On 26 Mar 2001, Ash Wyllie wrote:
>
> arcnet != ethernet
>
> You might _might_ be able to find a hub for arcnet, but I doubt it. I'm not
> at all sure that one exists. The A2060 has only a coax connector. It will
> *not* connect to thin ethernet. It will not plug into a ethernet hub.
And for that matter, there's no such thing as an Ethernet hub for *coax*
Ethernet, either, since it uses bus topology. Some Ethernet hubs have
*one* BNC to allow connection to a coax Ethernet, but they don't really
act as a "hub" for the coax part.
The issue is the topology. If Arcnet uses "bus" topology like coax
Ethernet (meaning that it either has two connectors or one with a T
adapter), then it wouldn't use a hub. If it has "star" topology it would
use a hub.
> Arcnet is token ring, not 'broadcast'. Different protocol. arcnet is ~1Mb/sec.
> Ethernet is 10/100/1000Mb/sec. Which is one reason I traded in my A2060s for
> x-surfs.
>
> If the person who started this thread can find a PC arcnet board, arcnet
> (rg59?) cables + terminators and a driver for Windows, I might be able to help
> him get his A2060 to work.
He would probably be much happier in the long run getting an Ethernet
board for the Amiga (perhaps used if $140-$150 is too much), rather than
proliferating the old Arcnet stuff with increasing problems down the road.
> But remember:
>
> arcnet != ethernet
And also, Arcnet cables and terminators != Ethernet cables and
terminators. Do *not* use the wrong ones, and do *not* mix them. You
won't damage anything, but you'll almost certainly vet weird behavior.
Ethernet is 50 ohms, and normally uses RG-58. IIRC Arcnet is 100 ohms or
thereabouts, and probably uses RG-62.
On Tue, 27 Mar 2001, Tim Seifert wrote:
> By: Roy Bartsch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> On: Tuesday, March 27, 2001, 12:14:35 AM
>
> DD>> My understanding of hubs is that you need one when you have many
> DD>> stations, not just two.
>
> RB> at the moment I have only 2 but in the near future I will have 4 (a
> RB> second PC and the `network box` for DSL.
>
> So, buy one when you actually need one. Or, if you see a bargain. Until
> then, I wouldn't worry about it.
Aside from allowing more machines, hubs have the benefit of providing LEDs
to show activity, which can be very handy when chasing problems. Activity
LEDs on stations, when they exist at all, are usually in some really
inconvenient place. If you *know* you'll be getting more machines later,
by all means use the hub from the start. 5-port hubs are only about $30
these days. The only disadvantage is the inability to use full duplex,
but it's pretty rare to get a significant benefit from that, anyway (plus,
older Amiga Ethernet cards typically don't support it).
On Tue, 27 Mar 2001, Tim Seifert wrote:
> By: Ash Wyllie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> On: Tuesday, March 27, 2001, 9:22:41 AM
>
> AW> arcnet != ethernet
>
> I'm curious, did ethernet surpass arcnet because it was better, or was it
> just one of those things?
I believe Arcnet appeared at the time that Ethernet only existed in the
original thickwire form (now known as 10Base5), with obnoxiously thick
cable and expensive transceivers that had to be installed by drilling into
the side of the double-shielded coax. Later, some people began hooking up
Ethernet using ordinary RG-58 and BNC T connectors, branding it
"Cheapernet". Eventually the standards people caved in and made it (now
known as 10Base2) part of the official standard, but with lower limits on
cable length and number of stations than 10Base2. At that point, there
was really no reason other than inertia (and brain-dead IT managers that
think that token ring is more "orderly and efficient" than Ethernet with
those awful "collisions" :-)) to keep using Arcnet. And of course now
most Ethernet uses twisted pair cable, which is both cheaper and easier to
work with than coax.
On Wed, 28 Mar 2001, Tim Seifert wrote:
> By: Roy Bartsch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> On: Tuesday, March 27, 2001, 7:24:02 PM
>
> AW>> Arcnet is token ring, not 'broadcast'. Different protocol. arcnet is
> AW>> ~1Mb/sec. Ethernet is 10/100/1000Mb/sec. Which is one reason I
> AW>> traded in my A2060s for x-surfs.
>
> RB> What does this mean? Does it work with DSL or not?
>
> I guess that /mostly/ depends on how you "physically" connect to DSL.
> (What type of connection your MODEM / Terminal Adaptor uses to connect to
> your computer - LAN, serial, USB, or something else.)
True, but AFAIK pretty much all cable and DSL modems (other than the old
ones with proprietary PC-only cards) use 10BaseT as the "inside"
interface. USB installations simply use a USB Ethernet card between the
computer and modem, and serial interfaces just plain aren't fast enough.
I can't imagine anyone making a cable/DSL modem that connects via Arcnet,
since it's both obsolete and in some cases too slow.
Fred Wright
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