Ethernet LAN
We describe here the 10Base-T Ethernet
network. It is the
most prevalent network in the world and is expected to be so for
quite some time into the future. If you use Category-5 cables, it
would support the 10-Gigabit Ethernet
too.
Trivial case -- The two-computer network
This requires only a special cable called crossover cable to make the LAN,
provided the two computers already have 10Base-T network interfaces -
most new computers do. If you want to share a
dial-up connection to the Internet, then the computer having
the modem should have a special gateway program running in it. If the
computers are in two rooms, run a cable-span between them as shown in
the diagram and use one crossover cable at one end as the patch
cord.
We will provide the crossover cable and help with installing network interfaces and the Internet connection
sharing.
Cable drops
To successfully install a LAN in the office or home, you should learn
how to install a cable drop between
two rooms. This is a job for the home handy person. The hard part is
to drop the cable to the locations of the wall plates and to cut
holes on the wall for the wall socket assembly.
The following diagram illustrates how a wall socket is assembled.
We will supply all the hardware involved as
part of an installation kit - outlet box, Ethernet socket,
wall plate, cables and a punch tool to secure the wires in the
socket. Run a cable from one wall socket to another to complete a
cable span. Usually you will install multiple-socket wall plates near
the network hub. Then a cable
each will go from there to all the locations of the computers in the
other rooms. Our picture shows a wall plate with only one hole for a
socket.
If you have more than two computers or if your Internet connection is
over ISDN, DSL, Cable-TV line, Satellite etc. then build a
hub-and-spokes type network as follows.
Standard 10Base-T Ethernet network
In this network, all the network devices such as computers, routers
etc., known as nodes, connect to a centrally located network hub. We
color-coded the next diagram for easy reference.
You would place the (green) hub on top of a table or hang it on the
wall. Each (blue) straight-through cable shown would probably be made
up of three segments: a patch cord each at the hub end and the
computer end and a cable-span in-between. (See the right-hand side of
the illustration of the Two-Computer LAN.) Ethernet standard requires
that the total cable length between two devices be no more than 100
meters (330 ft). The network
interfaces are shown as (blue) horizontal lines on the (gray)
computer boxes.
You would run cable spans from near the hub to all the locations
where the computers are placed. This will result in multiple-socket
wall plate(s) near the hub and single-socket wall plates on the walls
near the computers. Each computer would have a patch cord connecting its network
interface to the wall socket. A number of patch cords equal to the
number of computers would be used to connect the network ports on the
hub to the wall sockets near it. This completes the installation of
the Ethernet cabling system.
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