Hi Mark,
See answers below:
> We are getting DSL for our office. We have 6 computers networked
> (server/workstation, using Lantastic 8) with Thin Ethernet. What I was
> planning on doing was buying a Linksys DSL router or maybe the Ugate
> Plus, and an 8 port 10/100 hub with a BNC connector.
Make sure that whatever you buy works with the IP address assignment
scheme your ISP provides. If you are getting fixed IP address(es) most
every solution works. If you are getting a dynamically assigned IP address
(and are planning to share that one address with all your machines), you
may run into problems. There's something called PPoE (Point to Point
over Ethernet) and many routers do not support PPoE at the moment.
Quote:> The plan would be to add the hub to the network at one node end (using
> the BNC connector on the hub) , then plug the DSL router into the hub
> (using an RJ45 connector), then the DSL "modem" into the router.
> Eventually I could upgrade the entire network to 10baseT or even
> 100baseTX, and be able to still use this hub. This will be within the
> next 6-8 months when we replace all the pc's we have now, they are
> getting long in the tooth (Pentium 66s).
The only thing that makes me nervous is when you say 10/100 hub.
If you want to support devices working at both 10 and 100 Mbps
at the same time, the hub needs to have "switching" capability in it.
Many "dual-speed" hubs offer the ability to have both 10 and 100
Mbps stations. "Auto-sensing" 10/100 hubs may only support one
speed or the other. They automatically sense the speed of the first
station to connect to the hub and then only support devices of the
same speed after that. So, read the documentation carefully when
selecting the "hub" and if you want to migrate from 10 to 100 over
time, get a hub that can "switch" between devices at both speeds.
NOTE: I think that many of the "hubs" that have one BNC connector
and then some RJ45s will probably be pure hubs, not switches. So,
you might want to get a cheap 4-port 10BASE-T hub with one
BNC for connecting up your old LAN and your DSL today, and
later, get a 10/100 switch for starting to add 100 Mbit stations.
Quote:> That all seems simple enough, but is that because it won't work? I know
> the network needs to run on TCP/IP to work with a DSL router, so am I
> missing anything?
> Thanks,
> Mark
Except for the dynamic IP address and the need to have both
10 and 100 support on whatever box you buy, what you are
planning to do makes very solid sense and lots of people do
it.
Craig
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