Ethernet To Your Home
Lisa Lees
Figure 1
System administrators often creatively adapt lessons learned in one area and
apply them to other areas, and this trick can be done with the creation and
management of Web servers as easily as elsewhere. In this article, I will use
the configuration of my home systems as an example of how to create an economical
Web server infrastructure.
I have an Ethernet connection in the bedroom of my house in East Lansing,
Michigan, which is for my Linux computer. Another connection in the basement
goes to my spouse's Windows PC. These two systems are connected to a five-port
10BaseT hub (with room to add the children's systems at some point). The hub
connects to the cable modem . . . and so to the world. The cost is quite reasonable,
and installation was a snap.
TCI Telephony Services, Inc., of Michigan provides an Ethernet connection
to homes in my area in one of two forms, a 10 Mb/s LANcity LCP Personal Cable
TV Modem (http://wkgroup.com/lancity) or a 4 Mb/s Zenith HomeWorks cable modem
(http://www.ftcnet.com/~dmh/lanmaso.htm). The cable modem attaches to the TCI
cable just as does a television set or VCR.
The LANcity LCP implements one static IP address. This modem has a DB15 AUI
connector, so you need to supply the appropriate transceiver hardware to connect
to your in-home network. The Zenith modem implements up to four static IP addresses.
It has an RJ-45 twisted-pair connector that can be directly connected to one
computer if you are using only one IP address. For more than one IP address,
you need a hub of some kind.
The monthly charge for these services at the time of writing (summer 1996)
was $45/month for the 4 Mb/s "residential" service with one IP address
($10/month for additional IP addresses up to a total of four) and $70/month
for the 10 Mb/s "commuter" service.
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