Bexar, the reason that there are no collissions is because it is full-duplex, and there is a single source for the downstream side. Just mentioned that to caution people used to degrading throughput in an Ethernet environment - the downstream side of the cable connection, though, is NOT Ethernet and has no potential for collissions. The full 26Mbit/sec is available for sending packets to customers.
On security: this is helped considerably by the fact that cable modems do encryption and decryption. To provide end-to-end security, then, @Home only needs to insure that the transmission between a corporate customer and the neighborhood node is secure. No special or additional software or hardware is needed on the user's computer.
I do think that @Work can tremendous potential, but will take more time to develop than any other aspect of the system. Right now, @Work looks to business customers as just another connection option in an alread-crowded market. @Work is generally delivered to the business end using conventional techniques (e.g. T-1 lines, etc.) There ARE readily-available solutions for end-to-end security now (Microsoft PPTP, for example) though @Work does make it transparent, allowing PC, Macs, and Unix machines at employee's homes to all access a work site, without having to install and support 3 different end-to-end security solutions.
My "at home" system - main computer is a Cyrix P150+ with 128M running Windows NT Server (I was able to get a not-for-resale version of NT server cheap - about the same as the cost of NT workstation). I have a second computer which feeds my live.net web site (camera pointing at San Diego Bay). I run Wingate (see www.wingate.com) on the server which allows the second computer to access the net via Wingate's proxy servers. I plan on adding a third computer in the living room (using the TV as display).
I currently use a single Ethernet card in the server, assigning two IP addresses (the @Home IP address, and 10.0.1.1, an address reserved for "private" networks). The second computer is 10.0.1.2. Everything talks through the same Ethernet hub, and the cable modem never sees to 10... addresses. (I hope).
I plan on installing a dual network card (SMC 10/100Base-T - new card, just out, not yet available), though, and running the internal network at 100Mbit/sec. (Small 100baseT hubs have gotten cheap - a couple hundred dollars).
I've installed Microsoft's Routing and RAS update (previously called Steelhead) and filtered ports 137, 138, and 139 (NetBios) to reduce exposure of my server to the net. @Home does recommend that typical users (who won't be running an internal network) disable Windows Networking. (e.g. install TCP/IP, but not file and print sharing) and this is the way that @Home will install if you let them install their software. |
