Re: tlug: beginner networking question

["Andrew S. Howell" <andy@example.com>]

>>>>> "Eric" == Eric S Standlee <fwiw3980@example.com> writes:

    Eric> I am interested in the cheapest way to network old machines.
    Eric> I have several ether cards, but above two machines do I need
    Eric> a hub?  Is there a cheaper way around this?  Or are hubs
    Eric> really cheap now?

Eric,

	You need a hub, but they are fairly cheap. You can find a 5-8
port for about 2,500 yen in Akihabara. If you think that someday you
may have more machines than the hub supports, look for a hub with a
"cascade" switch. This lets you hook up to 3 (?) hubs in a chain. You
can do to same thing by wiring up a special cable, but its a lot
easier to just hit a switch. The switch enables one port to function 
either as a regular port or a cascade one.

    Eric> I am considering using a minimalist distro like Austin's
    Eric> Green Frog to get some really old 486 machines networked
    Eric> with a Windoze 586 machine mainly for e-mail and text-only
    Eric> html in a Japanese language environment.

Sounds quite feasible.

Regards,

	Andy
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