Decide on the Networking Type



	Created : Sept. 2,2000
	Step-by-Step Networking Procedure: Decide on the Networking Type

When I state that you need to decide on the networking type, I did not mean to review technologies
like "ARCnet" (completely obsolete by now) or "TokenRing" (professional network with high investment cost,
too expensive for Home use), but on the different types of "Ethernet" Networks with different Network
speeds and costs:

10base2:

Uses a coaxial cable (with T-connectors and Terminators ) , rated at
10 mbs (=Mega Bit per second), which results in actual network throughputs of
approx. 700-800 KBytes/second ( detailed 10base2-coax cabling rules )

The coax-cable is used to
connect the PC's in a line,
and MUST have at each end a
Terminator:
- one open Terminator and
- one grounded Terminator.

the Coax-cables are connected via a
T-connector to the BNC-connector
of the Network card.

10baseT:

Uses a Twisted-Pair (TP) cable , one from EACH PC to a central connection
box, called a HUB, rated at 10 mbs (=Mega Bit per second), which results in
actual network throughputs of approx. 700-800 KBytes/second
( detailed 10baseT-TP cabling rules )

100baseT:

Uses a Twisted-Pair (TP) cable , one from EACH PC to a connection box,
called a HUB, rated at 100 mbs (=Mega Bit per second), which results in actual
network throughputs of approx. 3-4 MBytes/second
( detailed 100baseT-TP cabling rules )

Cabling of
10baseT and
100baseT

The rules for 10baseT-cabling and 100baseT-cabling are very similar:
A central connection box , called HUB, is required :

Hubs are available with different number of
connectors, called "Ports":
4, 8, 12, 16
( for larger networks, hubs can be linked )

Hubs are available for different speeds:
- 10 mbs ONLY
- 100 mbs ONLY
- 10 mbs and 100 mbs dual-speed with either manual or auto-detect selection
(for professional networks with high throughput, there are also special versions
of hubs called "Switch", which offer for home-usage NO additional advantage)

EACH PC is connected via a Twisted-Pair cable to the hub.

There is ONE exception:
If you only need to connect 2 PC's in a network, you can use a
"Cross-over Cable" to directly connect 2 PC's without a hub:

If you decide to use 100baseT, you need to use high-grade Twister-Pair
cables: Category 5, called CAT5.

I know, it is all confusing, so let me try to list the advantages and disadvantages:

	Coax -10base2	Twisted-Pair (10/100baseT) with Cross-cable	Twisted-Pair (10/100baseT) with Hub
Rated Speed on Network (mbs = MegaBit/second)	10 mbs	10 mbs (10baseT) 100 mbs (100baseT)	10 mbs (10baseT) 100 mbs (100baseT)
Actual Network Throughput ( kBytes / Sec)	700-800	700-800 (10baseT) 3000-4000 (100baseT)	700-800 (10baseT) 3000-4000 (100baseT)
Max. nr of system on the network	30	2	4, 8, 12, 16 (depening on the hub)
Reliability: Systems down on a bad cable	all	all = 2	only 1
required parts	1 card/PC 2 terminators coax-cables	1 card/PC 1 cross-cable	1 card/PC 1 TP-cable/PC 1 hub
Costs	low	low	medium (due to the hub)

You need to decide:
- 10base2 Coax or Twisted-Pair
- if you select Twisted-Pair: at which speed : 10 or 100 ?
(the cost of 100baseT is only marginally higher than 10baseT, so unless you have already
some 10baseT-parts, I strongly suggest to invest in 100baseT )

Next steps:

Decide on Brand of Network card
Decide on names for computer/workgroup and on protocol