Re: home network
This probably wont be of any concern since you are only building a home
network, but william brings up a good point (hubs broadcast to all ports)
which is important for security.
I live in a dorm has an ethernet network, with a T1 pipe to the internet.
The thing is, a while back the building was connected entirely with hubs.
Since hubs broadcast all packets to everyone, the idea is that only the NIC
which the packet is addressed to is supposed to keep the packet.
However, one of my friends showed me a neat trick with a packet sniffer. We
sat there and within a couple of minutes had about half a dozen passwords
for email accounts.
My friend then showed this trick to our building manager, and a very short
time later the entire building was wired with switches instead of hubs.
probably not a concern here, so its just FYI.
jason
jason@pepas.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "William T Wilson" <fluffy@snurgle.org>
To: "D-Man" <dsh8290@rit.edu>
Cc: <debian-user@lists.debian.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 6:33 PM
Subject: Re: home network
> On Tue, 27 Mar 2001, D-Man wrote:
>
> > I am planning on building an ethernet netowrk at home. What do I need
> > to do it (other than NICs and cable, of course)? What is the
>
> NICs and cable :}
>
> > difference between a hub and switch? Any recommended brands/models?
>
> A switch routes each packet only to the port that has the system which is
> that packet's destination. A hub routes all traffic to all ports.
> Essentially this means that the capacity of a switch is determined by the
> bandwidth of that switch's internal electronics; the capacity of a hub is
> limited to the maximum speed of the network. Switches also allow you to
> mix 10baseT and 100baseT packets on a network.
>
> Generally, you do not need switches for a home network, and one hub is
> pretty much like another, unless you are going for wireless ethernet;
> that's a whole other ball of wax.
>
> > Do I really need a hub/switch or can I use an old box with a lot of
> > NICs instead? Is there anywhere I can RTFM all of this?
>
> You can, but you need one NIC for every attached system. You also have to
> use crossover cables, instead of the "usual" cables. If you make your own
> cables, crossovers are no harder than standard, but if you are buying them
> premade, they can be a little tricky to find.
>
> Generally, I consider three systems (including the router) the limit for
> using a PC as a switch. Don't forget you also need a NIC to connect to
> your cable/DSL connection (or a modem if you are using that, which is even
> more taxing to the host), and 3 NIC's is plenty for an older PC.
> Besides, any more than that and you are not saving any money, but you're
> making your network harder to set up and deal with.
>
>
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