Is the best way to manage network priority to go and buy a DDwrt or Tomato compatible router? Can I run this software or something similar on one of the computers on the network? I have heard of psense as being capable of network management, but I am unsure if it can be used for QoS, Traffic Shaping, etc.

I currently have three computers two of which playing P2P games the third is for work.

Goals:

I need to setup a network with priority for my work computer, while keeping the other two and any other future devices from communicating with each other. Would Vlans be a capable solution for dividing up bandwidth from the modem while keeping traffic and computers separated. I like some of the capabilities DDwrt offers such as by port, address, by grouping, and limit of up and download. These options offer a nice selection of redundancy.

As of right now I have a rp614v4 (wired router) which is a standard home router and is not supported by DDwrt firmware/no QoS in web menu. I need to find out what would be the best course of action for hopefully under a $100 dollars if it can be helped.

Thanks!

Depends. If you have a spare machine you could load a router / firewall distro instead.


No, besides a router / firewall distro has a specific function. It should be the only task that machine performs and not also be a workstation or server.


Yes, about any Operating System that has the right firewall capabilities can be used for traffic shaping and such.


Tagged vlans, yes.


Note there's not only dd-wrt but also OpenWrt, Gargoyle, Tomato and more, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...mware_projects, and do note there's no guarantee that if one version of a router works with router firmware the other version do too.


//NTLB

You said Vlans would work for separating computers. Would the best option to maintain a wired setup be an external firewall after my current router? (Modem, Router, and Firewall?)

Do you know if it is possible to filter internet access from my machine through another computer without changing any router settings? I think that one of the machines on this network is somehow doing something to prevent connection of another computer. Is this possible even though they do not have admin access to the router?

I need to keep three computers from connecting to one another while maintaining internet access. What would be the most economical way of achieving this?

Why? Most routers are capable of handling the wireless, wired and firewalling part...


Sounds like a convoluted approach to me.


That is something you can test: run tcpdump or equivalent on the machine then analyze its traffic.


Dump each machine in their own private vlan?

There is a new development and I hope this is what has been causing all of this. I tried disconnecting the problem computer from the router for a minute and this little widow pop up on my screen. It said the name of their computer and server disconnected. The weird thing is it flash on the screen for a few seconds and then disappeared.

EX)

Macbook (name) server disconnected

What does this mean they are doing? I really hope that I have finally found the cause of this. Please let me know what you think.

Also does this mean that they have been watching my activity when I have been on my computer?

If I read your post right (talking about things being always different than showing actual nfo) then your machine was accessing a share on their machine.


Can't compute. Not enough nfo.

Please explain what you mean "accessing a share on their computer"?

When you say that most routers have a firewall, QoS, and Vlan is there one that is a wired only version?

At this time I have a Time Warner Modem connected to the router and then the three computers attached to the router via the use of CAT6 cables.

Today as a test just to check I made sure that my computer was on in sleep mode. My computer was at 192.168.2 then they connect up their machine and I get this message "Another device on the network is using your computer’s IP address (192.168.1.2).", then I checked the network settings and my computer switches to 192.168.4. How did my computers address change and how did it skip 192.168.3? The router is setup to be dynamic and there were only two machines connected. How were they able to force my machine which was already connected to change?

What do you think they could do in the command prompt to change my ip address?

It was just a hunch and without any "evidence" I can't even confirm that is the case. If you never established persistent access to directories on their or another macbook then I would drop it.


Sure.


DHCP lease renewal?


No log excerpts means I've got no idea.


Sleep does not equal an actual active connection.


Unless they have admin access to the router I have no idea. It seems you're focusing on things that are not strictly related to the initial question. If you have valid reasons to believe there's a chance of foul play I'd suggest you open another thread (preferably in the Linux Security forum) about it and handle the initial technical questions in this thread. I think that's more efficient.