On Tue, 7 Oct 2008 17:11:25 +0100, "ChrisOfTheOT" <NoSpam@xxxxxx>
wrote:
Quote:
>The WiFi router is downstairs and, other than WiFi 'B', can only be accessed
>via a Homeplug AV adapter. (For occasional maintenance I can take a laptop
>downstairs, obviously.) Would it be possible - for me, a PC amateur - to use
>two routers in one network? Could I use a Homeplug AV adapter upstairs to
>link a new gigabit router to one laptop and the backup PC or NAS? How naive
>am I being? (The second laptop would need less frequent access to the backup
>PC/NAS as it has two hard drives.) The first laptop would need best-speed
>gigabit access, so the Homeplug AV/WiFi options are no good.
>
Yes, it's possible, but you are needlessly complicating things if you
simply want to do backup. Gigabit is nice but unless you are running
the backups concurrently with other work on the network, it's really
not needed for a non-time sensitive task like backup. The difference
in time to backup a few gb's of data is insignificant.
I see a few issues for you. If you go the PC backup route, you do need
something a little faster. Not a lot faster if it's just for backup,
but nothing past win98 will run comfortably on that 486. OTOH, you can
run win2003 server comfortably (or maybe MS home server) on a P400 1gb
machine if ALL it does is file & print sharing (and backup) for your
tiny network. You could run a desktop OS if your backup scheme is
simple file sharing, but keep in mind that win98 sharing to Vista is
no possible (no 486). If you want to run a "real" backup program
across the network vs. just copy files, you'll need to find later
software for whatever OS you choose.
You can go with a NAS, but it sounds like serious overkill for you. In
addition, you've got a convoluted architecture with multiple routers,
a slower connection to one system doing it's own backups, etc.
If I were you, I'd "go simple". Forget about the gigabit, the
multi-routers, the NAS. Set up a small server and keep all your data
files on it for both systems. Buy a used machine... people are
throwing out machines that will easily perform well as a server (1mhz,
1gb would do it). Buy MS Home server (a scaled down win2003) if you
can't find 2003 at a reasonable price. Access the data via network
shares. Backup that central machine periodically. Problem solved, no
complications.