Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: How is UTP fault-tolerant?
Message-ID: <1991May21.172018.11672@zoo.toronto.edu>
Date: Tue, 21 May 1991 17:20:18 GMT
References: <1991May20.133442.1309@banana.fedex.com>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

In article <1991May20.133442.1309@banana.fedex.com> bill@banana.fedex.com (bill daniels) writes:
>... Would someone please explain how UTP
>and concentrators enable one to establish a more reliable net? ...

Assuming "UTP" means "10BaseT", the crucial issue is that 10BaseT is a star
topology, with each host connected directly to the hub, whereas other forms
of Ethernet are bus topologies, with more than one host hanging off of each
piece of wire.  Given good equipment design, star topologies have one big
advantage:  a foulup on one wire does not mess up anyone else.  When Joe
Random User disconnects his cable to move his machine from one side of
his office to the other, only his own machine's connectivity is disrupted.
If he's on a bus-topology network, he may well take down everyone who's
on the same piece of cable.

There is a dark side to this particular Force, of course. :-)  If the
central hub is down, *everybody* is out of communication.
-- 
And the bean-counter replied,           | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
"beans are more important".             |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu  utzoo!henry