Need Help making A WAN network

[LiViNtOoLiVe]

i have to setup a network amongst multiple offices that are located in several differnet states(pennsylvania, NJ,NY etc.) i was wonderin how would i go about doing this. HOw would i connect them all? what hardware would i have to buy? i thoght i would allow my hard drives to be shared and make the computers connect to each other with the IP addresses and put a password in. this doesnt seem to professional though. i need it to be professional because its offices. does anybody have any suggestions? Fury im countin on you, u always help me out!!!!! thanks! peace!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Neo]

livin,
you will need routers at each office. you will also need at least a t1 at each location if speed is needed.(can be done on 56k but will be very painfull) dont bother sharing harddrives because anything over 1/2 a ,eg is gonna choke off the pipe.
set up a dhcp server that gives all computers on the wan an ip when they log in.
there are many other things that could be needed based on if you are setting these up in already networked sites or not.

is this a class project?

 

[LiViNtOoLiVe]

whoa too much info at once i did not understand that. nah this is for my uncle who owns a business. how would i go about creating what to connect them all together?

 

[Tenjah]

Don;t forget security.

WAN;s are easssy to hack into.

All you need is a freq. decoder and you're in.

So make security a priority....

 

[Neo]

well livin you will need quite a bit of money. There is no "easy" or cheap way to set up a wan.
list follows:
servers
routers
a fully functional network in place
hubs
switches
a very good knowledge of how to set ip's
a very good knowledge of network security.
and a lot of time.

 

[LiViNtOoLiVe]

i can get all of that my uncle dont mind spendin money but what do u mean by a fully functional network in place? do u mean amongst every office i hae to have a lan? thanks!

 

[Justintime]

hi, Livin, don't get me wrong, but i suggest you get some pros to do this job, i'm not getting at you, but you need some fundemental knowledge of networking thats a mite past that of a hobbyist networker to setup something like what you are describing.

 

[Neo]

this is very true justintime. Hell i work on them all the time and i have to get help with some of it. Its a very tedious thing to build a local lan but then to add wan to the mix makes the mind boggle at times.

 

[LiViNtOoLiVe]

ive made LAN's for my home and for my friends, i kno the process of givin an IP address and stuff cuz i spent days messin wit everythin (and i mean EVERYTHIN) in the network properties just to share my internet connection (i finally figured out that it was the win98 ics software not workin so i got some other software workin and its all fine). i like ur sugestion of gettin some1 to do it though, less work for me, lol. where would i get a professional like this to set it up? and also if you can please give me a broad outline of what kind of connections that i would have to make to set it up. like if i have LAN's set up at every office. would i have to connect a rounter to the main computer and set up one of the offices to be the head office and all of the main computers of each local lan connect to that one main computer through the router. thas just my guess. thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!! ill have time to do it in the summer vacation so no rush needed. but thanks alot for the help. I'm really getting to like this forum, fast responses and smart ppl not just bone heads puttin in their 2 cents thas worthless. lol, i just described hardware central, lol. thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. nothin was taken the wrong way justintime im open to all ideas and i Know that dont know everythin, i barely kno everythin, im just a ninth grader(although it is a specialized H.S. Shot out to brooklyn tech! tench knites!!) and im just gettin into this crazy computer world that you ppl here at xibase have. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[B4TMANN]

How are you on subnetting?

Do you know the different classes of IP addresses?

Do you know about ACL's?

Do you have an in depth knowledge of TCP/IP?

Below are some things you might want to know. If you don't know these things.....I REALLY suggest you having a professional do this. I am a network engineer, and Networking LAN's, WAN's is a never ending forest. You will be amazed!

-How multihomed computers work.
-Differences between Hosts. and LMHosts. files.
-How RAS uses gateways with remote computers/servers.
-PPTP.
-Subnet masking.
-How WINS Servers work.
-What DHCP is used for.
-How to create scope options, and what they are used for

Those are only a handfull of the things you should know to do this project. Hope this helps.

Peace out

 

[LiViNtOoLiVe]

thanks alot!!!!!! i thnk im gonna get some1 to do it. looks like to much fer me to handle. thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Justintime]

good luck!