Network Hub selection help needed

From: Chad Fernandez <fernande_at_internet1.net>
Date: Mon Apr 22 00:21:19 2002

Pete Turnbull wrote:
> What do you mean by "commercial grade"? The difference between upmarket
> devices and small SOHO devices is mostly that the ones used in larger
> commercial networks are managed devices. That means you can configure them
> remotely (with SNMP or a web interface), get statistics from them, etc.

By commercial grade I just meant that I wanted to avoid the home grade
stuff that may not have features, or only a few connections. The type
of thing that Best Buy, Staples, or another cunsumer oriented store may
carry for your average Windows user.

>
> You really want a switch rather than a hub. Not many people are making
> hubs (repeaters) these days, even at the low end of the market. A switch
> will ultimately give better throughput, especially in a peer-to-peer
> network.

Ok, I didn't know that until I started reading all these replies..... a
switch is what I'll get :-)

>
> Go for autosensing 10/100baseT. If you're going to spend any amount of
> money, you want to protect your investment by including 100baseT capability
> even if you don't need it right now.

I'll probably end up with two of the computers using 100base-T.

>
> If you see a decent modern 3Com hub or switch, that's fine but most of the
> second-hand stuff I've seen is 10baseT only. I wouldn't bother looking for
> IBM. Baystack, 3Com, HP, Cisco are the ones you're likely to see. And
> Netgear, which is almost entirely unmanaged kit, but quite good quality.
>

What's the difference between managed and unmanaged?

Chad Fernandez
Michigan, USA
Received on Mon Apr 22 2002 - 00:21:19 BST