Network Hardware

[Prince of Persia]

After reading the FAQ I still have some questions about what I should do for my setup.

I will approx. have 10-15 laptops, not me personally but the company . What they want to do is create a network with these laptops. No a permanent one of course, but rather it will be used evrery once in awhile.

This is my impression of what they need.

9 computers will run a certain program and when each of the individual computers saves a file on the program it will be routed and saved onto one central PC.

After knowing this what items would I need, and would any recommend any high quality hub/switch/router that is up-to-date and will last a long time in terms of technology. Thank you!

 

[Woodie]

You'll want a "server" (a dedicated computer of some sort, with an OS)
Network Interface Cards (NICs)--one per device
The network (a hub w/ more ports than you have PCs)
the wiring

Given your very basic requirements, a hub is the easiest/cheapest way to go. Also, you'll want to go 100BaseT (ethernet), since the hardware is the cheapest and the performance more than acceptable.

In terms of long-lasting, or technology-proofing: make sure the wiring is Cat5e. The additional cost for gigabit ethernet NICs and hubs is not justifiable, based on the requirements. If the requirements change, then it should be easy enough to simply replace the hub with a gigabit hub (switch really), and the same thing for the cards.


--Woodie

 

[Techwhore]

<< 9 computers will run a certain program and when each of the individual computers saves a file on the program it will be routed and saved onto one central PC >>



Why don't you install whatever appz you need on one machine, map the drive to all other machines and just set the default save path to the mapped drive.

As for the hardware, I use a netgear 10/100 switch, it's real good quality and you shouldn't have to worry about it being &quot;out-of-date&quot; anytime soon. If you have 10/100 cards you'll be able to hit about 7 or 8 MB/s, so it's like having a really old hard drive but that's fast for intranet. I do recommend you use a switch though, cuz a hub will split the bandwidth as more PC use it... so a 100 base hub would be split 10 or 15 ways whereas a 100 base switch gives you 100 base on each of the 10 or 15 lines... I believe Netgear makes a 16 port switch. Of course 3com is the best brand you could buy but that'll cost you some $$$.

 

[Prince of Persia]

All the laptops already have nics built in
and the pc they have has an intel pro 10/100 integrated into it.


Can you explain how I would setup switch? I'm still confused on what a switch does in comparison to the a hub.

all the pcs have the software already loaded, so I would I go about making it save automatically to the server?

 

[Techwhore]

<< Can you explain how I would setup switch? I'm still confused on what a switch does in comparison to the a hub. >>



You'd set it up just like a hub, it looks the same. Just plug in the RJ-45 and you're set. The difference between a hub and a switch is that a hub is a splitter, so i divides one line. A switch... well, i can't fully explain how a switch is able to give the full bandwidth to each machine... but i know it can

 

[Woodie]

Do a search on hub v. switch...it's been answered.

On the software...once you set up the network, you share a folder on the PC. Then you go to each client, and have them &quot;map a drive&quot; to the shared folder...what that does is create a fake drive letter on the client's &quot;My Computer&quot; which really points to the shared folder on the PC. Then users can just run their application, and when they save the files, tell the application to put it onto &quot;drive I&quot;. The application doesn't know/care where the drive is..it just thinks it's another HD.

--Woodie

 

[cchan]

Like Techwhore said, there is no difference between setting up a hub and a switch. Often they look identical too. The only difference is how they work. The switch provides virtual circuits so that it provides wire speed, full bandwidth to all ports.

Any autoswitching 10/100 switch will be fine for the next few years. Personally I like Netgear's stuff (it's got solid metal boxes instead of plastic), but that's my 2 cents.