[Squashky]

Hey

I am planning on making a GIGAbit SM. home business network.

Basically I have 3 computers now and will be expanding to 5-6.
They all will have gigabit cards on them and will have cat6 wires from them.

I want to get a HUB that will support 4-6 computers at high speeds.

1) I was wondering will i be able to access computer 1 and have it read a Large (20-30gb file) from a hard drive in computer 2 be at high enough speed to encode it and write it to a hard drive in comp 1.
OR
will i have to copy and paste it in a internal hard drive and then do it that way. If i have to how long will i have to wait for a 30 gb file to copy across the network.



2) what are the kind of cables i need to go from the hub to the computer. what are the cross over cables.



3)Will the slower internet access speed ( 10mbps down load on average) cause slower file sharing abilities.

I guess that is it for staters. Thanks for the response ahead of time


I drew a map to be clear .....I am not an artist(you probably can see that i had to re do it three times it was so bad.

[roYal]

You could let it decode over the link. Gigabit is faster than a Raptor drive even. If you'll have multiple users on the network doing lots of filework over the LAN link, I would get a switch as a switch has a MAC table and knows which computer is connected to which port and sets up Virtual connections from computer to computer instead of sending out unneeded broadcasts.

The internet has nothing to do with LAN connection speed. The only time your LAN connection wouldn't be able to keep up with internet speed is if you had a 10/100BaseT which an internet connection that's above 100mbit which costs tens of thousands of dollars per month.

Crossover cables are when you're connecting 2 of the same port types together when those ports don't support uplink. So basically, NIC to NIC you need a crossover. Switch port to switch port you need a crossover. Any direct ports that are different, you use a straight-through cable. So when you're connecting a NIC to a hub or a NIC to the switch or a switch to a hub, you'll need a straight through cable. If the port supports uplink, then you can use any type of cable as the port will auto sense it and correct itself to have successful transmission.

You'll want to use all straight-through cables since you're not connecting any of the same device together.

[Bios24]

1) Hard to say. If the network is idle, and both computers have full speed then it should be close to HD speed. Gigabit network will at best transmit 125megabytes per second, which is close to hard drive speeds. Only real way to know is to test it. It should take 3-5 mins to transfer 20gb with full bandwidth.

2) If you have Cat6 that will work, but so will Cat5e, and it's usually cheaper. cross-over cables are for connecting 2 computers directly together, without use of a network switch or hub. FYI- you won't need any x-over cables.

3) Internet traffic has no barring on LAN traffic. Obviously the internet will be the same speed for each computer, but sharing files between computers should yeild the full LAN speed. (In this case gigabit speed)

Also- You'll want to buy a network 'switch', not a 'hub' as a switch is much better, and has little effect on price. (google if you don't know the difference)

[Squashky]

I was doing alittle research what do you think of using this switch???
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833122111

[roYal]

Originally Posted by Squashky

I was doing alittle research what do you think of using this switch???
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833122111

Looks good, is fairly cheap, and has excellent ratings.

[Squashky]

i just realized my laptop doesn't have a gigabit port. I saw two that i like which one do u guys feel is better

A)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124175

B)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833127159


i think they are like the same product different names. I have possitive experience with both stat wise are there any differences.

also is it bad to buy generic wires compared to name brand
BY the way thanks for your help both Royal and bios

[fight556]

at the price point for these small gigabit switches don't think the brand makes too much of a difference...have a 5 port d-link myself for the gigabit portion of my network, as was said earlier x-over cables are for connecting like devices (pc-pc, switch-switch, router-router, or pc-router) though the router you have is really just a router with a small switch hooked up internally...and some devices auto-sense straight through or x-over. Unless you are running a raid array you'll max your hdd transfer before you hit the gigabit limit.