Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 18:04:23 -3100 (PDT) From: "Rodney W. Grimes" <rgrimes@GndRsh.aac.dev.com> To: tbalfe@tioga.com (Thomas J Balfe) Cc: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Subject: Re: ethernet question Message-ID: <199605010104.SAA14918@GndRsh.aac.dev.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.91.960430155610.842E-100000@falcon.tioga.com> from Thomas J Balfe at "Apr 30, 96 04:51:27 pm"
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> At what point do you need switched ethernet in terms of nodes? This is not really a FreeBSD specific questions and probably should really be asked on a *.network usenet news group. The answer is not simple, far more data than has been presented here is needed to answer this type of question. Infact answering this type of question often takes a network engineer a week or two of onsite analysis to decide what the best solution is. I am going to pose just a few of the surface questions, you should probably contract in a network/systems specialist to figure out what you need. > This is > the situation, a building with 7 floors, 40 units per floor, each with > one 10baseT port in it. 7 * 40 == 280 ports > Would two or three switched ports per floor be a smart option? How many of the 280 are server class machines, and how many are clients, what are the traffic patterns like between the 280 machines? Are the 280 ports in a single collision domain, or are there routers and/or bridges involved? If you have a single collision domain of 280 nodes you have a problem unless your traffic is very lite. What type of traffic is going over this network, ie, is it all TCP/IP, or do you have Novell IPX and other such things going on? As a first cut I would suggest looking at going to a FDDI or 100BaseTX vertical network between the 7 floors with 48 ports of switched ethernet on each floor. If you have common central service machines they should have direct connections into the 100Mbs vertical network. > Additionally, what are people's recommendations in terms of equipment? > The only equipment I have experience with so far is Bay Networks, 3Com > and Asante non-switching hubs. Nothing wrong with that equipment, except perhaps that I am not partial to 3com so I tend to avoid it, but since I haven't look at it in years my bias may very well be unfounded. > Also, is Ora TCP/IP the best place to learn more about arp? It would be at least a good place to start. The definative answers about arp questions can be found in the RFC's, and in the source code... -- Rod Grimes rgrimes@gndrsh.aac.dev.com Accurate Automation Company Reliable computers for FreeBSD
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