Home Networking With HALNet ADSL

Many companies are allowing their employees to work at home using what's known as VPN (Virtual Private Network). There are many ways to configure VPN, one of which is allowing connections from 1 specific IP address. Some routers and VPN configurations don't work well together, so you may need to configure your network in such a way that the computer that will be connecting to your company will have its own IP address (NOTE: Some companies require static IPs. They are available for $10/month for the first, and $5/month for each additional). There are many other benefits to having a real IP address on the internet, but keep in mind that you should always protect your computer (specifically Windows users) with some sort of firewall program and a good virus scanner. Being on the internet with Windows, full time, without being protected in some way is a recipe for disaster.

This next example network shows how you can combine a router and hub to allow access to and from certain computers on your local network. The desktop that is connected to the hub could be used for video conferencing, file sharing with messaging programs, telephone over the internet, or just playing a good game of Quake. The laptop could be your company computer that you use from home on occasion to connect to your office network (while you're not playing games of course). The rest of the computers are connected behind the router. One for the teenager, one for the little ones, and another for your spouse, or just a few more for yourself :-).

In this configuration you would have a straight through (patch) cable connected from your DSL modem to the hub's uplink port (or use a crossover if no uplink is available), then use a regular port on the hub to connect your router. The rest of the computers would connect with a regular patch cable. Don't forget about the uplink sharing a regular port on most hubs!

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This site is designed to be of some assistance, however is not meant to be your sole source of information. By following the suggestions given on this page you understand that you do these things at your own risk. The steps mentioned here may or may not work for your purposes. There is no warranty or support of any kind provided by HAL-PC for the topics discussed in this site. The only support for your home network that is given is by me personally, at my choosing, on my own time, and via email only.
I know... I hate disclaimers too.