Very Computer

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Quote:> I plan to set up a LAN with 3 machines (currently).  All will have 100
> Mbps network cards, so I decided to purchase a 100 Mbps hub.  If for some
> reason in the future I decide add machines with only 10 Mbps cards (simply
> because it is cheaper), was this a bad decision to not get the 10/100
> autosensing hub?  What will happen if I attach a machine that has < 100Mbs
> card?

--
Frank Sweetser rasmusin at wpi.edu fsweetser at blee.net | PGP key available
paramount.ind.wpi.edu RedHat 5.1   kernel 2.1.125   i586 | at public servers
We are Pentium of Borg. Division is futile. You will be approximated.
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Quote:

> I plan to set up a LAN with 3 machines (currently).  All will have 100
> Mbps network cards, so I decided to purchase a 100 Mbps hub.  If for some
> reason in the future I decide add machines with only 10 Mbps cards (simply
> because it is cheaper), was this a bad decision to not get the 10/100
> autosensing hub?  What will happen if I attach a machine that has < 100Mbs
> card?

I'm in the same boat, and have found a few alternatives for
10/100 inter-networking (mainly to support a 10Mbps-only PC-Card
in the notebook):

1. There are some nice dual-speed 10/100Mbps hubs available now
that let both speeds run simultaneously and provide a switch
between them. You wind up with separate 10 and 100Mbps segments
in effect. Take a look at www.datacommwarehouse.com - their
DEH3631 is an 8 port Linksys device for $180.

2. If you really want speed and flexibility, switch prices are
dropping. datacomm's DEH3119 is a 4 port 10/100 Linksys switch
for $300. This would provide full-duplex to each attached device.
A 10Mbps hub could go on one port for low-speed devices should 4
not be enough.

3. If you already bought the 100Mbps hub (and can't take it back)
then simply put a 10Mbps card in the Linux box and connect it to
a new 10Mbps hub and route (or bridge) between them.

4. Since I've got 4 machines plus my server, and only 2 are
'heavy usage' machines, I'm considering putting 2 100Mbps cards
and a 10Mbps card in the Linux box. This way, each heavy user can
get 100Mbps full-duplex to the server using crossover cables,
while everything else can share a 10Mbps hub. I figure this will
give me a poor-man's switch for about $60 per port up to a few
machines.

I'm still in the initial stages of getting all this set up. I
bought D-Link DFE530TX cards, but Linux doesn't seem to like them
(I know the DFE-500TX was preferred) so will move those to the
Windows boxen and get a Netgear FA-310TX for the server to test
(next week!)

Good luck!

- Bob

Quote:>I plan to set up a LAN with 3 machines (currently).  All will have 100
>Mbps network cards, so I decided to purchase a 100 Mbps hub.  If for some
>reason in the future I decide add machines with only 10 Mbps cards (simply
>because it is cheaper), was this a bad decision to not get the 10/100
>autosensing hub?  What will happen if I attach a machine that has < 100Mbs
>card?

10baseT cards aren't that much cheaper than 100BaseTx cards tough.

If you really want 10BaseT support you could configure a machine
with two NICs to act as bridge or router.

Jon Plews.

Quote:> I'm still in the initial stages of getting all this set up. I
> bought D-Link DFE530TX cards, but Linux doesn't seem to like them
> (I know the DFE-500TX was preferred) so will move those to the
> Windows boxen and get a Netgear FA-310TX for the server to test
> (next week!)

From a posting by the author, Donald Becker:

The driver you want is
   ftp://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/linux/drivers/test/via-rhine.c

Read
   http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/misc/modules.html
for instructions.

Mogens

--
Mogens Kjaer, Carlsberg Laboratory, Dept. of Chemistry
Gamle Carlsberg Vej 10, DK-2500 Valby, Denmark
Phone: +45 33 27 53 25, Fax: +45 33 27 47 08