markbsd said:
Do I want IPv6 functionality? I don't even know what that is.
Current IP addresses are IPv4 (ex. 192.168.1.1). There are not enough IPv4 addresses (only 4 billion or so) for every computer to have its own without conflicts. IPv6 is an extension that increases the number of addresses significantly so we'll never have to worry about conflicts again.
It's not particularly important for a home network, but lacking IPv6 support is often a sign of dated equipment. I'd go for it, but set it up to use IPv4 by default.
markbsd said:
Does something like
this seem right?
This one is nice and cheap, but only has 4 ports.
I don't like that the ethernet ports are limited to 100 mbit (your wireless -> wireless speeds may be faster than wired -> wired...), but this only really matters if you're moving a
lot of data between computers wired into the network. Personally, I'd prefer gigabit, but they'll cost more (and you probably won't notice the difference for a while).
I don't know your particular circumstances, but either is probably fine. You can always buy a switch if you need more ports, so if you don't need 8 ports now, it's okay to go with a 4-port router.
markbsd said:
I don't know what DD-WRT or DHCP is. I know FreeBSD auto-configured DHCP with my ISP during the installation process because it was one of the questions. Do I need the router to do these things too?
DHCP is just the name for automatically giving an IP address to your computer. When you go from home to school/work, your address will change to match addresses on that network. All routers come with DHCP on by default (AFAIK), so that will work fine.
DD-WRT is an alternate firmware for routers that can give capabilities generally found in more expensive routers. You won't need most of these features, but if I use DD-WRT, I already know where to look for everything so I don't have to hunt around on a foreign interface. There's always a chance of bricking (read breaking) your router when upgrading to a DD-WRT firmware.
markbsd said:
I would like to do this; have a domain name and be able to access my home network from anywhere as I travel a fair bit and this would be great for school! I also would like a FreeNAS DNS server but don't know how! Can you please provide a tutorial of the process you used to do all of this? It sounds just like what I need! I have two physically separated locations that contain several computers each. I need both physical locations to have access to a communal network and server.
I'm guessing you're after a common NAS (networked attached storage), not DNS (domain name system). I'm currently in the process of getting this configured, but maybe I'll write a tutorial sometime when it's all done (probably won't get done until after the holidays though...).
I'd tackle the setup in pieces. First, get the home network set up like you want it. Then, check if your network is accessible from the outside world:
1. Google "what's my IP"
2. Check router's WAN address and see if they match
If the two addresses match, you're probably in luck. To double check, try accessing your address from outside (i.e. at home or work). To do this, either ping (not ideal), access remote admin page on your router (sufficient), or set up port forwarding to forward 22 (SSH's port) to your FreeBSD server. If everything's working, then you can set up a domain name.
Assuming the above worked as expected, you can try this
tutorial to get dynamic dns working. I use freedns.afraid.org (their servers run FreeBSD =D) and they're very reliable.
Once this is set up, you just need to decide how you want to connect things together. I hope this helps.
