OT: How to configure a network in small boutique?

[Jeff Dobrow]

Without going into every step here…
WinXP Network Wizard will walk you through every step of the way,…asking you questions,…etc..etc..etc. Just depends how exactly you will be networking your setup,….if you get into floating license serving for gfx apps and the like, it can get pretty complex,…but for a simple peer-to-peer network, with everyone having net access, and printer/scanner access…..you could probably just do it yourself with the setup wizard…..

OR ask one of your more computer savvy friends?

[Eric Steinberg]

Thanks for your reply!

As I mentioned, some machines will have net access, some won’t.. but will have access to each other.. maybe..? There are lots of specific challenges to my setup, and I probably haven’t even considered all the different ways this could be set up since this is all pretty new to me. I’ve been working for years by myself with one workstation and one office machine. Now things are getting a little bigger, so I was hoping there was some website/book/forum specifically geared towards people who run a combination of video workstations they want to keep off the net, and office machines which will be on-line. Any suggestions to where I might learn more about this?

Kind regards,
Eric

[Dave Blodgett]

try linksys.com for some basic networking info – click on ‘learning center’.

-d

[Steve Roberts]

If anything has wasted my time over the years, it has been network issues. Just when I thought I had it licked with NT and 2000, XP messed me up. Then I hired a geek from “Nerds on Site” here in Toronto. (no, I don’t work for them) If I can’t fix something, I bring him in, then watch over his shoulder. Or maybe your geek could come from a post house that has a similar setup?

I recommend you find one to set you up and educate you regarding the things that will crop up from time to time as you add new computers to your network. Make sure you can call him/her with emergency advice when, for example, your router won’t let anyone into your FTP server because you added a new computer to the network and the local IP addresses changed.

You could search the web for “home network” (yes, I know) but I think the subject is way too big for a tutorial. Maybe if you search Amazon on “network” and “XP”, you’d find a book. But be warned — it could be a subject that’s only covered well (enough) in arcane specialist texts.

Steve

[Eric Steinberg]

Thanks for all the tips, unfortunately I live in a pretty remote part of the world where the only so-called networking “experts” I have found only know how to deal with basic office networks, and nobody has dealt with video stuff. I’ve had people/companies try to set things up for me only to discover that they had no clue what they were doing. And there aren’t any other companies like mine nearby either where I can ask for set-up suggestions. That’s why I was hoping to maybe find some online case studies or concrete examples of how other small production houses have set stuff up, and then maybe I could find some possible ways to have it done.. even if it meant showing the people I hire the information I find (you know… telling them how to do their job ;-)).

Oldbuck, linksys.com looks interesting; I’ll see what I can find there, thanks!

Any other suggestions?

Kind regards,
Eric