Networking

[Tn]

Let's say I have 3 computers 1 has just 10 baseT, 1 uses the co-axe, and 1 has both. Is it possible to network all the comps where the one that has both is the "middle man"?

Thanks,
Thien

[Colin Morey]

Not really, as all of the NIC's I have used, or inded heard off, cannot use most connectors at the same time, so You're better off buying a hub with a BNC (co-ax) port on it, as otherwise you'll have to buy a cross-over cable to link the UTP cards together.
perhaps a better idea would be to junk the BNC only card, get a hub, and an other UTP card. simple and easy.

[Colin Morey]

Well, true Buuri, to an extent, you cannot do full duplex on a Co-axial cable, whereas you can on UTP, but you _will_ need a hub capable of Full-duplex, most hubs aren't, AFAIK. but I will certainly go with the recommendation of 3Com NIC's I use a Fast Etherlink XL (905 family) and its a great card, but you do need to use the latest drivers.

[Buuri]

I agree. With good quality NICs (3Com for example) you can also do full duplex (transmit data to both directions simultaneously) using twisted pair cabeling. That's not possible with coax for obvious reasons..


B

[Jammrock]

Tn,

YES YOU CAN!!!!! It is not the best way, but it is possible. If you buy a LinkSYS 10 port hub (around $80 at CompUSA) it has 9 Ethernet ports and 1 Coaxial port. You can then connect the 2 Ethernet capable cards to the Ethernet plugs and the Coaxial only to the Coaxial port. You can actually put up to 3 computers on the Coaxial chain, but it is not advised to put more than 1.

The other way is to buy some cheap-o 10/100 cards (I have seen them as low as $15, they are not 3Com's mind you, but they work) and a hub. Maybe even the LinkSYS 10 port if you like. That is what my friends and I use and it works great.

Jammrock

[This message has been edited by Jammrock (edited 07-13-99).]

[Colin Morey]

Jammrock, what are you agreeing with, (you didn't make it clear). doing Full duplex is impossible with Co-axial cable!, the only reason you can do it with UTP is- you have both a transmit and recieve pair, both of which you can use at the same time, co-ax. has not got this.
As for the maximum of 3 cards, on the Co-ax. that is complete nonsense, I currently run a number of computers, totalling an excess of 10. there is _no_ limit on the ammount of cards you can physically put on a co-axial cable, (which makes it ideal for hanging a lot of hubs off it in a Bus configuration). But you do have a maximum length of about 150m, which you need to adhere to, to prevent unseen colissions, (ie. they are unseen by your hub).
If you decide to use the Co-ax port, don't forget to terminate it correctly, a Co-Ax (BNC) network connector kit can be bought very cheaply, which will include a couple of T-pieces (to put on the back of the cards and on the back of the hub,) and a terminator to be put on each ends of the cable.
Networking is a fun task, and is a great peice of equipement, and has a great deal of use, both in gaming, and in general working. and I wish you good luck, if you need any more help, please feel free to ask, or email.

------------------

[Steve C]

He's agreeing with the first post.

Dlink do a cool little hub (called the 'hubby') which is a 5 port 10mbps hub. They're also really cheap. I got rid of my coax cabling at home a LONG time ago because I always found it so unreliable. Now I've run through CAT5 UTP cabling running with a 100mbps hub-card (100mbps NIC + 4 extra 10/100 ports on the back panel) and it works a treat.

Cheers,

Steve

------------------
Yeah, you know the score...
(ICQ: 29468849)

[Maggi in Beta]

I suggest you dump all the cards, get a good intel 100mbit netcard and a good switch. Then it will rock completely at network games

"In tribute to a good person, helper and beta boy "

------------------

/Jens :-)

[Jammrock]

Intel network card :P BAH HUMBUG, imho. Get a 3Com if you are going to shell out that much cash.

Colin Morey,

Sorry if my post was a bit confusing, but I was typing to Tn. I edited it to clarify a bit. As for the 3 computer thing, the instruction manual for the LinkSYS 10 port hub specifically says no to load more than 3 computers, perferrably less, on the coaxial port on the 10 port hub. Without a hub you can stack over 100 computers on a coaxial tree, but on the hub no more than 3.

LinkSYS hubs are the really good hubs that are really low cost. You can get a 5 port for $40US, $80US gets you a 10 port (all 10 base T). Network cards don't make a big difference on a small gaming network. Get 3Com if you want to shell out the cash, D-Link or LinkSYS for reliable and less expensive, and if you are on a really tight budget you can get 10/100 cards for $15.

Jammrock

------------------
PIII 504 (112 MHz x 4.5 - 504), 256 MB PC133 SDRAM, 18 GB WD Expert HDD, Encore 6x DVD w/ Dxr3 decoder, (TEMPORARY!!!) Voodoo 3 2000 @ 175 MHz which will be replaced by a Matrox G400 MAX, Sound Blaster Live! full retail, MAG DX715T 17". A nice little toy don't ya think?


[This message has been edited by Jammrock (edited 07-13-99).]

[Maggi]

Ok, who in the world is Jens ?

------------------
Cheerio,
Maggi

I used to have some posts in my record and hopefully some of the guys 'n' girls will still know me and my system ...

[Maggi]

Maybe I should put it like this:

Jens ?

Who are you ?


------------------
Cheerio,
Maggi

I used to have some posts in my record and hopefully some of the guys 'n' girls will still know me and my system ...

[Tn]

I know you can get cards for cheap because I got mine(10/100) for $15. The reasoon I ask I have 2 friends that also has a network, 1 has 100 and the other has BNC. My computer at home has a 10/100 card and a Combo card, the other computer at my house has a Combo card. I was just wondering if both friends could come over to my house and get a network set up for gaming.

Thanks for all the info,
Thien

[Colin Morey]

Jammrock,
Thanks for the clarification, I have no idea why you are only limited to 3 computers on your Co-ax port. *shrug*

Tn,
I can alswo recommend the D-link hubs, I use them both and home, and they are also used at uni, so I think they're fairly reliable. anyway, enjoy.

Steve C,
I was wondering when you were going to be sticking your head round the door *grin*.

oh well, keep all of the good work 'Beta boyz' You're doing a great job.

[Buuri]

Never buy the cheapest components you can get! Take my advice, buy bulk 3Com 905B-TX (10/100) - it's worth every extra buck.


B

[Helevitia]

Tn,

I would have posted sooner but I was on a mini vacation
Answers to your questions:

1. No, you cannot share two connectors on one NIC card.

2. No, you cannot SHARE 10Mb and 100Mb on the same hub, only on a switch but it cost to much money for what you want to do. You said in your last post that one friend has 100Mb and everyone else has 10Mb, correct?

Colin Morey has the right idea. Get rid of the BNC card because it is junk and buy another rj-45(UTP) card and a hub and hook them together. Another thing is it depends on what kind of COAX you have, if it is 10base2 then you can only go 185m and if it is 10base5 then you can go as high as 500m. If you use 10baseT than 100m is your limit. There is a limit to the amount of users you can have but I can't remember what it is. And you are not following the meter limit to prevent unseen collissions but late collisions. The reason that the Linksys hub does not want you to put more than 3 devices on the hub(and this goes for any hub) is because the hub is a SHARED 10Mb device do if you plug in 2 devices that each have 10Mb nic card than you have already over subscribed the hub by 10Mb. Of course, this is all in theory and in reality you will oinly get a maximum throughput of about 3.5Mbps on any given NCI due to overhead, collisions, errors, etc...hence why the linksys probably recommends 3 devices. I look at NIC cards all day long and I can tell you that we have the least amount of problems with Intel NIC cards. The bottom line is to get chuck the BNC card, get a hub that supports 10Mb and hook them into it. The only problem with that is one of your friends only ahs a 100Mb NIC card and usually you only plug 100Mb nic cards into switches or routers. Not many 100Mb hubs but there are a few. Keep in mind that you will have to run Half Duplex if you go 100Mb. If you need anything else, let me know.

Dave