Designing and Planning a Computer Network

摘要

One of the first things to consider when designing a network is to determine what exactly you need from it, In other words, what do you need it to do for you right now and in the near future? You must also weigh costs against benefits. When you build a network on a budget, select components that are neither the most expensive nor the least. (Too many times cheap products will cost you more money and time in the long run.) Buy from established manufacturers, because you may need support in the future for upgraded drivers, documentation, and so forth. Another key factor involves the network's physical layout-where the computers will be located and how far apart-because signal strength diminishes as it propagates down a line. The longer the wire, the less signal strength it will have at its end. Also, different wiring configurations can increase or degrade signal integrity. Make sure that your information retains its integrity at the point of reception. For the particular network discussed in this article we selected Cat5 cabling, which is commonly used in 10Mb and 100Mb networks. This network is considered a Fast Ethernet or 100Mb/sec. To have a 100Mb network, all equipment must have the capacity to communicate at 100Mb/sec.