Help with network design

[wagnj1]

Hey all - I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to ask this question on - if not, let me know which one would be best to post it to.
I'm moving in with some friends of mine and it looks like we're going to need a rather large network running (large in respect to a home network).
We're going to have about 7 computers that need network access. 5 of them are normal PC's used for gaming, checking email, word processing, etc by me and 4 of my friends. The other two are both my computers, one which will be running as a server, both for FTP, HTTP, and gaming. We would like to have this set up so that this server can host our multiplayer games (ie. so we can have 64-man Battlefield games without getting laggy or anything). I'm not 100% sure on what we're doing with the second server, but I think it may just be a temporary storage spot or something used as a middleman for "experimental purposes". haha
We're also going to have a few game consoles that need to be net-enabled. There will be 3 XBOX's and 2 PS2's. We would like, of course, to have our XBOX's system linked so that we can have, for example, 12-man Halo matches. We would also like to be able to send files to our XBOX's from our computers.
I have a little bit of knowledge about doing this. Right now, at my current home, I am running a d-link wireless router. It's that ExtremeG model, and I have the ExtremeG PCI card adapter hooked up to my PC which is on another floor. I would like our new network at my buddies place to have wireless capabilities. I'm planning on getting a laptop in upcoming months, and I know that some of the guys want to get PDA's that have wireless access.
So what my plan is is to get a 12 or 14 port router, which I will then connect my d-link wireless router into. this should give us wireless access if we want it. I will then plug all of the other devices into the main router (my wireless router is only 4 ports). I'm not sure how I'm going to manage all this network activity though. I'm thinking that maybe I should split the network traffic up a bit, maybe have the main router hook to a hub which is connected to all of the xbox's, and then have the main router also hook up to a hub that connects to the computers...I'm not sure. I know that a hub is a waste of bandwidth.
I am also wondering about how exactly this is going to work for online gaming. a couple of the guys and me want to get playing the new World of Warcraft game, but are we going to be able to if we all appear to be coming from the same IP address?? I really don't want to get two more lines installed just so that we can have 3 IP addresses.
any hints or advice you can give me would be appreciated. I have a feeling I'm going to be reading quite a bit about home networks with PC's and XBOX's in the coming month.

 

[ajrox]

look at the price difference of a switch compared to a router. for the same price or cheaper you might get better performance using a switch.
but for the small amount of clients you have, a hub will work just fine. we get 16 to 20 peeps playing call of duty off of a hub with no lag. just connect the servers directly to the LAN ports on the router and the hub off of one of the LAN ports of the router. then the clients off of the hub.
but if cash isnt an issue, a switch or router will work like a champ, you just wont be taking advantage of all that performance is all.
as for everyone comming from the same IP address....not an issue. everything is tracked by your CD keys that came with the game.
as for FTP and HTTP, cable internet blocks port 21 so you wont be able to create FTP on that port with a home account{at least in las vegas}. you need to get the commercial one. better service and speeds anyway. i got the 3meg down and 512 up for 45.00$ you can get better speeds than that if you want to pay for it. i hear cable supports upto 3meg up and 3meg down. faster than a T1 just not dedicated. now that would kick ass for game servers and any FTP servers you want!!!!! just look into the amount of bandwidth you can use per month before they start charging extra.
hope this helped
AJ

 

[wagnj1]

thanks for the advice man! yah I'm thinking of getting a couple switches now instead. I have DSL (not cable, it comes in through my phone line), extreme edition...I work for the ISP that I'm buying it from so I get a 40% discount. For 45 bucks canadian per month I get 7mbps download and 640 kbps upload. I don't worry about blocked FTP or anything here cause I have one running right now =)
So what I'm thinking of doing now is seperating the network into about 3 groups. I'll hook up my DSL line into my wireless 4-port router (dlink extremeG edition), and use 3 wireless bridges, one for each group. from each bridge I'll wire a switch and then wire each client in that group into the switch. I kinda like that idea because hopefully the wireless router to bridge aspect should cut down on the amount of wiring I have to do.