Overall Performance of a LAN
 

Tell me if I'm right.

The hardware that determines the speed of a network is.....


1. NIC
2. HUB/Switch
3. Cables
4. Computer Performance

Are there anything else



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MAKING HEAD SHOTS WITH MY M4.
>:)

Well, interference is another thing, too, I guess. It can't be a good thing if the cables are running right next to a wall through which the main power line to your apartment complex goes http://www.veforums.com/tongue.gif

Gawd I love you.....I've actually done that hehehehe you mean put some wall patches on in my apartment ? *WINKS* done it man !

the only problem is...is i don't know the transfer rate of a Cross Over wire...i mean i don't know it's data transfer per/bits.


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MAKING HEAD SHOTS WITH MY M4.
>:)

Wait did you say can't be a good thing....oh wait a second....how come naaa I'm sure My cables are gonna be fine through wall patches...Or is it ?

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MAKING HEAD SHOTS WITH MY M4.
>:)

Hehe... I was just saying that power lines cause interference... It doesn't really matter that much cuz it's twisted pair, so it has a bit of shielding. As long as you don't run it right next to a power line the whole way, on purpose, it shouldn't make a difference. There are many different things you can measure in a UTP wire. You can get your fill, and more, at http://www.anixter.com/techlib/d0500p01.htm http://www.veforums.com/smile.gif There are probably many other places you can find info, as well.

Power lines are no problem - but it important to avoid sources of electromagnetic interference. One biggie is flourescent light fixtures. When you run RJ45 through a suspended ceiling you have to skirt around flourescentlight fixtures.

Ditto for anything with a large power transformer.

100 Mbit cards are 100 Mbit cards - there's really no difference as far as network performance. Same with cables as long as the cables are made properly - you MUST use proper pairs when you wire a cable (you can't make up your own color code as some people do - you'll dramatically degrade performance).

Computer performance is certainly an issue - if it's a slow computer it'll send/take the data slower. I can always tell when I'm copying files to my laptop - it's the slowest system on my network (P-233).

The big performance hit is the hub or switch. Bottom line a switch is more efficient. Hubs will give you packet collisions which wastes time (computer has to resend data). That doesn't happen with a switch.

Since switches are so cheap now (Linksys makes some cheap ones that work great in the $80 range) there's little excuse to buy a hub.



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The Flying Penguin :)
http://TheFlyingPenguin.com

I actually do have a problem with buying a switch.....They are actually quite expensive down here in down under (australia).

So you reckon I shouldn't buy a hub ?

Gees...I wonder how much a 9 port switch is ?

Ahh Thanks fellas.

I'll talk to my distributors.

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MAKING HEAD SHOTS WITH MY M4.
>:)

You CAN run network cables near power cables, just run them at right angles.

The main problem with speed is binding the cables, try not to bend them to tight. A good rule of thumb is a 2" turn or bend. Also on your router/switch space out the connections.

</br> http://linksys.com/products/product.asp?prid=20&grid=5

</br> www.TheKULT.org www.RantRadio.com www.MrEcho.net


[This message has been edited by Mr. Echo (edited 12-17-2000).]

Actually, from your list, I would say that it's quite correct until you get up to 1gb NICs, because then the slowest part will be your hub, followed by the PCI bus (which can only handle 800 megabit/132Megabytes per sec.). I'm not 100% on those figures, but I do know that the pci bus can't do full bandwidth on 1gb NICs.

Now, I do believe that cables are another issue, because AFAIK you can't run 1gb NICs over regular RJ45 cabling. Anyone who KNOWS either way about this?

As for a hub vs switch, definitely go for a switch, they're much better. If you can't afford it, it's understandable, but they certainly are worth it if you can get them.

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Chris Shepherd