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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Network Products
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- What is the difference between a patch cable and a cross-over cable?
- What's the difference between a hub and a switch?
- What's the longest distance I can go between two points on my 100base-T or 10base-T network using Cat5 (UTP)?
- Can I add an older system with a 10baseT card to my 100baseT network?
- What is a NIC?
- I have a few systems, and just got DSL. Do I just need a hub to share the connection or will I end up needing a router/switch/another hub?
- What do the CAT ratings mean for network cable?
- What is a Firewall?
- What is NAT?
- I'm trying to setup a small network in my home. Is there anyway I can get out of stringing all this ethernet cable from room to room?
- What is the difference between a patch cable and a cross-over cable?
A patch cable is basically your common everyday cable. It is used to connect your NICs or other devices to your hub/switch or what have you. With a patch cable the signal goes straight through.
A cross over cable is a specialized cable. It basically has three roles: 1) It is used if you wish to connect two computers together without using a hub. 2) It can be used to uplink one hub to another in situations where an uplink port isn't available. 3) It is can be used to daisy chain on a network device like a Cable modem in some situation.
When constructing a network it is a good idea to use a different color of network cable for Cross-over cables. This helps prevent potential confusion.
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- What's the difference between a hub and a switch?
Everything sent through an ethernet network is basically cut into small bits of data known as packets. The computer wishing to send information gives the packets an address, and sends them down the cable.
If the packet comes to a hub, then the hub copies the packet and sends it to every other port it has. Once one of the packets gets to the proper destination, the intended recipient sees their address on the packet and accepts it. Those that do not see their address on a packet, discard. With a hub, if systems try to send on the line at the same time then a data collision occurs and the packets must be resubmitted.
A switch is a bit smarter. It learns the addresses of the individual systems. When a packet comes to it, the switch takes a look at the address on it and sends the packet to it's proper destination without sending it to everyone else too. Due to these improvements over the hub, the switch often performs better where high network throughput is desired.
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- What's the longest distance I can go between two points on my 100base-T or 10base-T network using Cat5 (UTP)?
Between any two points the max length is 100 meters (~328 feet). If you wish to go beyond this, you can do so by using two cables of 100 meters or less and placing a repeater between them. Hubs will function as repeaters.
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- Can I add an older system with a 10baseT card to my 100baseT network?
Yes, most 100baseT hubs and switches support both 10Mbps and 100Mbps standards. The majority of newer hubs will adjusts to either 10Mbps or 100Mbps speeds by port. With these systems you can freely add and remove the older 10Mbps devices without worry. A few older hubs will adjust the speed of every port to the lowest speed of an attached device. With these, every system is slowed down to 10Mbps when one 10Mbps system is attached. Go to Top
- What is a NIC?
NIC is short for Network Interface Card. A NIC allows you to connect to connect to a network, or network device. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and network support lists. The most common network cards are PCI 10/100 ethernet network cards in desktop systems, and PCMCIA 10/100 ethernet cards in laptops. NICs can be integrated into a motherboard, or other device. This may be referred to as Onboard LAN. Go to Top
- I have a few systems, and just got DSL. Do I just need a hub to share the connection or will I end up needing a router/switch/another hub?
A hub won't do what you're looking for. You really have two options:
1. Have one computer w/ two NICs and use Windows Internet Connection Sharing to route traffic to the network. (You can also use software like Wingate if ICS doesn't work right for you).
(1 NIC connects to DSL modem, 1 NIC connects to hub, and the rest of the computers connect to the hub. If you have two computers you can have two nics on one, and connect the other computer via a cross over instead of using a hub)
2. Purchase a Cable/DSL router. These come in two forms. Some like the Netgear RT314 act as both a router to share the connection, and as a hub/switch. Others may require you to use a hub in addition to the router.
Basically:
With a Cable/DSL router w/integrated hub/switch the DSL modem connects to the router, and the router connects to each computer.
One good thing about using a router is that it isn't dependent on a single computer to be on in order to connect.
For more general information on this please see the guide:
How to build a Home Network?
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- What do the CAT ratings mean for network cable?
The CAT rating tell you the frequency rating of the cable. Additionally it can give you an idea of the typical use for it.
Types:
CAT 1. Lowest grade of cable. No Frequency rating. (1Mbs)
Typical use: Alarm systems, Intercom Systems.
CAT 2. Typical phone cable. Frequency max: 1mhz (4Mbps)
Typical use: Phone systems.
CAT 3. Typical 10base-T cable. Frequency max: 16mhz (10Mbps)
Typical use: 10base-T networks, 4Mbs token ring networks
CAT 4: Typical Token ring cable. Frequency max: 20mhz (16Mbps)
Typical use: 16Mbs Token ring networks.
Cat 5: Most common type. Frequency max: 100mhz (100Mbps)
Typical use: 100base-T networks / 10base-T networks
Cat 5e/6: High Speed cable. Frequency ~350+mhz
Typical use: 1000base-T over copper. (Gigabit Ethernet)
It's fine to use a cable type greater then what you need. You could for instance use Cat 5 cable for a phone system. It's actually good to use cable better then what you think you will need. This leaves room for future network upgrades.
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- What is a Firewall?
A firewall acts as a middle man between you and the internet. It looks briefly at the packets going into and out of your system, and gives each one a thumbs up or thumbs down verdict. (pass or block). This action helps prevent outside intrusion attempts on your system. Firewalls come in two forms: Hardware and software. Software firewalls operate on a system and run in the background monitoring your connection. The may be called "Personal Firewalls". Hardware firewalls are separate boxes that do the work of a firewall without taking system resources. Almost all routers contain at least a basic firewall functionality.
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- What is NAT?
NAT is short for Network Address Translation. In a nutshell, NAT allows a group of computers to use a single IP address to communicate with the outside world or another network. Additionally it separates External IP addresses from Internal network IP addresses.
A device or program using NAT sits between the Internet and the network. It rewrites IP addresses and port numbers on the fly so every packets appears to be coming from (or going to) the single IP address of the NAT device instead of the actual source or destination. This allows more then one system to access the Internet at the same time, and it allows a measure of safety as the outside site never sees the internal IP address for the system it's sending to.
In this way, NAT also acts as a simple firewall.
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- I'm trying to setup a small network in my home. Is there anyway I can get out of stringing all this ethernet cable from room to room?
Sure. You may want to consider building either a wireless network or a phoneline network. Phone-line network adapters let you use the phoneline network that already exists in your home to network computers in different rooms with access to wall phone jackets. (They typically do not effect modem or phone usage). Wireless networks have obvious benefits in that they have no cords and are ideally suited to mixed networks that contain laptop/notebook systems. The draw back is that they are typically more expensive than phoneline or ethernet applications.
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Useful Links:
Linksys FAQ: What is a switch?
Linksys FAQ: All about Cabling
Linksys FAQ: How To Wire a Network
Netgear: A practicle guide to PnP Ethernet Networks
Manufacturers Links:
Cisco
Linksys
Netgear
3com
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