On Wed, 22 Mar 2000, Andreas Meyer wrote:
> Thanks everybody for the tips!
You're welcome.
> > You can use one or more hubs as repeaters, but remember the 5-4-3 rule:
> > max 5 segments with max 4 repeaters and on no more than 3 segments you
> > can have computers or other end systems.
> Didn�t know that. I assume a bigger network e.g. in a hightower-building is
> done by FDDI? I read the Fiber Distributed Data Interface is often used for
> Bachbone-Servers. What is a Backbone?
No, today most large networks use switches. The difference between a switch
and a hub is that a hub only repeats all the bits that come in on every
port. So if two stations start sending at the same time, you have a
collision. A switch looks at the packet and only sends it where it needs to
go and not to other ports. Since switches are "smart" they can also buffer
packets so you shouldn't have any collisions. On a switch, the 5-4-3 rule
applies to each port independently.
FDDI is pretty cool: you can have rings that span 50 km and when the ring
is cut it "wraps" so everything still works. But 100 Mbps ethernet is
faster (no ring overhead) and much cheaper and there's gigabit ethernet for
the really big networks.
The word "backbone" usually refers to the part of the network that only
connects other parts together but doesn't connect actual hosts such as
servers or workstations. In a large building you could have a hub for each
floor and than a backbone segment that connects those hubs together. Today
that usually would be 100 or 1000 Mbps switched ethernet, but it could also
be FDDI or even thick (10BASE-5) ethernet in the old days. Note that this
way you won't run into trouble with the 5-4-3 rule, however many floors
there are: from one host to another is never more than 2 hubs and 3
segments:
host -> UTP segment -> floor hub
|
v
inter-floor coax segment
|
v
host <- UTP segment <- floor hub
> > Yes, or you can configure one of the computers as a print server. If you
> > use Samba/Windows networking any PC or Unix box can be a print server.
> > Don't know about Amigas.
> Don�t have a PC yet but I configured Miami for the use with Samba; if I
> ever get a PC I�ll test it.
I have a very beta Samba handler, so I can mount drives on the PC from the
Amiga. By clever use of the CMD program I can print directly to the printer
connected to the PC from my Amiga. I have to reboot after printing a few
times, though, since the handler dies every so often.
--
To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe miami-talk-ml" to
"[EMAIL PROTECTED]". For help on list commands send "help" to
"[EMAIL PROTECTED]".
