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-cables are connected
via a
T-connector to the BNC-connector
of the Network card. |
|
| |
Note : Coax cabling is widely regarded
to be "mature" / "obsolete", there
are
only few network adapters available with a BNC connector.
|
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 (it is strongly suggested not
to use Coax anymore )
- 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 )
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