I also use Wingate on my home network. I have been using it for just over 2
years with my cable modem, without any problems at all. The only real catch
for me was that I had to install two network cards in my server machine
(actually it is a server/client) in order to get everything to work properly
(the wingate faq also suggests to do it this way with cable modems). I am
using win 98 on two machines, and one with Linux (one is also a dual boot
with NT Server, which can use the connection just fine, but is not
configured to run my network for now). Wingate works well as a proxy server,
but it is not very secure. There is a whole bunch of articles in the wingate
knowledge base about tightening up security with wingate. It is my
impression that if you already have NT, and if your version of BackOffice
includes MS Proxy, you would be better off security wise with NT and MS
Proxy, although it is overkill for two machines and tricky to set-up. I am
in the process of slowly migrating from the wingate set-up to a set-up with
NT and a dedicated machine. My reason for this is because I have reached the
point were my server machine is doing too much. It is a PII 400, w 128 megs
of ram, and it slows down enough to cause me problems if I want to burn CD's
at the same time, run multimedia, or any other bandwidth/CPU intensive
activities. I found myself trying to surf using a client machine while
burning CD's because I was waiting for it to finish, which caused me to add
to my collection of Frisbees. As I added machines it got worse. I would just
feel better if I had a centralised dedicated machine to manage the
connection. That way I wouldn't be depending on one machine to do
everything. I intend to use my P166MMX w/64megs of ram as my proxy machine,
and only that.It should be plenty fast as a proxy only. The best thing to do
now is:
1) Decide how many computers you will be adding in the future. With less I
would stay with wingate and a server/client, More go with NT/Proxy and a
dedicated machine.

2) Decide how much security means to you. I know people who found out about
outsiders (read hackers) using their wingate set-up as a firewall to spoof
their IP (i.e.. they take on your identity by using your IP address) to
generally wreak havoc and do other nasty business. Again, less security use
wingate, more go with NT.

3) Figure out what your needs are and adjust your set-up accordingly. When I
started my network, it was just 2 machines using thin coax, so I could have
internet on both. Now I have moved up to an 8-port 3com hub, and I have 4
machines.
It is best to figures out what you will need now, in order to not overspend,
and also plan for future expansion.

I tried running a dedicated proxy on a 486, but it did not work very well. I
would stick with at least the faster Pentiums.
Hope this helps.

Darren K. Page
Montreal, Qc
[log in to unmask]

> As one who has used the Wingate proxy software many times, it
> comes down to this. One of the clients is also the proxy server and
> it doesn't take much horse power to be the proxy at all, depending
> on the bandwidth you have coming in/out of the proxy server. In
> your case a Pentium 133 would be more than powerful as the
> server. We set up schools running 30 clients off of one server that
> has a high speed satellite connection. The proxy server is only a
> Pentium 100 and they use it to cruise the web at the same time.
>
>
> > Ok, network gurus, here's one for you.
> >
> > I have two computers on a peer-to-peer and I have a cable ISP.  I want
> > both computers to be able to access the internet w/out having to move
> > the cable modem around.  So, I'd like to use a proxy server.  I'm
> > thinking about using Winproxy.  I bought Microsoft BackOffice some
> > months ago, too but haven't had time to set it up yet.  Still in the
> > cellophane.
> >
> > Question -1:
> > If I set up a proxy server, do I have to use a dedicated box or can one
> > of the client machines be the proxy server, too?
> >
> > Question-2:
> > How would the scenario differ if I used BackOffice (which includes NT4)?
> >
> > Both machines are running Windows 95 and one will (soon, I hope when I
> > can find time) have at least one other OS on it - NT Workstation or
> > Windows 98.
> >
> > Question-3:
> > If I do need to use a dedicated machine for the proxy server - what kind
> >
> > of horse power does it need to have?  This is not a busy network.  Just
> > two machines peer-to-peer running basic business and home office apps.
> > Most work is stand alone.  Some file and resource (printer) sharing on
> > the network but that's it.  Can I get away w/ a 486 box?

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