I've got three of their FA310 adapters and a 4-port FE104 hub for my 100BTx
segment. It's cheap, though there are cheaper ones, and the adapters work
at both 10 and 100 Mb rates. The hub does not handle both speeds, though,
and it does not do full duplex. I don't think the adapters do full duplex
either.
I've been satisfied with this hardware, since it was cheap a couple of years
ago when I got it (boards were under $40 and hub was $175. It's true, the
hub is really small (abut 1/10 the size of my Thomas Conrad hub) but it does
require externally transformed power. If you can justify it, a switching
hub, capable of full duplex would perhaps be nicer, since you then don't
have to string two hubs where one will do. It really does depend on the
size of your LAN, though. A switching hub enables you to unify your setup
onto a single logical segment so, unlike my setup, you only need one adapter
in each box. I have two in the server, one for fast ethernet, and one for
standard.
When I started out, I had 15 stations, 1 Netware server, 3 boxes running
Win/DOS, Win9x,NT, (interchangeably) and 11 running versions of *nix. I've
eliminated all the *nix boxes and replaced them with a single one running NT
or whatever is on the interchangeable drive. It's been 2-3 months since the
last time I booted one of the *nix setups. With them out of the picture,
the LAN is much more manageable. The only problem is finding a TCP/IP
handler for DOS that isn't bigger than the NETWARE shell. If it's 500 bytes
bigger, my essential DOS applications don't work for lack of low memory.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh_at_aracnet.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 11:35 PM
Subject: Totally OT: Netgear Hubs and Switches
>OK, another networking question since while mostly off topic (the only part
>about it that is on, is the computers on the network) this list seems to
>have a high level of networking knowledge.
>
>Anyone around here familiar with Netgear hardware? I've got one of thier
>4-port 10BaseT hubs, and the main things I like about it are the size, and
>the lack of noise. Since it doesn't have a fan it's quiet. On the other
>hand my Linksys hub is noisier than anything but the StorageWorks on my VMS
>cluster. I swear the hub is even noisier than my PDP-11/73 in a BA123!!!
>
>My thoughts are to put the Linksys hub in the garage, and get a quiet hub
>for in the house. I'm currently debating either a 8-port 10/100 Switch or
>Hub, and leaning towards the switch which looks to be about $100 more.
>
>I think I almost forgot my point :^) Do the Netgear 8-port 10/100 Switches
>and Hubs have fans in them? I kind of doubt that the slimline ones have
>one.
>
> Zane
>| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
>| healyzh_at_aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
>| healyzh_at_holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
>+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
>| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
>| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
>| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
Received on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 10:46:13 BST