Hello there, It is my understand that which I am attempting to do is not by any means "normal" in a regular home environment, but that is why I love being tech-savvy:P I currently have a network at home that needs a dramatic overhaul. My current plan is to get rid of my "back-bone" which connects my Core network (Router, Server, AP, Modem, Printer, Switch) to my "Main" netowrk which consists of four PC's and a Nintendo Wii. To do this, I am going to have all of my core components located in my furnace room with a central switch. This will attach to my AP and my PC's will connect via wireless. My concern is that I have a few known SPOF's (single point of failure) which I am attempting to close. They are listed as follows: Firstly, I have a single AD environment with DNS and will add a secondary DNS server. Secondly, I will also add RAID to my File Server along with a backup method which will provide peace of mind as well as some redundancy. Lastly, (here it is!) my main problem is my Access point. Although the range of my network is well within 50-60ft I wish to attach a secondly Access Point to my switch and allow th PC's to connect to that should the first link fail (which happens on occasion). I understand I need seperate SSID's but am looking for a solution that provides my family with transparency (i.e they will not notice the change) and allow them continual access to the file server and web-capabilities. I tried this before and got stuck based on IP Addressing issues. My network is subnetted and allows 14 available hosts. I have two servers, four computers, a router and an access point. I wish to allow the users to connect to the secondary link while also keeping the same IP addresses (thus not overloading my DHCP SERVER) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank is advance. Darin Darin Luckie

Ok, I'm a network technician by trade and have been in the computing industry for around 15 years now. The last 4 spent specializing in networking. Here's how a properly setup home network should look: Internet >> router >> switch >> clients/server(s) To do this, I am going to have all of my core components located in my furnace room with a central switch. Ok, this is a bad idea. Electronic devices, most specifically, routers, computers, switches and the like do not like heat. So do not put your switch (or any other device) anywhere near your furnace. This is just asking for trouble. This will attach to my AP and my PC's will connect via wireless. Fine if you like wireless. I just hope you're not a gamer though because wireless sucks for gaming. Me, I don't use wireless as it's not as secure or as fast as a wired solution. My concern is that I have a few known SPOF's (single point of failure) which I am attempting to close. They are listed as follows: In a perfect world such a thing as a single point of failure would not exist. But sadly, this is not a perfect world. I admire you for wishing to remove any SPOF's in your home but the simple truth is, to do that would require a fair bit of cash and two separate (ie: different) providers. Firstly, I have a single AD environment with DNS and will add a secondary DNS server. Good idea, just make sure you make the second DC redundant. It's worth noting that if you have a router and use it to dish out DHCP to your clients and the clients have that IP as their Gateway, your DC could fail and they'd still be able to access the internet. It's a good idea to not enable RRAS and make all clients go through the server to access the internet. This not only puts unneccessary extra load on the DC but also means, should it ever fail, your clients have no external access. This is why above I said "router >> switch >> clients" I included your server in with clients. Secondly, I will also add RAID to my File Server along with a backup method which will provide peace of mind as well as some redundancy. Good plan. When you get your backup setup make sure you test it. It is a terrible thing to find out you can't restore your backup when you need to. Also, without taking the backup tapes offsite, should your house ever burn down, you still lose all data. So to be sure you can recover from even such a disaster as a major house fire, make plans to take your backups offsite. Lastly, (here it is!) my main problem is my Access point. Although the range of my network is well within 50-60ft I wish to attach a secondly Access Point to my switch and allow th PC's to connect to that should the first link fail (which happens on occasion). I understand I need seperate SSID's but am looking for a solution that provides my family with transparency (i.e they will not notice the change) and allow them continual access to the file server and web-capabilities. Ok, I'm not sure why you think you need separate SSID's on your wireless but relax, you don't. Use the same SSID. But do have the AP's on separate channels. Put one on channel 1 and the other on 11. This doesn't have anything to do with redundancy but with how they scan their allocated channels. With two AP's configured with the same SSID and IP's within the same subnet as the rest of your network, should one fail, your clients will switch over to the other one seemlessly. I tried this before and got stuck based on IP Addressing issues. My network is subnetted and allows 14 available hosts. I have two servers, four computers, a router and an access point. I wish to allow the users to connect to the secondary link while also keeping the same IP addresses (thus not overloading my DHCP SERVER) Why? Use all 254 address (example: 192.168.0.0/24) and create a scope of 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.199 for all DHCP clients. Your server and any other resources you want available at all times (like a network printer or your router, or your Access Points) should have static IP's outside the scope. Again, if you have a SOHO router (and you should) use it to do DHCP. This relieves some of the load on your DC (it doesn't have to do DHCP which frees up it's resources to do other things) and has the addded advantage of putting your entire network behind a firewall. Personally, I think you're making things too complex. The old adage KISS (keep it simple stupid) is a good one to live by. The simpler your setup, the easier it is to troubleshoot.

Thanks for such a quick response! I appreciate your advice, wisdom, understanding and kindness is answering so promptly. I should have explained a little better. My Server is NOT acting as a router! I am using a switch and AP for my network, which connects to my Smoothwall router (a linux-based gateway/firewall device). Moreover, I have setup my Router / Switch / Access-Point in the furnace room because that is the location of my DSL phone jack (I am too lazy to run a cable to my room and utilize my closet as a central storage place. Also, in terms of IP Addressing; the reason I had subnetted my network was to practice for my CCENT exam and make sure I understood fully how it works in theory as well as apply it in practice. However, I will certainly be reconfiguring my network to use a "standard" Class B address with a 24-bit SM Lastly, I previously had my router dish out DHCP Requests but then had a problem when my network changed and it no longer responded to requests. My DC is a Dell Poweredge 2500 with a USB external hard drive for backups (which are, in turn copied to a secondary server as well as my laptop.) The backup on my laptop gets burned to DVD's which are stored at another house. Thank you for all your advice. I try to keep things simple yet meet my desire for security at the same time. Thanks again. Darin Darin Luckie

Moreover, I have setup my Router / Switch / Access-Point in the furnace room because that is the location of my DSL phone jack (I am too lazy to run a cable to my room and utilize my closet as a central storage place. Moving the router/switch/AP requires you to only run a single cable from your DSL modem to wherever you wish to locate the equipment. In fact, it's even easier than that. You can run the telephone cable to wherever and have it plug into the DSL modem there. The good thing about doing it that way is, a phone line doesn't have the same 100 metre restriction on segment length you encounter with a Cat5e cable. I have a rather long phone cord running from the jack my DSL comes in from to the modem. Works like a charm. Anyhow....my main point being leaving it in the furnace room is not a great idea. It's not the end of the world if it's a large furnace room with adequate air flow so the equipment doesn't overheat or fill up with dust and dirt. For the amount of time and energy it would take to run that cable...well it's worth the effort as it would totally suck to have to replace expensive equipment because it overheated and completely melted down. Also, in terms of IP Addressing; the reason I had subnetted my network was to practice for my CCENT exam and make sure I understood fully how it works in theory as well as apply it in practice. However, I will certainly be reconfiguring my network to use a "standard" Class B address with a 24-bit SM I hear you. I did a lot of sub/supernetting at home just for the experience myself. Lastly, I previously had my router dish out DHCP Requests but then had a problem when my network changed and it no longer responded to requests. I would have resolved the issue with the router not doing DHCP correctly. Whatever caused it to stop, may affect other things as well. It could be very inconvenient if the firewall suddenly stopped working for you. My DC is a Dell Poweredge 2500 with a USB external hard drive for backups (which are, in turn copied to a secondary server as well as my laptop.) The backup on my laptop gets burned to DVD's which are stored at another house. Sounds almost exactly like my setup at home. I have all PC's backup to one central PC which I then burn to DVD-RW. I take the DVD's to my office for safe keeping. I also have a copy of the backup made to my UNIX box and one of my linux boxes. Both of which have RAID's running in them. Thank you for all your advice. I try to keep things simple yet meet my desire for security at the same time. Thanks again. Always a pleasure. I wish you success in finding a good way to combine security with simplicity.