Re: FN-FORUM Networking PCs & sharing peripherals

date posted 30th June 2002 20:02

On Thu, 27 Jun 2002, Peter Cooper wrote:

> > You will need a small hub or switch, 4 network cards (one of which will be
> > PCMCIA or cardbus depending on your laptop), and a network cable for each
> of
> > them (not a crossover cable though). I would recommend 3-com for your
> > network cards & sub/switch, their office connect range is good value.
>
> This is good advice for a 100mbps network, but if you want a really cheap
> network and you don't mind 10mbps, it makes more sense to get some coax,
> some t-pieces, and forget about the hub and go 10Base2. It makes economical
> sense in networks that will remain stable and don't need new machines being
> plugged in every 5 seconds.

Depends.

a) 10Base2/BNC ethernet cards seem hard to find these days.

b) Nick indicated that he was new to this networking malarky, so I (and
presumably Darren too) figured I'd save him the hassle associated with
sorting out 10Base2 cabling. Depending on what his hourly rate is, that £40
hub could prove to be more economic. (and will almost certainly be more
reliable IME ;-)

> Pete

Best Regards,
Alex.
--
Alex Butcher Brainbench MVP for Internet Security: www.brainbench.com
Berkshire, UK Need reliable and secure network systems?
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