Setting up your first LAN

 Setting up your first LAN (Components needed):

Serial Cable PC to PC (UTP) Bus Star USB Wireless LAN

Serial Cable:

All you need is a serial cable (null modem cable) and some software - such as LapLink Professional.

PC to PC - UTP, 10 or 100MB/second

--> Per computer:
--> 1 x UTP network card
--> Per network:
--> 1 x UTP crossover cable (not a patch cable). In a crossover cable, the wires
in each of the RJ45 (telephone like) plugs will be in a different order.

BUS: BNC, 10Mb/second

--> Per computer:
--> 1x BNC network card (preferably a combo card with BNC and RJ45 connectors -
in case of later upgrade). The card should be capable of supporting 10MB per second
and can be either PCI or ISA (preferably PCI)
1x T-piece - connects 2 network cables to your computer. These cables then go to
the computers 'either side' of you

--> Per LAN:
2 x Terminators - the computers at each end of the network will need one of
these to terminate the signal once it has run out of network cable.
n x Coaxial Cables - coaxial cables used to connect 2 computers. All of the
computers in a LAN must be connected, with the exception of the two computers
at the opposite ends of the network. Therefore n = number of computers - 1

PC to PC - UTP, 10 or 100MB/second

--> Per computer:
--> 1 x UTP network card
--> Per network:
1 x UTP crossover cable (not a patch cable). In a crossover cable, the wires
in each of the RJ45 (telephone like) plugs will be in a different order.

BUS: BNC, 10Mb/second

--> Per computer:
--> 1x BNC network card (preferably a combo card with BNC and RJ45 connectors
- in case of later upgrade). The card should be capable of supporting 10MB per
second and can be either PCI or ISA (preferably PCI)1x T-piece - connects 2
network cables to your computer. These cables then go to the computers 'either
side' of you

--> Per LAN:
--> 2 x Terminators - the computers at each end of the network will need one of
these to terminate the signal once it has run out of network cable.
n x Coaxial Cables - coaxial cables used to connect 2 computers. All of the
computers in a LAN must be connected, with the exception of the two computers at
the opposite ends of the network. Therefore n = number of computers - 1

BUS: BNC, 100Mb/second

Exactly the same as the BNC, 10MB/second type network listed above, but with faster (slightly more expensive) network cards. Try to get the 10/100MB per second network cards which are compatible with the 10MB/second networks

STAR: UTP (10 Base-T), 10Mb/second

--> Per computer:
--> 1x UTP (RJ45) network card (preferably a combo card with BNC and RJ45
connectors - for more compatability with other networks/computers). The card
should be capable of supporting 10MB/second and can be either PCI or ISA
(preferably PCI)
--> 1x UTP cable - connects your computers network card to either the hub or
another computer (if only 2 computers)
--> Per LAN:
--> 1x hub (if more than 2 computers). Make sure that the hub you get supports the
number of computers that you are going to connect

STAR: UTP (10 Base-T), 100Mb/second

Exactly the same as the UTP, 10 Base-T type network listed above, but with faster (slightly more expensive) network cards. Try to get the 10/100MB/second network cards which are compatible with the 10MB/second networks

STAR: USB (Universal Serial Bus), 10Mb/second

--> Per computer:

--> 1 x USB to Ethernet converter

STAR: wLAN (Wireless LAN), 11Mb/second

--> Per computer:
--> 1 x Wireless network card (PCI, ISA or PCMCIA)
--> Per LAN:
--> 1 x Wireless hub

This is basically a star topology without wires! Currently only up to 11Mb/sec and expensive, but ideal for offices with lots of laptop users who move about a lot and for buildings where it is difficult to lay down cabling. Remember you can connect different types of networks, e.g. a wLAN to a 100 base-T network.