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From: willis@cs.tamu.edu (Willis Marti)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Thin wire or twisted pair?
Message-ID: <9104301956.AA27957@neuron>
Date: 30 Apr 91 19:56:52 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 43

Doug Rob (doug@psy.uwa.oz.au) writes:

"Just to give you an example. I heard of a firm that got 3 floors
of a new building in Perth wired up recently. Two thin wire segments
on each floor and thick wire segment between floors. No connectors
terminators, delni, desta etc because as yet the don't have a computer
system. The cost for this $A7,000.

They also had 8 pair, PDS (unshielded twisted pair) to 100 outlets
with rj45 connectors back to a distrib board put in at the
same time, cost $A48,000. To actually get a computer network
will need a 10baseT hub etc as you know.
Since they don't have a network yet I don't know that the final
cost of each scenario would be."

Although one might question the costs, let's also point out that the above
comparison is definitely apples and oranges.  Why?  
 Two thinwire segments = 60 machines, including the required bridge or
(*ugh*) repeaters. You probably meant 8-conductor, or 4 pair, times 100
gives 100 data *and* 100 phone outlets.  If you want, you can even make it
200 data outlets.

Cost of making it a network:
Thinwire: (2) bridges, plus 3 sets of terminators. And transceivers.
UTP     : Hub

Cost of installing machines 1-59:
Thinwire: Labor and material to cut, reterminate, and place the thinwire
 segment, plus network downtime.
UTP: 1/100th hub cost plus plugging a jumper into the wall.

Cost of installing machines 60+:
Thinwire: ???? {new bridge/repeater}, new cable, etc.
UTP: 1/100th hub cost plus plugging a jumper into the wall.

-----------
I believe thinwire can be cost effective in limited settings, but not in a
larger arena (unless you want to saddle your successor with the problems.)
Cheers,
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 Willis F. Marti		Internet: willis@cs.tamu.edu
 Director, Computer Services Group, Dept of Computer Science, Texas A&M Univ.
 	---Not an official document of Texas A&M---