Network Hub selection help needed

From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
Date: Sun Apr 21 09:04:22 2002

There are lots of reasons not to do this, but if low cost and neatness of
wiring is of any interest to you, don't forget about 10Base2 (coax) as a
medium. Few applications really require the 100baseTX, though there's no
reason not to use that, since it's the current default. If you use COAX,
however, there's no need for a hub, which means that there will be less
cabling, etc. While the 10/100 NIC's cost under $20, the typical
(second-hand) 10Base2 NIC costs $2. There's only one coax, and it reaches
from one computer at one end of the line to the last at the other end.

It matters not whether you use a client/server or peer-to-peer network with
COAX, since the fewer than 2 dozen computers will all share the same segment.
I had my computers set up this way for years, until I thought I'd get
noticeably better performance with 100BaseTX. I didn't get noticeably better
performance, though there was a significant measurable difference. Back then,
I had about 8 stations on the LAN, while I now use only 5. I intended to use
the higher speed because I wanted to write CD's over the LAN, but that seldom
worked out in spite of the higher performance. Another motivator was the need
to run backups over the LAN. With the standard ethernet, it took nearly a
whole 24 hours to do the daily full backup, while it took about 1/3 that time
over the fast ethernet. Aside from that, the performance of the standard
ethernet was quite adequate.

Without a hub, there's no one place to which all the cables have to be routed,
so there's less congestion, and less wire. I still use 10BaseT and coax to
attach a couple of printers and the occasionally used *nix and DOS-only
hardware. I have physically and economically small hubs (NetGear, which was
cheap at the time and Thomas Conrad, which was left over from setting up the
ISP) though the older (TC) hub was more costly and much bigger.

It's just another option with low entry cost.

Dick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chad Fernandez" <fernande_at_internet1.net>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 12:34 AM
Subject: Network Hub selection help needed


> I'm finally going to work on hooking up a home network, so I guess I
> need a hub. What should I look for? I don't know much about networks
> yet. I have potentially 7 computers that I'd like to have connected.
> It'll need to be 10Base-T, but 100base-T may be involved too. I thought
> I'd look for something on Ebay, hopefully, not too expensive. Maybe
> something commercial grade, However. I thought about something from IBM
> or 3Com, any suggestions??
>
> Chad Fernandez
> Michigan, USA
>
>
>
Received on Sun Apr 21 2002 - 09:04:22 BST