Need help setting up work at home.

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deeplove

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
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I work from home now and I have cable internet services. It's 25 up 5 down residential. Now I have 3 PCs. 1 of them the one I work off of uses Voip for work. The other two don't. Now my employer says that the other PCs can't be on because it will mess with the Voip services. I kind of know that packet loss contributes. But how much will the other PCs affect the Voip? I don't want to get a 2nd modem because that's double what I pay. Only other solution is going with a business internet account but that's also expensive and if it's cable internet I'm sure I'll also have issues with that.

Need help here trying to figure this one out.
 
Depends on the use of the other PC's. In general, so long as they aren't massively downloading/uploading it shouldn't affect a single VOIP phone on that small of a network. However, to be on the safe side you can always setup some QOS for the SIP traffic depending on your routers capability. Because it's such a small office it could be worth putting the VOIP phone on its own VLAN. Depending on the setup just put the entire user + phone on its own VLAN.

If your employer doesn't have SMB gear and is relying on something like a consumer router, see if it's flashable to something like DD-WRT. I've used VLAN's and QOS and it works fairly well. It isn't nearly as pretty as professional gear though. It would be rather silly to invest in another modem/internet connection.
 
I agree 100% with QoS and VLANs, However...

You may want to pony up the $$ for a DSL line dedicated for work. Get it from the same ISP that they are on if possible.

You'll get a quality connection, and you won't have to worry about the other PCs, and if it goes out, you'll have the other connection as backup.

My question for you, how do you get a good paying work at home gig?
 
I agree with having a separate provider for redundant connection backup. As a service provider, I get frustrated when calls hit my desk of residential customers demanding same-hour service because they work from home.

If you work from home exclusively and depend on your internet connection, you should have diverse paths to the internet. Even if your backup is the lowest tier offered, enough to handle VOIP and light duties.
 
Some of you guys are getting dangerously close to making some bad recommendations to the OP. The employer has those restrictions for a reason. To prevent non-savvy users from disrupting work usage as well as preventing TOO-savvy users from working around business requirements. It's not worth the risk of termination/discipline playing games.

My wife works from home for a major insurance company and their requirements were stricter that the OPs: No other PC's on the local network on, MODEM and router within 3 feet of Company provided equipment, Locks on the Office doors, etc. In our case, I found it better to pick up a DSL line to dedicate to working from home rather than move my lab and network to her office. It gets even hairier if there's any possibility for a home visit.
 
And of course, if her employer says you must have a separate connection, you must have a separate connections.
 
Nate, you're actually right man. I do see where everyone is going but my job is a bit strict also. And I do apologize if I wasn't specific. I was on company time and in a meeting so I tried to get as much info in here as possible.

They don't want me on wireless, no other PCs on while working. They come to my house to check my equipment and make sure that no one is in the same room. So yeah.

I'm just confused as too why they don't want other PCs on the same line. So I wanted to find out why. If that's the case I'd get a commercial cable line. Unfortunately my apartment doesn't allow DSL. So yeah.

Comcast only.

:(
 
In that case then yeah your hand seems more forced. Security and Availability seem to be of utmost priority and they seem to know exactly what they are doing. In a casual small business usually there is a much cheaper solution that'll do exactly what needs to be done with a lot more leeway. This case, not so much.

Sucks :(
 
That sucks....

When it comes to work you need to follow the rules.

If the rules are lax...then there are ways to capitalize on the free bandwidth, but to do it properly you'll need a good router with VLAN and extensive QOS.

As for the reason why.....protecting company IP, company assets, proper use of company resources, ensuring that the work maintains the expected quality....etc.
 
I looked at that option also. I just spoke to my boss about that also.

I have a dlink dir825. I believe it has the qos options. Don't know how good it works.

But yes. I'm going with the seperate commercial line. Fortunately my boss mentioned that I get a discount from Comcast. $10. So that's not bad.

Greatly appreciate the help everyone.
 
Not to beat the dead horse but ... Does the company pay for the internet connection and the equipment their PC plugs into? If the answer is no then they have no say in how it is used. If the answer is yes then you need to tow the line. With that said it is my advice that you VLAN all company equipment to a private VLAN that only has access to the internet to protect their IP from your network and to protect your network from them. VOIP quality on a 25/5 line in a home environment is a non-issue. I work from home and run 2 voip lines for work and a home line on the same circuit along with personal and work traffic. I've never had the slightest service problem and I'm on conference calls all day. That said, I don't torrent. Sans QOS torrents will consume your upstream as quickly as you can blink.
 
Nicklebon, that's absolutely true, but there's more to the scenario in most cases. Working from home is considered a perk for many of these positions. If you want the perk, then you have to follow their rules...
 
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