBay was my friend – I got a NetGear FS116 for $23, delivered.  Can’t go wrong with that.  Works great.  I also replaced the NetGear firewall with a Nokia IP130 running m0n0wall.  After loading the drive and configuring it to pass the IAX protocol to the Astlinux box, it came right up.  The advantage to having a m0n0wall is the ease of use and the configuration options, not to mention that it gets updated regularly.  Me likey.

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Well, I finally finished it.  I’ve had a spool of CAT5 and a partial spool of exterior CAT5 for a couple of years, along with a mini patch panel (only 12 positions), and hadn’t done anything with them.  I’ve always wanted to run cabling for my DVR, move my wireless access point, and I wanted network connections in my garage.

What I ended up with is the following runs:

1. Goes to the kitchen and lands on top of the cabinets.  The wireless access point get’s power from the microwave outlet in the cabinet, where I changed the outlet from a single to a standard double.
2. Entertainment center, right next to the DVR.
3. Master bedroom, next to the CATV drop.
4. Office – has a 5-port switch for my PC and the VoIP phone.
5. Office – currently used as the feed from the cable mode.  Eventually I’ll move the modem to the closet and free up this drop.
6. Garage
7. Garage

As you can see in the picture, it’s pretty busy.  Starting at the top, I have my VoIP server, an AstLinux box. It handles my phone services over my broadband cable.  For more details, you can see my write up about that.    Right below it is my Linksys ATA, which connects to the house telephone line and provides dial tone.  The NetGear switch is an older one that has noisy fans, I’m working on getting a Netgear FS116 or GS116 for complete silence.  I currently have a NetGear router but that’s going away once I get my monowall router in there.

Eventually I want to put in some home automation and I might put a LCD screen in there along with a mini keyboard/mouse.