--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00001 Date: 10/08/97 From: NEIL CROFT Time: 07:18am \/To: MIKE BILOW (Read 4 times) Subj: Network help! Hiya Mike, On 06-10-97, whilst lying in the gutter of the information super highway, I heard Mike Bilow whispering to Simon Harmel about Network help!, MB> (slightly incorrectly) called a "hub." When you use a concentrator, I would question the "(slighty incorrectly)" bit here. If 3Com et al call them hubs in their catalogues then a hub is quite likely /a/ correct name for them. If you consider the topology of a hubbed Ethernet and then think of a hub on say, an old wagon wheel, then that sounds right too. My dictionary also defines a hub as "a centre of activity" which also sounds about right. /| / neil.croft@pillarbox.coracle.com / |/eil =o) 2:250/410 @ fidonet http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/~ca5cru/fido/pbox.html --- * Origin: The Pillarbox BBS +44-1709-517224 (2:250/410) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00002 Date: 10/08/97 From: NEIL CROFT Time: 07:25am \/To: BRUCE LEGRANDE (Read 4 times) Subj: Brands Hiya Bruce, On 06-10-97, whilst lying in the gutter of the information super highway, I heard Bruce LeGrande whispering to All about Brands, BL> BTW: What are "AUI" connections ? And what are pro/con vs RJ45 & BNC BL> ? Something like "Attachment Unit Interface" ISTR but commonly called thicknet or 10Base5 and used once upon a time for longer runs (500m ish) and backbones. Rarely used other than to plug a tranciever into now to convert to 10Base2 or 10BaseT. /| / neil.croft@pillarbox.coracle.com / |/eil =o) 2:250/410 @ fidonet http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/~ca5cru/fido/pbox.html --- * Origin: The Pillarbox BBS +44-1709-517224 (2:250/410) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00003 Date: 10/08/97 From: BERNHARD KUEMEL Time: 12:20pm \/To: WILLIAM HARGRAVE (Read 4 times) Subj: LAN FAQ? Hi William! 05 Oct 97 21:53, William Hargrave (2:254/211.20@fidonet.org) wrote to Fane: WH> If, however, it's a long run of cable, and needs to be threaded WH> through conduit, etc, it might be a better idea to get Cat5 cable, WH> because this allows you to use 100mbits networking at a later date. What is a Cat5 cable (physically)? Is it RJ45/10(0)BaseT? And back to the topic, is there a good LAN FAQ? WH> .... Will WH> Ciao, Bernhard! request message receipt for PGP2.6.2 public key --- GoldED/2 2.50+ * Origin: I am a real genius (2:310/39.42) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00004 Date: 10/12/97 From: MARK WRIGHT Time: 05:10am \/To: JOHN ALDRICH (Read 4 times) Subj: LAN FAQ? JA=>Tuesday October 07 1997 20:41, Bill Dennison wrote to Fane: JA=> BD> Oops.. In a previous reply I stated "LinkBuilder"... with egg on y JA=> BD> face, upon visiting the local CompUSA this evening the proper term JA=> BD> should've been "Office Connect"... the 8 port hub was selling for $99 JA=> BD> after rebate, or the same hub with 3 network cards and cabling was JA=> BD> $339. Or, you can buy the same stuff through PcConnection (mail order JA=> BD> and get it next day... their web site is www.pcconnection.com. JA=>JOOC, was that 8-port hub 10Mb or 100 Mb? I'm looking for an INEXPENSIVE 6- JA=>port hub for 100Mb gaming. I know you can find 10Mb fairly inexpensively (I JA=>think the Boca retails for just under $100 for an 8-port hub.) My preferenc JA=>would be for an 8-port hub (Maximum number of users for Quake) that'll hand JA=>100 or 10 Mb. I've seen 4 port Bay Networks 100mb for 179.02 in CDW catalog, but you will need a 100 to 10 converter and a small 10mb hub for your 10mb stuff. Auto sensing 10/100 hubs are prohibitively expensive at this time. Time_Wounds_All_Heels______Mark Wright______Kirkland WA__USA * OLX 2.1 TD * I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous. --- GEcho 1.11+ * Origin: (1:343/70) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00005 Date: 10/12/97 From: BILL DENNISON Time: 10:14am \/To: FANE (Read 4 times) Subj: LAN FAQ? -> 3Com cables that I need so I could compare with the equivalent with -> other brands. If you're getting 10baseT, there's a category rating - CAT 5 being the better grade. Most likely any brand would be sufficient. Bill D. in Phila, PA MCPS-IS, MCSE, CNA-4 --- ViaMAIL!/WC4 v1.30 * Origin: Fidonet * Storm Front BBS (215)788-4662 v.34+ (1:273/216) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00006 Date: 10/12/97 From: BILL DENNISON Time: 10:13am \/To: BRUCE LEGRANDE (Read 4 times) Subj: Home Network -> I have, am I correct that I will NOT need a 'hub', but will simply Yep, 10base2 (BNC) runs from one machine to the next, to the next... -> to assign one computer as "server" and the rest as clients, each The most important difference is how the software is configured. Of course, if you want to share hard drive(s) or printers, they'd technically be a "server", but in a peer to peer network such as WFWG or Win95 networking ALL machines can act as client and server. -> centronics inkjet printer to this LAN with a unique username/number ? You'd connect the printer to (one of the) machine(s) acting as a server; then share the printer as "resourcename"... Then on each client map or capture the lpt1 port to this "resourcename". Depending on which operating system you use this gets more specific. Bill D. in Phila, PA MCPS-IS, MCSE, CNA-4 --- ViaMAIL!/WC4 v1.30 * Origin: Fidonet * Storm Front BBS (215)788-4662 v.34+ (1:273/216) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00007 Date: 10/13/97 From: MIKE BILOW Time: 03:21am \/To: KONSTANTIN KLYATSKIN (Read 4 times) Subj: H㦭 窠 ᪢ ﭭ 03:21:2210/13/97 Konstantin Klyatskin wrote in a message to All: KK> From: "Konstantin Klyatskin" KK> Subject: H㦭 窠 ᪢ ﭭ 祭 KK> Please understand that almost no one in this conference has either the software or the expertise to read Cyrillic. You will be more likely to get an answer if you can post in English with Latin alphabet. -- Mike Moderator, LAN --- * Origin: N1BEE BBS +1 401 944 8498 V.34/V.FC/V.32bis/HST16.8 (1:323/107) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00008 Date: 10/13/97 From: MIKE BILOW Time: 03:24am \/To: BRUCE LEGRANDE (Read 4 times) Subj: Home Network Bruce LeGrande wrote in a message to All: BL> Let me get this straight, and make sure I'm not totally BL> befuddled. BL> If I'm going to have 5 seperate computers (all PC) in BL> various parts of the house; no more than a MAX of 100' BL> apart, with a total network distance of less than 500', then BL> 10base-2 (BNC) should be more than sufficient, and as I BL> understand it - all I will need will be a network card for BL> each computer (maybe a parallel<>BNC unit for the laptop), a BL> BNC "T" connector for the back of each card, and a 50 ohm BL> terminator for each end of the run (2 terminators), and of BL> course the cable to connect the cards :) BL> (sounds a bit like a SCSI chain :) This is technically true, but it is often mechanically difficult to thread the coax cable through all of the machines and stay within the length, curvature, and other limits applicable to coax. BL> And since I didn't see ANY 10base-2 "HUBS" advertised in BL> the cats I have, am I correct that I will NOT need a 'hub', BL> but will simply connect each computer to the next (in BL> parallel) with the RG-Cable ? BL> (if there IS a long run later, I presume that a repeater can BL> be used) Yes, this is true also. BL> Also from what I've understood, all I need to do BL> (basically) is to assign one computer as "server" and the BL> rest as clients, each with a different 'user/host' name, BL> correct ? Exactly what is involved will depend upon the exact configuration. For example, a Windows client can access an OS/2 server, but the OS/2 server may not be "browseable" from the Windows client. In other words, you might have to type the explicit UNC sharename into the Windows client, and could not select it automatically from "Network Neighborhood" or whatever. BL> On the OTHER hand, if I were to use 10base-T (RJ45) then I BL> would be limited to only *2* machines, due to the fact that BL> the RJ45 can not be connected in parallel (like the 2 BL> conductor RG58), and for more that *2* machines - I would BL> HAVE to run each one to a "HUB" (like the spokes on a wheel) BL> which handles the addressing and routing from/to each BL> machine (user). Yes, you would need a concentrator (hub) for more than two machines. No, an Ethernet concentrator is not aware of routing and addressing issues, but is simply an electrical multiport repeater. You can get a full hub that might be far smarter than a concentrator, and such hubs may have multiple internal channels which are switched on the basis of link addresses, but hubs in this class cost thousands of dollars. When you buy an ordinary $100 concentrator, anything that goes into one port is repeated out to all of the other ports. BL> Does that just about sum it up correctly ??? From a software point of view, a 10Base-2 network works exactly like a 10Base-T network. Both are functionally Ethernet bus topologies. BL> And finally, is there going to be a device to allow me to BL> attach my centronics inkjet printer to this LAN with a BL> unique username/number ? Or should I just attach it to the BL> main server parallel port and send everything I want printed BL> to the LPT1 port of that machine ?? You can buy boxes to attach printers directly to an Ethernet wire, but these are overkill for a simple home network of the sort you are contemplating. The usual approach would be to plug the printer into a machine which runs peer server software, and use this software to declare the printer a shared resource over the network. -- Mike --- * Origin: N1BEE BBS +1 401 944 8498 V.34/V.FC/V.32bis/HST16.8 (1:323/107) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00009 Date: 10/13/97 From: MIKE BILOW Time: 03:35am \/To: FANE (Read 4 times) Subj: LAN FAQ? Fane wrote in a message to Mike Bilow: F>> I believe I'm going with 3Com. I've had great experience F>> with USRobotics and hopefully they'll follow through. MB> I think it is past the point of absurdity to insist on 3Com branded MB> cables. F> That was rather rude. I meant I would like to know the F> model number of the 3Com cables that I need so I could F> compare with the equivalent with other brands. I didn't intend any rudeness. However, as I have been trying to explain, cables are the sort of thing that no one would even think of buying from 3Com. Even if you could get a cable from 3Com, it would be made by someone else. In general, one "Category 5" Ethernet cable is as good as another. You can buy 350 MHz cables which far exceed the Category 5 standards, and such cables are made by Belden ("Datatwist 350"), Berk-Tek ("LANmark 350"), General Cable ("DreamLAN"), Champlain Cable ("Dataclear EF 350"), and many other companies. However, such 350 MHz cable is really only useful for future expansion when you will be wiring within walls, and will not make your 10Base-T Ethernet run either faster or better. -- Mike --- * Origin: N1BEE BBS +1 401 944 8498 V.34/V.FC/V.32bis/HST16.8 (1:323/107) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 193 LAN Ref: EEH00010 Date: 10/13/97 From: MIKE BILOW Time: 03:52am \/To: NEIL CROFT (Read 4 times) Subj: Network help! Neil Croft wrote in a message to Mike Bilow: MB> (slightly incorrectly) called a "hub." When you use a concentrator, NC> I would question the "(slighty incorrectly)" bit here. If NC> 3Com et al call them hubs in their catalogues then a hub is NC> quite likely /a/ correct name for them. If you consider the NC> topology of a hubbed Ethernet and then think of a hub on NC> say, an old wagon wheel, then that sounds right too. My NC> dictionary also defines a hub as "a centre of activity" NC> which also sounds about right. The distinction is subtle, but important. A "concentrator" is a multiport repeater. It operates at the Physical Layer and consists of electrical buffer amplifiers. It does not read or understand any kind of addresses, nor even know about anything other than bits. A "hub" is a store-and-forward device. It operates at the Link Layer and can do rudimentary things based on knowledge of the protocol, such as discard frames with bad CRC. An intelligent hub that can forward frames based upon their destination addresses is called a "switch." A switch that has only two ports is usually called a "bridge." Although concentrators are often called hubs, sometimes it is necessary to distinguish exactly what is meant. -- Mike --- * Origin: N1BEE BBS +1 401 944 8498 V.34/V.FC/V.32bis/HST16.8 (1:323/107)