Re: Basic networking
On 5 Jul 1999, Gary L. Hennigan wrote:
> I'm going to be setting up a small 100Mb home network soon and I'd
Why 100Mb? 10 is fast enough for most uses and is actually faster than
most machines can push bits out the interface.
> I gather I need a HUB or a switch for anything more than two hosts?
> Which one? I believe I understand the difference. A hub acts as a
> simple amplifier. Any signal it receives on one of it's ports is
> amplified and sent to all it's other ports. A switch, if my
> understanding is correct, adds some smarts to the process and only
> sends the signals to relevant ports. So if machine A sends a packet to
That's basically it.
I would recommend an inexpensive 10BaseT hub. This will get you started
with a network and you'll be able to leanr more about configuring and
using networked machines.
Most of the NIC cards you might be interested in are 10/100 these days. (I
recommend Kingston KNE100 cards, but the Intel Pro100+ cards may be even
better.) So, you will be able to upgrade your network to 100BaseTX by just
changing the hub to a 100Mb hub or switch.
At that point I would recommend going with a switch. Prices should have
dropped even more by that time too.
Reply to: