> On Thu, 6 Dec 2001, Hvidsten, Leif wrote:
> 
> > If one is using cable (so DSL standards are of no concern), 
> how do these Cisco routers compare to the commonly found 
> Cable/DSL routers by SMC (7004 ABR /w built-in print server), 
> Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, etc.?  I've been eyeing the SMC 
> 7004 ABR 4-port router for some time now which goes for a 
> street price of $69.  I've been thinking of using this b/c I 
> want to use my Pentium box as a dedicated web server and my 
> Athlon box for more desktop type purposes (and run Windoze 
> for games and my wife) and then connect them to the router 
> behind the NAT firewall.  If I run the Linux packet-filtering 
> firewall and Apache web server on the same Pentium 
> box....will that work efficiently/securely behind the 
> router's NAT firewall?  Sorry for the newbie questions.....
> 
> I think you're confusing the uses here.  The cable/DSL 
> routers you buy at
> Best Buy are just simple ethernet routers.  The DSL router 
> (or cable modem
> for that matter) takes the non-ethernet DSL signal or cable signal and
> converts it to ethernet (that's the simple explanation anyway).  The
> cable/DSL router from Best Buy then takes the ethernet signal and 
> firewalls, NATs, whatever to the rest of your PCs.  So, the two have
> different functions and in a cable situation you need both if you're
> running more than one machine or wish to firewall.
> 
> That being said, the 678 DSL modem has some basic features in 
> it that I
> used mine without a seperate router.  Salt to taste, your mileage may
> vary.
> 
> -Brian

Thanks for clarifying.....my bad.  I'm not familiar with DSL since all I've ever had is either dial-up or cable.  My cable provider supplied me with a cable modem, so that's what's converting my cable signal to ethernet.  My situation is that I have two computers.  I wish to network them and run a dedicated Linux server on one of them.  To me the cable/dsl routers look like a good option b/c then I have room for two future computers/switches/hubs, and I get a NAT-based firewall on top of it to masquerade the IP of my LAN.  Does anyone use a cable/dsl router?  If so, any good/bad experiences with a particular brand?  The SMC Barricade I mentioned before can be found on the internet for $69 and I see that MicroCenter has a sale on them for around $79.  There are more and more companies now coming out with these....I'm now seeing Siemens, Belkin, besides all the other brands I mentioned before.  Any feedback would be appreciated.

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