A simple LAN

BASIC MATERIALS LIST

Switch
Network Interface Card
Cabling
ADSL modem
Transmission Control Protocol /Intenet Protocol
Server
Client
Network Ethernet





The Network Displayed above consist of 20 PCs in One Room. The PCs are sitting on opposite sides of the room in rows of 10. The switch that each connect to 10 computers and to each other to form the network. The Cabling used is CAT 5 UTP.

Cost of a Simple LAN

Product Price Quantity Total Price

Switch RM368 1 RM368

NIC card RM40 20 RM800

RJ-45
UTP cable RM15 500feet RM75

Server RM500 20 RM10,000

Computer Rm3000 20 RM60,000
________
Rm71,243

Guidelines Connection Using Switch

First of all,Cross-over cables do the input and out put channels so that the output channel of data from your card, go into the input channels of the other card eliminating the need of a network hub. To properly configure this type of setting, go into your network properties from the control panel. Make sure that the “Client for Microsoft Networks” in installed. If it is not make sure you have your Windows9x CD handy and click on Add, select Client and click add. In the manufacturers box on the left select Microsoft, in the Network Clients box on the left select “Client for Microsoft Networks” and click OK. Although the client for Microsoft networks is not required to make a successful connection, it does make troubleshooting a whole lot easier if you can see the other machine in the “network neighborhood”. Make sure that your network adapter is listed in the “The following network components are installed:” box. If it is not listed, you might want to reinstall the drivers that were packaged with the hardware, or find and download them from a drivers site like www.winfiles.com. For maximum performance the only protocol that is required for a high speed gaming session is TCP/IP. You may remove any instances that state IPX/SPXà Your network adapter or NetBEUIà your network adapter. In-fact if you only connect to the internet and the machine you want to play with, you don’t need to use IPX/SPX or NetBEUI at all, since the internet protocol is TCP/IP. The only thing IPX/SPX or NetBEUI do for you is cloud up your bandwidth with needless communication, that’s certainly not something you want going on when all you have is a 56k internet connection playing Unreal Tounament or Quake III. Back to getting these 2 machines hooked up. Double click on the TCP/IPà your network adapter, and on the IP Address tab select “Specify an IP address”. In the IP Address section type in the following address: 192.168.0.1 in the subnet Mask field type 255.255.255.0. No other settings are needed so click ok. On the other machine make sure that you have everything mirrored on the first machine except for the IP Address, everything is the same except for the last number, use a 2 (192.168.0.2).Make sure each of the computers you are going to connect have unique IP addresses by changing the last number (eg. 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.) the subnet mask should be the same, and sharing out the C drives of each machine is optional. With a network switch there is no need for a crossover cable since the network switch takes care of all that for you.

Passive switch do not require an outside power source, they rely on the small amount of electrical current running through the network cable from your PC to the hub. Aside from these differences both kinds of network switch work the same way, passing information from one PC to the other. The main advantage in having a network switch is that you will be able to connect as many PCs as your network switch can support. Most network switch come in 24 port flavors, and you can even find "stackable” network switch that allow you to add multiple switch as your needs grow. Using a network switch to connect PCs together seems to be the quickest and least painful method, since trouble-shooting the network is fairly simple as long as all the PCs are configured correctly and the hardware is in working order.