My take on switches & routers is you're better off buying a $50 switch + a $50 router
than a $100 integrated.
Dunno about knowing more but I know NAT is not enough and I don't trust ISP managed
equipment to protect me. OMG the FW in the Westell is terrible & a PITA to maintain!
DSL & PPoE are a joke give me the simplicity of cable modems any day, sigh...
Stan Zaske wrote:
I guess I'll just have to get a router then. Unfortunately, the gig
models are pretty close to a hundred bucks which is out of my purchasing
range at the moment. 10/100 here I come!
DHSinclair wrote:
Stan,
On this subject jmccraw and I completely agree. J certainly knows
much more about the gory details of internet security...........I do
trust his judgement; even when I do not follow his suggestions....... :)
BTW, the DLink DL-4300 router that I use does have 10/100/1000 ports
on its' 4-port "switch-side." (found this out by pleasant accident!)
I believe the newer DL-4500 does also. Many of the newer routers I
have seen all do Gbit on their switch ports. Some of the newest
routers also have Gbit on the WAN side also. (My next upgrade; as soon
as I can force AT&T to publish a hdw compatibility list!)
I understand your plan, but I would only buy-in IF your SurfBoard
Modem also contains a FireWall of some sort. My Westell 6100 xdsl
modem has a FW and has a DHCP server (both of which are disabled
because I have bridged the modem for "simplicity").
Perhaps some more research is needed.
Best,
Duncan
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