Networking My PCs (Hardware)
Q. What do I need for a PC Network then?
A. Well…more than 1 PC. (Duh). You need a Network Card (NIC) in each machine, with the right type of port for the cable you decide to use. Networkcards range from the cheap and basic, through to the higher cost but normally better supported offerings.
My Personal Recommendation:
If you have a Pentium classic 266 or higher, look to PCI network cards. There are lots out there and they are rapidly becoming the standard. They’re fast, they’re good. If you have a lower spec PC you may not have the PCI slots onboard…if not, don’t despair! You can still use perfectly good older ISA Network cards…millions about, cost? Pennies.
PCI Benefits:
- Faster data handling typically.
- Greater Capability.
- Usually fairly recent drivers for Operating systems you may have (Windows 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP), so not hard to set up
- Usually Plug and Play, so windows deals with the awkward business of setting it up.
- Usually better customer support from the manufacturer
- Possibly useful if you want to go to a 100 Megabytes Per Second Network in the future.
ISA Benefits:
- Perfectly capable still
- Old and superseded, so you can usually find them free, or pennies for several
- All are capable of 10 Mbps Data transfer (plenty quick for games, printing and so on)
- In some cases (say DLINK or 3COM), these cards are “a standard” and as such are REALLY well supported in operating systems such as windows.
- ISA cards may NOT be plug and play though…so unless you know what you’re doing and have downloaded the drivers and setup programs to configure the card, it may not work.
Q. I’m funky with that bit..so I went to the shop but..which brand? There are loads!
A. Indeed there are. Realtek, Winbond, 3Com, DLink, Intel, and many others I’ve seen. I’ve used most types with success. I tend to use Novell NE2000 compatible cards…it makes drivers easier, since Windows has them already. However…The books that come with the cards are usually good for details of “how” to do a setup. .Failing that, try an internet search on cards you saw to get a varied view on them.
At work, we use 3Com cards. I’ve yet to see a problem with them. They may not be the cheapest..but they are well supported and the setup disks do a good job. I have one in this PC as a matter of fact.
Basically..you pays your money, you takes your choice. If you’re not sure….check them out…ask people in the know..the store keeper, the technician at work, the internet…take your time. Buying a hard card to setup can be a pain.
Q. Which type should I get? Some have pointy TV connectors on them, some have phone sockets?
A. The TV aerial lookalike connector is called a BNC connector. You can network PC’s with these using Co-Axial cable (basically PC grade aerial cable) and 2 T-Peices and terminators, 1 on each PC. If you ever want to add another PC, you just add another T peice and connect a cable between them, and put the terminator back on the unused end of the last T peice. These BNC connectors will give you a 10 megabytes/second data rate. Adequate for most uses really.
The Telephone socket is called an RJ45 socket. It used Category 5 (CAT5) cable, that looks like thick phone cable with a similar plug on the end. You can buy or make these cables, and you can have them in 2 flavours. You can choose to have a cross over cable if you are only linking 2 PC’s together, or if you want to link more together, you’ll need a Network hub, and a peice of straight through cable to link EACH PC to that hub. (10base-T Network)
These cables and the hub (if needed) may cost more, and may be able to transfer data at the same 10 Megabytes/Second as the BNC type of setup, but it DOES have the advantage that you could (if your cards support it) upgrade that to a 100 Megabytes per second link. (100base-TX network).
Q. OK…so BNC costs less..end chat, right?
A. WHOA! Not necessarily. BNC is cheaper, yes..but for a reason…
The main advantage of the RJ45/CAT5 setup over the cheaper BNC setup is fault tolerance. If a section or connector on a BNC network fails or gets bad, then it will stop the ENTIRE network…all PC’s will be affected as the data has to pass back and forth to reach one along the cable. Broken cable= no signal= no network.
If that happens on an RJ45 network setup, you may lose 1 PC…but the others carry on, because the data from them is being shared by the hub and they all have “equal rights” to it.
Basically, go for BNC for simple setups and low budget jobs, but get GOOD cable..professionally made up. That will minimise any problems with luck. If you see the network growing over time and maybe needing more speed in the future…go with the higer cost RJ45 Networking. Better to be overprepared that under prepared.
Most cards now are called “combo” cards..they have one BNC and one RJ45 connector on them. Go for these if you can..it may prove useful in the long run.
For Instance:
I got lengths of RJ45 CAT5 cable from a PC fair for a few pounds for shorter lengths, running to more for more. I bought a 5 port hub rated at 10Mbps there too, for £20. I now have 1 PC upstairs, 1 PC in my workshop, and soon to be 1 in the next door office, and a file server to store work on, all running on the network. The parts (bought at a discount fair) cost me less than £50. The only limiting factor in my setup is the 10 Megabyte/Second hub. The cards I have are 100 Megabyte a second. At some point I can upgrade the hub..if I feel like it. For now, it’s plenty fast enough.
Q. Right then.. I have my card(s) of choice, I’ve installed it, it’s set up fine from the instructions. How do I connect up?
A. [soon]