[dba-Tech] Modems

Just a few answers about your proxy questions.

Proxies serve 3 purposes.

#1.  Security.  Using a proxy server removes your users from being
physically connected to the internet.  This means that the users can see the
internet, but the internet cannot see your users.

#2.  Monitoring.  If all web activity goes through your proxy, you can
monitor all web activity very easy from a centralized location.

#3.  Accellaration.  When a hundred users access the same page, the proxy
only needs to download the information once, and then it can send the data
to the users from it's cache.

In an environment, where there are a lot of computers, a proxy makes sense
simply for #3.  In a small office, or home environment, #3 provides little
help, since repetitive site hits would be minimalized or non-existant.  #2
would probably be unnecessary too.  As far as #1 is concerned, if you are
behind a router, that is assigning a private IP such as 192.168.0.2, then
you have #1 covered.

Drew
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven W. Erbach" <serbach at new.rr.com>
To: "Discussion of Hardware and Software issues"
<dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2003 8:00 PM
Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] Modems


> Erwin,
>
> I appreciate your response.
>
> >> Did you checked that the pc has no firewall activated. Sometimes people
> forget to disable the firewall on a pc when that pc was first connected
> directly to the internet and connecting it afterwards to a local area
> network that has it's on router/firewall. <<
>
> Well, our Novell network is about as simple as can be: file server, 2
> Windows 2000 Pro workstations, a Windows XP Home workstation (my sons'),
and
> once in a while there's a Windows 98 workstation logged in...and very
> occasionally a Windows 95 laptop. There is no router nor hardware firewall
> on the LAN.
>
> There are a number of things confusing me about this problem. I had
> installed the Sygate personal firewall on the XP Home w/s a couple of
weeks
> ago, before the problems began with not getting an Internet connection. I
> had also installed the 15 day eval edition of Norton AntiVirus in case
> Blaster wanted to get on board. Then my oldest son restored the XP w/s to
a
> point a few weeks ago to see if maybe a game installation had munged
things
> up. That restore got rid of Sygate...but left the Norton AV eval
intact!?!?
>
> Also, that Windows 98 workstation has had problems logging onto the
> Internet, too. I don't mind that so much since it's not a w/s that we use
a
> lot. But yesterday it started to connect just fine to the Internet! Right
> now it's connected to the Microsoft web site and is checking for Windows
98
> updates!
>
> >> I also would advice you to use the proxy server from your server.
> I cant recall the name of it (its included in Netware). However, this
> will make your environment more complex, but more secure and somewhat
> faster (due to active and intelligent proxy). <<
>
> Is that really necessary? And when you say "faster", I'm already connected
> by a cable modem that consistently gives me 1200 kbps download speed. I
> don't want to sound like I'm whining. I have a good horseback knowledge
> of Novell, but I've never dinked with anything relating to proxies. I
> haven't read about them, I don't know what to do to configure it on my
> server. This doesn't seem to me to be a reasonable option...especially
> considering that everything was working fine 3-4 weeks ago and had been
> working fine for over a year. Why should I now consider setting up a proxy
> server?
>
> >> Please also note that your cable modem/router (built in DHCP server)
can
> be limited to a certain number of clients. You can avoid this by using
> the proxy in your server. <<
>
> That seems like a positive thing, but I talked to my cable modem supplier
> sometime back and the tech support guy indicated that there wasn't any
limit
> on the number of workstations I could hook up on our home office network.
>
> It looks to me like I'll have to devote some hard study to these issues.
> Nothing I've read here or found in my searches has given me any hints
about
> what is happening. I know that there are several things happening here but
> my usual laying-on-of-hands hasn't worked. Time for more skull sweat, I
> guess.
>
> Thanks again for your reply.
>
> Steve Erbach
> Scientific Marketing
> Neenah, WI
>
> "Eventually, socialists run out of other people's money."
> -- Lady Margaret Thatcher
>
>
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