Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bambam!hjp
From: hjp@bambam.bedrock.com (Howard J. Postley)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Simple thin ethernet question
Summary: The way is's supposed to be...
Message-ID: <670@bambam.bedrock.com>
Date: 27 Jul 89 23:44:42 GMT
References: <2946@ukecc.engr.uky.edu>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Ideal Point, Inc.; Marina del Rey, CA
Lines: 30

In article <2946@ukecc.engr.uky.edu>, agollum@engr.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) writes:
> My question is quite simple:  all the docs we have on installing the
> cables show both halves of the cable running right up to the back of the
> computer, and the T connector attaching directly to the network card
> in the PC.  Does it HAVE to be this way?  Can we keep the main cable 
> and the T in the wall and run a short piece of cable to the network card?
> How long can this stub piece be?  Assuming we can't do this,
> any suggestions for doing this wiring aesthetically?

Guess what?  This is type type of situation that was envisioned when ethernet
was designed at Xerox!  The original idea was to run thick cable around,
put xceivers in wall plates and plug the computer into the wall plate
with a drop cable.  Since the drop cable can be up to 50 meters, this also
gets around a lot of length problems.  If your distances are short enough
to run thin cable, you can do about the same thing.  Get xceivers with
BNC connectors on them (cheap ones are available for < $40) and put them
in wall plates.  This eliminates looping the thin cable, shortens distances
and looks better.  It's a little more expensive than just running the cable
to the card and wastes the xceiver that is built in to it but so what,
IT LOOKS GOOD!  You can save money with fan-out boxes on thin net just the
same as with thick net but that is installation specific.

//hjp


-- 
Howard Postley            internet: hjp@bambam.bedrock.com        
Ideal Point, Inc.     uucpnet: uunet!bambam!hjp
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