Hi - I am generally tech savvy but weak on networks, so please be gentle. I looked over the forum names, and I hope this is appropriate place to ask:
We have a pretty normal home network - Comcast cable modem connected (currently) into a older Linksys WRT54G. Nodes include a D-Link print server, couple of TrendNet switches (upstairs, downstairs, etc), a PS2, TV, Synology NAS, 2 iPhones, ~4 laptops (wi-fi), and whatever visiting technology might be in the neighborhood. Everything Cat 6 gigabit except for the router, and once I digest the advice you good people give me in response to this thread, I will replace that with a gigabit unit as well - and then I will be totally modern.
So I recently got a Verizon mifi hotspot from my work for travel - and it is awesome, often providing triple the speed of Comcast cable. So the idea is to leverage both connections for max speed at home.
My ideal would be a network that is connected to the internet via both of these two network connections. I want the router(s) to decide which packets to send through which connection and have the clients blissfully unaware of which connection they are using. Furthermore, I want the ability to unplug the mifi and take it with me, and have the network not skip a beat - switching over to using the Comcast cable exclusively, until the mifi is on and back in range.
Three more requirements:
1) I would need to regularly punch out of this local network from one of the laptops using a VPN client to my company's private cloud.
2) Each client is configured to back up nightly to the Synology box - so every (laptop) client would need connectivity to that device with (static IP).
3) Ditto all laptops would need connectivity to the print server.
Is there home gear that does this, or am I in expensive / custom product neighborhood? Any advice would be helpful - I've been looking at Amazon product descriptions for "repeater", "WAN bridge", "mediabridge", etc. Nothing seems quite right... help? :p
We have a pretty normal home network - Comcast cable modem connected (currently) into a older Linksys WRT54G. Nodes include a D-Link print server, couple of TrendNet switches (upstairs, downstairs, etc), a PS2, TV, Synology NAS, 2 iPhones, ~4 laptops (wi-fi), and whatever visiting technology might be in the neighborhood. Everything Cat 6 gigabit except for the router, and once I digest the advice you good people give me in response to this thread, I will replace that with a gigabit unit as well - and then I will be totally modern.
So I recently got a Verizon mifi hotspot from my work for travel - and it is awesome, often providing triple the speed of Comcast cable. So the idea is to leverage both connections for max speed at home.
My ideal would be a network that is connected to the internet via both of these two network connections. I want the router(s) to decide which packets to send through which connection and have the clients blissfully unaware of which connection they are using. Furthermore, I want the ability to unplug the mifi and take it with me, and have the network not skip a beat - switching over to using the Comcast cable exclusively, until the mifi is on and back in range.
Three more requirements:
1) I would need to regularly punch out of this local network from one of the laptops using a VPN client to my company's private cloud.
2) Each client is configured to back up nightly to the Synology box - so every (laptop) client would need connectivity to that device with (static IP).
3) Ditto all laptops would need connectivity to the print server.
Is there home gear that does this, or am I in expensive / custom product neighborhood? Any advice would be helpful - I've been looking at Amazon product descriptions for "repeater", "WAN bridge", "mediabridge", etc. Nothing seems quite right... help? :p